The Raid follows a elite SWAT team as they raid a rundown apart*ment, which is ruled by a ruthless drug lord named Tama who uses the location to shelter his junkies, drifters, enforcers and killers. When their cover is blown, Tama puts a bounty on the members of the squad which is echoed over the loudspeaker system across the apartment compound. With no reinforcements coming to their aid, Rama and his men must try to survive and escape this apartment highrise full of killers.
This cleverly contained set-up allows from some really inventive set pieces, some really tense moments, highly-choreographed brawls and awesomely violent deaths. The film reminds me of when I first discovered the old-school films of John Woo like Hard Boiled. I’ve heard others making comparisons to Die Hard and Assault on Precinct 13. The first 15 minutes take place before the Raid and the 85 minutes that follow are almost non-stop action. Imagine a film which takes place in the space which is usually left for the climactic action sequence at the end of a movie.