The Raid

Pencak silat goes global

Before The Raid, pencak silat, the martial art of Indonesia and Malaysia, had barely been seen by international audiences. Welsh director Gareth Evans, based in Indonesia, met Iko Uwais while shooting a documentary on the art and then cast him in Merantau (2009). The Raid, made for about $1.1 million, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011 and won the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award. Sony Pictures Classics released it in the US as The Raid: Redemption, with a new score by Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese.

Choreographers in front of the camera

The fights were designed by Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, two silat practitioners who also play two of the leads: Rama and Mad Dog. Joe Taslim, who plays Sergeant Jaka, is a former member of Indonesia's national judo team. The silat on show is close-quarters fighting: elbows, knees, joint locks, throws, sweeps and ground strikes, with knives, machetes and tonfa batons in constant use.

Evans shoots in long takes and follows the fighters through the building's narrow corridors. The editing stays readable, so you see the exchanges in full rather than guessing at them. That is a big part of why the film became a reference point for fight choreographers and stunt teams.

What a martial artist will notice

Silat practitioners will recognise the entries on an opponent's attack, both hands working at once, and falls to the ground that flow straight into a control or a strike. Judoka will spot Joe Taslim's throws. Mad Dog's fights, in which he puts down his gun to fight bare-handed, are among the most discussed action sequences of the 2010s.

The violence is very graphic and the plot is stripped to the essentials: climb, survive, keep moving. The film holds an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A sequel, The Raid 2, followed in 2014. Several of its fighters went on to work in Hollywood, including Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, who both appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Ruhian in John Wick: Chapter 3, Parabellum.