The Raid: Redemption vs. Bangkok Knockout, Discussing Action

The Raid is a good movie. Actually, it's a very good movie but it's not a great one and it's not the best action movie I've seen. Compared to most modern action films it's leagues better and definitely the type of movie we should see more often. The movie deserves all the acclaim it's getting but unfortunately like any movie that gets hyped, it has the threat to be seen as overrated or not living up to expectations. I felt underwhelmed after leaving The Raid. It's not that the movie doesn't live up to the praise it's gotten, it's just the film is more flawed than I expected it to be.

I've seen numerous martial-arts flicks and they all have terrible and simple stories. But we don't watch these films for the stories, we watch them for the fights and the ridiculous stunts. Luckily The Raid has plenty of decent fight scenes (as seen below). The problem is that for something like The Raid to be great, the fight scenes need to be relentless (or rather the pace of the film). As it stands there are a ton of slow moments in The Raid. I get that movie is adding breathing room between the fights scenes but anything other than someone receiving some bodily harm is dreadfully dull. This is what keeps The Raid from being the best action movie ever. The film follows a formula of action scene, talking scene, action scene, talking scene.

Which brings me to talk about the awesome, over-the-top and insane Bangkok Knockout. Directed by Panna Rittikrai, the action choreographer on all of Tony Jaa's films, BKO is the best action movie I've seen. It constantly tops itself and barrels through at a relentless pace from one fight scene to the next. But there's a huge difference in presentation between the two films. The Raid asks to be taken seriously where as BKO is very much a film about the fights and the stunts that doesn't even pretend to give a shit about it's own story. While many people can see that as a negative, BKO works through and through as the most pure crazy bat-fuck martial arts movie ever. There is nothing wrong with a film trying to take itself seriously but the problem is that The Raid doesn't really lend itself to do just that. The incredible fights scenes run polar opposite to the film's dour tone.

#2 Henchman Mad Dog is about fuck shit up.

The only other problem with The Raid is that it feels like 2/3rds of a movie. It essentially ends in its 2nd act and rushes through to an unsatisfying conclusion. The movie delivers on 2/3rds of set-up but with no satisfying pay-off. It's big ending is basically an extended fight with the film's #2 henchman. I know about problems with budget and scale but any action-savvy fan knows that fight should lead to something bigger, but it doesn't, it just sort of peters out. Despite these criticisms The Raid is still a really good film and absolutely worth seeing and better than any major studio action film.

Above is a clip from BKO. The clip just gives a taste of how outlandish and bizarre the rest of the movie is. Later on, two guys fight a metal-mask wearing axe-wielder who still fights while lit on fire. Does this mean BKO is a better film than The Raid? No, The Raid is actually probably a better film than BKO, but the later is a better action movie. Another crucial difference is the fights in The Raid are much more brutal and violent. Where BKO is about jaw-dropping stunts, The Raid goes for immediate visceral impact. People get brutalized in The Raid in ways that will make you wince, people get fucked up in all kinds of nasty ways. In the end both films are good for entirely different reasons, BKO is over-the-top insanity while The Raid delivers intense great fight scenes in a not-as-great movie. I can only say to watch both movies as a reminder of what good action movies are and should be.