Top critic
Mid-Day
Film review ·
The Raid 2 was not a movie. It was a fine dining restaurant tended by a single waiter-cum-cook named Gareth Evans.


Brutal action spectacle that thrills genre fans but tests everyone else's patience.
Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
Not streaming in India
Critic consensus
Critical reception for The Raid 2 is sharply divided, with most reviewers acknowledging its visceral, large-scale action sequences while disagreeing on whether that alone constitutes merit. Enthusiastic critics praised director Gareth Evans for delivering relentless, technically impressive combat and for surpassing the original, with some calling it the best action film in years. Detractors, however, found the film's extended runtime and convoluted crime narrative burdensome, and several reviewers objected to what they characterized as violence without purpose or narrative justification. The film is broadly recommended only to genre enthusiasts, with multiple reviewers explicitly cautioning general audiences.
2 not-rated reviews aren't plotted
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 12 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyFrom the papers
Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated
Top critic
Film review ·
The Raid 2 was not a movie. It was a fine dining restaurant tended by a single waiter-cum-cook named Gareth Evans.
Top critic
Film review ·
If you have the stomach for it, this is pretty good fun.
Top critic
Film review ·
The Raid 2 is an ugly and brutalizing experience.
Film review ·
Very few sequels come close to the original but suffice to say that director Gareth Evans has pulled it off, again. Raid 2 is the best action flick to hit the screens in ages and it is only fair to say that this Indonesian product beats all contemporary Hollywood action films hollow.
Film review ·
Only viewers with zero appreciation for the genre will leave unimpressed; devotees should add approximately six stars to the rating above.
Film review ·
If you enjoy savage, on-screen action that is unabashedly over-the-top and even sometimes borders on pastiche with all the gangster film tropes, don't hesitate to go watch this.
Film review ·
The Raid 2 is a film for hardcore action-film buffs. It is unapologetic in its display of gore, brutality and battles. It also has a better plot than most films of the genre, making it a refreshing change from the usual norm. If you liked the prequel, this isn't a film you can afford to miss!
Film review ·
Personally speaking, I'd have been more than happy to see even more action in the film, because that's what made The Raid so much fun. Yet, The Raid 2offers enough adrenaline-pumping stuff to keep you hooked, and if you set your expectations right, the plot works as well. Evans has firmly established himself as a genre specialist, and The Raid 3 has already been announced, and will certainly be a film to watch out for.
Film review ·
Presented through an undercover policeman's point of view, it is a convoluted crime saga designed in a Godfather-style father-son crime drama with a whole sub-set of assassin characters who have their own storylines and sequences.
Film review ·
There are films built around the theme of violence and then there is violence for the sake of making a film -- The Raid 2 happens to fall into the latter category.
Film review ·
More comfortable with action than words (the dubbed English version, done in India, is another source of unintentional mirth), he focuses his energies on delivering the daddy of all action spectacles. Would anybody else dare to come close to his achievements—or would anybody else bother? Once is quite enough.
Film review ·
Like the 2011 sleeper hit, the sequel is combat-centric and overwhelms viewers with an unending series of mostly one-on-one bouts starting with the claustrophobic confines of a prison loo and corridor which reminded your reviewer of Spartan v/s Greek army fights. Later, there is slaughter in the snow and the mud-slime of the prison compound as hard rain falls followed by butchery in a bar where an aged hit man battles an entire cohort.
Credits
Iko Uwais
Tio Pakusadewo
Oka Antara
Kenichi Endō
Julie Estelle
Very Tri Yulisman"Baseball Bat Man"
Ryuhei MatsudaKeiichi
Kazuki KitamuraRyuichi
Cok SimbaraBunawar
Roy MartenReza
Epy KusnandarTopan
Zack LeeBenny
Marsha TimothyPrakoso's wife
Donny AlamsyahAndi
Fikha EffendiIsa
Karambit"The Assassin"; little is known about The Assassin other than his choice of weapons and his loyalty to BejoEnglish films like The Raid 2