Before Expend4bles (2023) set him up to take on aged action stars, before Warrior (2019-2023) made him a villain, before audiences worldwide connected with the violent thrill of Indonesian martial arts in cinema, actors Iko Uwasis and Joe Taslim starred in writer/director Gareth Evans’s sophomore film, the 2011 crime actioner The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan maut). Uwasis and Taslim portray members of an Indonesian SWAT team on a seemingly impossible mission. Not only do the two actors make an indelible impression with their physical prowess, Evans’s direction and storytelling draws us in further so that each moment of character desperation holds audiences in a steel grip. Thanks to their collective efforts and those of the action choreography team led by Uwasis, Evans, and Yayan Ruhian (The Raid 2: Berandal; John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum), The Raid is widely accepted as the film which put the Indonesia martial arts form silat on a global stage, showcasing its fluidity and cinematic brutality that would only get amplified in later films like Timo Tjahjanto’s 2018 action thriller The Night Comes for Us. A film which coincidentally also stars Uwasis and Taslim. Now, thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Evans’s The Raid: Redemption receives the 4K UHD treatment with a newly remastered video and sound inside of a limited-edition Blu-ray combo steelbook.

In the slums of Jakarta resides drug lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy) at the very top of a secured building who is wanted for multiple crimes. A squad of specially trained officers attempts to enter and arrest Tama, aware that it’s going to be a tricky endeavor within the small and controlled space. You’d think that Tama’s right-hand, Mad Dog (Ruhian), would be the worst problem they’d face after the hordes of henchmen, but it’s actually that Tama’s building also houses local residents, some innocent, some who work for Tama, meaning that anyone could be a combatant and you’d never know until it’s too late. Compounding things further, one of the officers, Rama (Uwasis), has a secondary agenda with Tama that he’s keeping secret from his team and he’s not going to let anything or anyone stop him from completing his task.

Let me be perfectly clear about one thing before moving forward, Indonesia’s been making movies since 1911, so don’t mistake the introduction of this home release review to imply that The Raid: Redemption is somehow responsible for (a) putting Indonesian films on the map or (b) is the first instance of silat in cinema. But The Raid did hit a sweet spot with American audiences and, therefore, it’s become a go-to for reference points in films moving forward, as well as doing a lot for the careers of anyone involved in the production whether in front or behind the camera. Rather, through an economical script that places emphasis on showing and only telling when absolutely necessary, action choreography and blocking that makes audiences feel like they are in the shit with the SWAT team, and character work that elevates would-be cutout characters into fully-realized people, The Raid captured our imaginations in a way that still feels incredibly rare. Sure, the film does get shit on now due to the way it frequently pops up when folks are asked to name their favorite action/martial arts films, but it’s also an incredible gateway film to introduce audiences to other Asian storytellers beyond the usual Chinese and Japanese vanguards.

The strange thing, of course, is that anyone who may refer to The Raid as “basic” should really take another look at the film in order to understand that while its appreciation has become standard in action cinema circles, the technique on display at all times is anything but “basic.” Look to Ruhian as Mad Dog, a character who would be, in any other film, a fighter with bloodlust and little else, yet Ruhian gives the character presence and dimension, someone who is willing to “tear down a wall” if Tama tells him, but he’s going to devise the most appropriate way to do it, not just go in with weapons and fists. He deduces Andi’s treachery with little more than reading Andi’s body language and he takes on the brothers with a sense of honor among warriors, uninterested in anything less than a fair fight. Of course, when that fluorescent bulb gets jammed in his neck, that’s when we really start to see the ferocity of Mad Dog. Or what about the scene in the stairwell in which darkness is the only cover for the unit, which is broken by the lit muzzle of one scared member’s shotgun blast? That entire sequence, through Evans’s spectacular editing and staging, communicates so much tension that the slowing down to show us the various ways in which the lit muzzle doomed them all to failure only draws it out, making what follows simultaneously exhilarating and horrifying. There’re so many brutal moments in the film, a mixture of long takes and quick cuts smartly edited so that, in the heat of things, momentum is never lost. Even now, watching it 13 years post-release, there’s still something to be found and learned from, and current American-based action directors would be better served by paying attention to films like The Raid and other Asian creators. The smart ones, like Chad Stahelski (the John Wick series), already do, hence the wise inclusion and use of Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman (Berandal) as Shinobi #2 and #1, respectively.

So, let’s turn to the reason you’re here: the 4K UHD steelbook release. We’re going to take an outward-in approach moving forward, so we’re going to cover the packaging, the disc presentation, and then get into the remaster and bonus features. Though that last bit will be the briefest of them all seeing as there’s nothing new here and only includes legacy features.

