Arian vs Thugs: ***
Ito vs Butchers: ***1/4
Apartment Brawl: ***1/4
Ito vs Cops: ***
Elena Hallway Fight: ***1/4
Alma Stairwell Fight: **1/2
Ito vs Operator: ***1/2
Ito vs Thugs in Warehouse: ***3/4
Operator vs Alma/Elena: ***3/4
Ito vs Arian: ****1/2
This movie is so violent! It's brutal in a similar fashion to the Raid movies but with even more blood and gore. This is visceral and not for the faint of heart.
Seeing Iko in the role of an antagonist was really interesting here. He carried himself with such composure throughout, and seemed to have a blast playing the final boss. His performance was reminiscent of the end bosses from the 80's Hong Kong era; suit wearing psychopaths with unbridled martial skill.
There's a lot of really good action throughout, but I would say the level of violence mars it a little. It becomes numbing after a while and by the end feels like they have to keep topping themselves in how violent the kills are. One area the violence works however, is the final fight. It's the best thing in the film, unsurprising given how skilled Iko is, but Joe Taslim is excellent as well. The violence in that clash escalates in a meaningful way as the two former brothers fight tooth and nail. Iko's character Arian, who'd been so dominant and composed throughout, begins to fall apart at the seams as Taslim's character Ito fights on relentlessly. It's a thing of violent beauty.
Taslim was the sergeant in the Raid but here he really gets to show what he can do. His character seems to have endless stamina but his rugged brawler style (mixed with his Judo background) makes him feel grounded. The stuntmen worked their asses of in this flick and it shows. The one shot they tried from a first person perspective didn't really land, unfortunately, but it was a neat idea.
Julie Estelle was really cool in this movie. Her clash with Hannah Al Rashid's "Elena" at the end was especially good. Really hope she sticks around in the genre.
Recommended.
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