Gareth Evans’ hotly anticipated, butt-stabbing sequel to The Raid premiered last night at Sundance, and the early reviews are in. If there’s one thing that everyone seems to agree on, it’s that The Raid 2 is violent. Really, really violent. In fact, The Wrap even reports that one guy fainted and the paramedics were called. To be fair, most film critics could faint from walking up three stairs or trying to lift their own eczema medication, but the film sounds pretty violent indeed.
Here’s the early buzz:
The one element of THE RAID 2 that might divide audiences is that this just may be one of the most violent action movies ever made. The sheer amount of bloodletting makes Paul Verhoven’s early actioners look tame by comparison. [..] This is the most violent mainstream film since THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. – Joblo
…this orgy of broken bones and vicious badassery makes its cult predecessor look like a peevish bitch-slap. –The Hollywood Reporter
The Sundance cut of ‘The Raid 2‘ is 148 minutes. I think I saw 138. Ten minutes before the end I turned to a colleague and said “all right, enough of this,” and walked out. It is the first time I’ve ever left a film that I intended to review in my career. … this unrated cut is so relentless, so absolutely brutal, that I just couldn’t take anymore. -Jordan Hoffman, ScreenCrush
…doesn’t really get the adrenaline pumping until the film’s second half. Once the carnage kicks in, Evans’ action chops prove as robust and hyperkinetic as ever, delivering deep, bone-crunching pleasure for hardcore action buffs. –Variety
“The Raid 2” is remarkable filmcraft, first and foremost, and it tells a solid, compelling cop story in a way that left me physically shaking. I cannot wait to see it again, and I am genuinely concerned that the MPAA is going to savage the version we saw because of the profound level of graphic violence it contains. –Hitfix
“The Raid” was 110 minutes of Oh-my-God action; “The Raid 2” has at least 110 minutes of Oh-my-God action … and also has around 30 minutes of bloat and blubber weighing down what could have been a sleeker sequel. –ThePlaylist
Prepare to see every bone in a human body broken, and some evilly creative uses for common tools and sports equipment. –/Film
Yep, sounds pretty violent. At least, violent enough that I won’t get peevish. You wouldn’t want that, I start bitch slapping people when I get peevish.