The Raid: Redemption


This past summer when I was in CT, my brother and I watched The Raid: Redemption. I had never seen it before, and it had been a while since he had last seen it. Over the years I heard that it was one of the best action movies ever made, and was excited to finally have the chance to watch it! And who better to view it with than my brother, who enjoys movies about as much as I do!

The Raid: Redemption is about a S.W.A.T. team that becomes trapped in a building run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs. The movie is first and foremost an action flick, and is phenomenal at that! The fight choreography is some of the best I have ever seen! It is fast, intense, and at times brutally unforgiving. The director purposefully uses long takes and wide angle shots during the action sequences to show the audience as much of the action as possible. This is something that has become a lost art over the past 10-15 years with the popularity of shaky cam. Thankfully, movies like this one, John Wick, Creed, and The Revenant are reminding audiences why long takes are often superior to the quick, shaky cam style. It was much appreciated!

The Raid may be an action movie, but there is also a compelling story to go along with it. The main character is Rama, leader of the S.W.A.T. team who we follow throughout the movie. His character goes beyond just leading the raid team. The main reason he wanted to be on this raid was to get back his brother (Andi), who lives with one of the gangs in the building.

It's incredible to see what Rama is willing to do to rescue his brother, as he refuses to give up his fight. The mission that his team is on could easily become a suicide mission, at ay moment. Seeing these characteristics in Rama throughout the film reminded me of all the times brotherhood is discussed in the bible. Romans 12:10 tells us: "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing affection."

This all made me think, what are we willing to do for our brothers and sisters? Not only those we are blood relatives with but our brothers and sisters in Christ as well? Colossians 3:13 tells us: "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

This can be especially difficult when the people we are striving to help feel that they deserve to be in the bad situations they are in. In the movie, Rama's brother Andi feels that like Rama where he belongs as a cop, while he is also where he belongs in this life of crime. If we were in a position similar to Rama's with people not wanting help, I believe we have two options. But, before you decide which of those options to take, it's important to remember to pray and discern which one God wants you to follow through with. The first option is to continue to reach out to them. Give them encouraging words, offering even the slightest bit of help, waiting for them to come around to what God's plan is for them. The second option is to give them space. It may be difficult to do when you see someone going down a destructive path. But there are times when God wants us to intervene, and times when we are just the ones to plant the seed for someone else to help harvest.

The second option is usually the hardest. It's natural as a Christian to want to do everything in your power to help someone in need. But there are times when we must leave it up to God. One of my favorite Christian video series has an episode where they discuss this concept. At one point they really challenge the viewer with the question: Are we willing to start the work for something that we may not even be able to conceptualize the result of? I think that's a really good deep question to consider when focusing on serving others with our lives.

Overall, The Raid: Redemption absolutely lived up to all that I heard it was! The action and fight choreography are phenomenal, and there are still some really good themes to consider behind the story. I give the movie an 8 out of 10, and definitely recommend it to any action movie junkie out there. You're in for a treat!

I recently celebrated the one year anniversary of starting my blog! I made a post about how I came up with the idea for Faith & Film, as well as how I originally got into movies. If you want to check it out, visit my page here! As always, thanks everyone!

God bless! 😃
Austin

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