In 2011, a mostly unknown dude named Gareth Evans arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival with a movie called “The Raid.” And by the time the lights came up after the first screening, everyone not only knew his name, but the buzz was deafening. The unrelenting action flick quickly became a cult fave, and even though it only topped $4 million worldwide, the enthusiasm was enough to get a sequel greenlit. And so here we are with the first trailer for “The Raid 2: Berandal,” so strap in.
“It’s got the same kind of action beats in terms of the style of the action, but our approach this time is to go way more cinematic with it,” Evans told Collider earlier this year. “We’re expanding the universe out. We’re taking the story out of that little claustrophobic setting and putting it out into the streets and into the high end gangsters in Jakarta. It’s a lot bigger in scope. So fingers crossed people will kind of come along for the ride again.”
Indeed, the movie picks up right where the first film left off and follows Rama (Iko Uwais) as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and uncover the corruption in his own police force. And in addition to expanding the universe, the action is getting bigger too. The movie is said to contain no less than 17 different action sequences, adding up to well over an hour of footage and moreover, Evans has promised to keep some surprises for when you see this in theaters. “Not planning to put too many clips out there – seems a lot of films these days are showing way too much before they even release,” he tweeted recently.
Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films will release “The Raid 2” in 2014. Watch below, via Twitch, and let us know what you think.
