The Raid: Redemption

I just watched "The Raid: Redemption", as I often watch odd movies that my wife would never sit through in a million years when I'm home alone. I don't know what to make of it. For one thing, what does "Redemption" in the title refer to? Anyway, on with the more important things I want to talk about.

On the one hand, it was quite well-made, missing the type of ridiculous stuff you see in American action pics, though those are replaced with the type of ridiculous stuff you see in Asian action pics. I must say, I find the latter much more tolerable. There was a lot more movie than I expected going in; I had heard it was just wall-to-wall action. It's not quite that. Mostly, but not quite.

But on the other hand, there really is a ton of genuinely gratuitous violence in it. The aforementioned Asian-style ridiculousnesses are things like bashing someone's head against the wall not once (which would be a killing blow), but three or four times.

I find it hard to rate it three stars on Netflix and tell the system "I liked it," but for some reason, I also find myself unable to tell it that "I didn't like it," either.

I'll close with links to conflicting reviews from well-respected places: The Guardian, and Roger Ebert.

Hated it:
http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120321/REVIEWS/120329993

Loved it:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/may/17/the-raid-review