Firstly I'm an Indonesian, so without a doubt, both the first movie and this one makes me very proud. Good job everyone!
Secondly, I'm going to be as subjective as i can.
The first movie had a very simple plot (maybe even too simple..?) but that simplicity made it super exciting and had me on the edge of my seat for 80% of the time.
This second movie however, does nothing of the sort.
The fight scenes were perfect, shots were beautifully choreographed with appropriate slot- mo effects, awesome sets (mud prison fight! Woohoo!), and pencak silat skills were pitch perfect.
Car chase scenes seemed to need more tight editing. Every time we return to Rama's car, it feels like they were replaying their fights a couple of times. I thought the guy on his right was tied up with the seat belt, but no, the next time we see them he got tied up (again) during the fight. Nevemind the odd geography (who cares if they can transport themselves from south Jakarta to north Jakarta just though a tunnel and back, or drive in oddly empty otherwise jammed roads!) but the speed of things, the rush.. Just wasn't quite there. I DID solely go to see the Raid 2 to watch them ruin a bus-way station, and it was awesome!
There's a sense of too many story arc, back-stories, too many characters, too many names we can't remember. Too many for one movie.
Everybody next to me was wondering who Reza was when the Japs mentioned that he was in Bejo's restaurant. I can see how the back-stories help, but by doing them, we lose focus of the main characters and each story becomes somewhat underdeveloped. Hammer girl and baseball guy were one example.. Are they lovers? Siblings? Friends? Frenemies? (And where can one get a baseball bat in a non-existent baseball community in Jakarta? Nevermind, lets not nitpick.)
I get the idea to use Indonesian sounding names but Uco? Bejo?? Can't the young master, son of a mafia boss be named something cooler or modern? Ah, don't nitpick.
Eka's final confession reminds me of the same car confessional scene in Infernal Affairs. Lets also get that out of my system.
All of that up there were jarring (yes i did not mention mad dog because everybody knows it already) but the worst and unforgivable was the snow. In. Tropical. Jakarta.
Snow.
That one minor detail pulled me out of the movie, broke the fourth wall, because i thought hey maybe they were in Tokyo to attack the Japanese mob. No, wait, there's Mie Ayam (chicken noodles) stalls nearby. Which means that the scene was physically/ weather-wise impossible.
The kitchen fight was superior than that of any other i've ever seen. Best showcase of pencak silat ever.
Otherwise, the too ambitious movie presents a convoluted story and characters and felt somewhat unfocused. I did not get the same adrenaline rush as i did in the first movie, ie. remember that scene where Rama was hiding behind a wall and almost got killed by the sword that nipped his cheekbone? (Yes, notice the scar on his cheek, good detail!) I almost died watching that scene. But here, there's a sense that Rama won't die. Either because he doesn't, or because the scenes just weren't life threatening enough? I really don't know, but i was calm. And you don't want me calm during a life-and-death fight scene.
Overall: great fights, albeit lacking rush. Convoluted mob plot with lots of pit holes. And snow. That damned snow.
Secondly, I'm going to be as subjective as i can.
The first movie had a very simple plot (maybe even too simple..?) but that simplicity made it super exciting and had me on the edge of my seat for 80% of the time.
This second movie however, does nothing of the sort.
The fight scenes were perfect, shots were beautifully choreographed with appropriate slot- mo effects, awesome sets (mud prison fight! Woohoo!), and pencak silat skills were pitch perfect.
Car chase scenes seemed to need more tight editing. Every time we return to Rama's car, it feels like they were replaying their fights a couple of times. I thought the guy on his right was tied up with the seat belt, but no, the next time we see them he got tied up (again) during the fight. Nevemind the odd geography (who cares if they can transport themselves from south Jakarta to north Jakarta just though a tunnel and back, or drive in oddly empty otherwise jammed roads!) but the speed of things, the rush.. Just wasn't quite there. I DID solely go to see the Raid 2 to watch them ruin a bus-way station, and it was awesome!
There's a sense of too many story arc, back-stories, too many characters, too many names we can't remember. Too many for one movie.
Everybody next to me was wondering who Reza was when the Japs mentioned that he was in Bejo's restaurant. I can see how the back-stories help, but by doing them, we lose focus of the main characters and each story becomes somewhat underdeveloped. Hammer girl and baseball guy were one example.. Are they lovers? Siblings? Friends? Frenemies? (And where can one get a baseball bat in a non-existent baseball community in Jakarta? Nevermind, lets not nitpick.)
I get the idea to use Indonesian sounding names but Uco? Bejo?? Can't the young master, son of a mafia boss be named something cooler or modern? Ah, don't nitpick.
Eka's final confession reminds me of the same car confessional scene in Infernal Affairs. Lets also get that out of my system.
All of that up there were jarring (yes i did not mention mad dog because everybody knows it already) but the worst and unforgivable was the snow. In. Tropical. Jakarta.
Snow.
That one minor detail pulled me out of the movie, broke the fourth wall, because i thought hey maybe they were in Tokyo to attack the Japanese mob. No, wait, there's Mie Ayam (chicken noodles) stalls nearby. Which means that the scene was physically/ weather-wise impossible.
The kitchen fight was superior than that of any other i've ever seen. Best showcase of pencak silat ever.
Otherwise, the too ambitious movie presents a convoluted story and characters and felt somewhat unfocused. I did not get the same adrenaline rush as i did in the first movie, ie. remember that scene where Rama was hiding behind a wall and almost got killed by the sword that nipped his cheekbone? (Yes, notice the scar on his cheek, good detail!) I almost died watching that scene. But here, there's a sense that Rama won't die. Either because he doesn't, or because the scenes just weren't life threatening enough? I really don't know, but i was calm. And you don't want me calm during a life-and-death fight scene.
Overall: great fights, albeit lacking rush. Convoluted mob plot with lots of pit holes. And snow. That damned snow.