The Raid 2: Berandal 2014

Alex Pappademas, Grantland: This is an absurdly violent film, but it's too in love with the physical genius of its actors to really feel sadistic. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Those with a high tolerance for violence and gore - at one point, Rama battles assassins labeled "Baseball Bat Man'' and "Hammer Girl'' simultaneously - will eat up "The Raid 2.'' Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: For those of us who believe the prime directive of action pictures is that such movies ought to, by gawd, move , Gareth Evans is our new patron saint. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: A longer, slower, more expansive sequel that nevertheless delivers deep, bone-crunching pleasure for hardcore genre fans. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, AV Club: The action is at once horrifying and absurdly cartoonish (a baseball bat yields a particularly gruesome coup de grace), but Uwais' dexterity inspires awe ... Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: At once messy and adrenalizing ... Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: Two and-a-half hours may seem like a lot for an Indonesian crime saga, but "The Raid 2" has a sweeping scope that justifies its running time. And it will knock you out. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Certainly, The Raid 2, a glorious head-butt of a movie, is not for the squeamish...but for those who prefer some slam in their cinema, it delivers. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: You'll either dial right into the film's feverish frequency or head for the concession stand. But if it's more that you're after, then The Raid 2 will make you feel like Christmas came nine months early. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: A spectacular crescendo of ultraviolence that re-defines overkill. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: There are tradeoffs with the switch to a more epic, ambitious canvas, but Gareth Evans' action sequel in most ways that count is an even more masterful jolt of high-energy genre filmmaking. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: As you might guess, this is not a film for everyone's taste. But for fans of the martial arts genre, Evans has created a scintillating, if sometimes imperfect, new chapter. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: Though the flick's best scenes are pared-down bouts, Evans wrestles with (and loses to) his impulse that bigger is better, that 35 corpses are more effective than one. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Every time you think The Raid 2 can't possibly top itself, writer-director Gareth Evans goes "Oh, yeah? Watch THIS." Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: From the first scene, this Jakarta-set actioner is extraordinarily gorgeous - and extremely violent. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: Neither its undercover drama nor its two-and-a-half-hour length bog down the bracing, and numerous, fight fests. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: A very talented, very long piece of ultra-violence about a fleet-footed undercover cop who wreaks havoc on the criminal hierarchy of Jakarta. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: A brilliant, dazzling, and devastating 21/2-hour ballet of brutality that's more ordeal than entertainment ... Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This is an action junkie's fix and it literally pulls no punches. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The Raid 2 lets its warriors rip for two and a half thrilling hours. With the precision of dance and the punch of a KO champion, [director Gavin] Evans keeps the action coming like nobody's business. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: At nearly 150 minutes, "The Raid 2" is just a hell of a lot of a good thing; in fact it's so much that it stops being a good thing, and tips over into decadent, incomprehensible farrago. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Crystal clear, vibrant and brutally violent. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The film never stints on kinetic, carefully choreographed mayhem, from a mud-drenched prison-yard riot to a next-level car chase that sets a new standard for automotive assault and battery. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The plot is murky, the acting is melodramatic and the movie is way too long, but the target audience will salivate over the inventively choreographed set-pieces ... Read more

Bruce Ingram, Chicago Sun-Times: Make no mistake. If what you're after is insane, mind-bogglingly violent martial arts action, The Raid 2 is quite possibly the ultimate. Read more

Adam Nayman, Globe and Mail: If The Raid 2: Berandal doesn't end up as the most violent movie to hit screens in 2014, it won't be for lack of trying. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: By opening the action up to the entire city for the sequel, there's less claustrophobia but also less excitement. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Just when you think the movie has gotten as wonderfully, violently over-the-top as possible, it manages to keep upping the ante until its exhausting climax. It leaves you drained, but not enervated. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Only viewers with zero appreciation for the genre will leave unimpressed; devotees should add approximately six stars to the rating above. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: You could say (and some will) that the gratuitousness of the violence in The Raid 2 is a problem. But it all functions as part of the surreal dance of death ... Read more

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: The story is convoluted without being profound, and although there are some strong secondary performances, Uwais is interesting only when in motion. Read more