The Raid 2

An Indonesian film with subtitles that runs two hours and twenty-eight minutes and features no actors you'll recognize.  A sequel.  A director you've probably never heard of whose main claim to fame is the previous film in this series. 

Despite the impression those facts may leave, The Raid 2 is one of the most fast-paced movies you are likely to see this year, and one of the best action films since The Raid: Redemption, its predecessor.  Writer/director Gareth Evans has created one of the most over-the-top, violence-packed sagas ever.  Astonishing fight sequences alternate with character-building scenes and sharp looks inside Indonesian gang culture in a film that is not for one second dull. 

If you're wondering if this is yet another of those movies that only I like, consider that as I write this entry the film's Rotten Tomatoes critics rating is 80% and its audience satisfaction rating is 94%.

If you like action sequences and can handle violence that goes way over the top, do not miss this movie.

By the way, I have to believe that Hollywood will soon snap up Evans, though he is supposedly signed to The Raid 3--and has Tony Jaa (of Ong Bak fame and next year to appear in The Fast and the Furious 7) on board for that one.  I can't wait to see if he can translate his pacing and penchant for crazy fight scenes to American crews and American big budgets.