The steelbook itself has a nice, slightly-textured feel to it, giving it less of a slick sensation as steelbooks often possess. The art on the front showcases the usual poster art with Rama standing facing the building (his back to us) and the title of the film makes up much of the upper-portion of the building. Both the presentation of Rama and the title are embossed, both emphasizing their presentation and making the design more dynamic. The title is present on the spine and the back features a shot of Rama solo, mouth agape, a gash upon his face, and his right arm clenched on his jacket. Inside, there’s the usual clear plastic liner so that art from the film can be seen through it and there’s a place for two discs on the right. On the left inside is a depiction of Rama’s brother Andi (Donny Alamsyah) reeling and the right inside (under the discs) is Mad Dog having finished throwing a punch into Andi. The discs are stacked with the 4K UHD disc on top (a smaller version of the steelbook back image featured) and the Blu-ray below (a depiction of Alfridus Godfred’s Machete Leader is featured). By the by, the release information covering the back of the packaging is not adhered by anything, so when you remove the plastic, it will come right off. I mention this so that you’re ready to remove it instead of operating under the assumption that Sony utilized some material for it to adhere to the steelbook case and so that collectors know that the there’s no residue to remove.

For those wondering, the Blu-ray in this set is a reskin of the previous Blu-ray edition. Before watching the 4K UHD presentation, I put my old Blu-ray and new Blu-ray in my disc player and, not only are menus the same, the active video feed over the menu is the same, the design is the same, and even the previews trying to sell you on Blu-rays as the newest/hottest thing is the same. Heck, my player asked me with both discs if I wanted to re-start the movie in the same place so even my tech thinks it’s reading the same disc. The good news there is that if you’re used to the Blu-ray edition and like it, it remains the same from there to now.

What’s that mean?

The included Blu-ray also includes all the bonus materials (all legacy, nothing new), the original Indonesian score and international score from Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese, and the original color grading. So, at the very least, the Blu-ray is a carry-over for folks who enjoyed the original home release experience. However, if you want something that feels new, the 4K UHD is where you want to start when you open this set.

The 4K UHD disc includes a new Dolby Atmos audio mix for those with compatible home theaters and Dolby Vision for the video component. However, what makes the 4K UHD disc standout isn’t just the improved sound/look in terms of details, but the Evans-supervised adjustment to the color grading of the film proper. It still has that shot-on-digital sheen of the original release, that part hasn’t been removed, but the prevalent blue-grey that gives Redemption a cold, isolating feel throughout is mostly absent, replaced with more natural tones. It’s not that the feel is warmer as a result, less anxiety-ridden or chaotic; no, this is a color grading adjustment where the end result is something more natural in depiction and, in some ways, more terrifying and disquieting in the violence. The stylized look of the film in the original release is part of the crime drama world Evans created and it works well to speak to the grey world Rama is entering, already communicating the failure of the endeavor before it begins. By removing this, one might presume that the tension would go with it. I’d argue that the shift from blue-grey to presenting the world as it is infuses the film with a realism that makes the quest for survival all the more terrifying due to the reduction of heightened visual cues, thereby conveying a sense that what we’re watching is about as real as it gets. So, when Rama is fighting for his life in one of the greatest hallway fights in cinema, ending with Rama grabbing an assailant by the head, jumping backwards, and slamming said-attacker’s neck on the shards of the apartment door broken moments before, it’s more visceral and violent *because* that visual sheen is gone and suddenly we’re no longer watching a director’s view of ostensibly eternal persistence, but of Rama actually fighting for his life where each choice has weight.

Given that there are some home releases where color-grading choices have made the most devout fans of that creator lose a little appreciation (ex: Wong Kar Wai’s 2023 Criterion Collection release World of Wong Kar Wai aggravated buyers because Wong adjusted the color grading from the original release to his preferred vision for the films), one can imagine that the 4K UHD edition may be a turn-off to some who are used to the original look and that this version was created with the supervision and approval of Evans can mean very little in this regard; however, this is an instance where, in my view, both films can exist without reducing the other. That Sony Pictures Home Entertainment decided to include the Blu-ray with this set, something which not all 4K UHD or remaster editions do, implies that Sony is aware of potential descent and is encouraging the continued enjoyment of both versions and not an erasure of what came before.

As far as the bonus features, as mentioned, there’s nothing here but legacy materials. This isn’t too shocking as this release isn’t specifically for an anniversary or otherwise notable reason, it’s just a first-time 4K UHD edition. That said, while I’m always a fan of more behind the scenes features, having the focus be on the color grading, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos may be enough for folks who’ve enjoyed this film for nearly 13 years to have reason enough to snag this now rather than wait and see if something more comes down the pike.

Personally, my hope is selfish — that this edition does well and Berandal (2014) receives similar treatment soon. Perhaps for its 10^th anniversary this year. Additionally, revisiting The Raid reminded me of all the ways in which Evans’s film is superior to most American versions of stories like this, by skipping over expected tropes and utilizing physical performance to convey meaning and intent rather than wasting time with dialogue. That no one comes to realize that Rama and Andi are brothers is huge in the scope of things, speaking to motivations and why characters act/respond as they do to various circumstances. Yet, outside of those two, the audience is the only one to learn about it. My hope is that whomever is helming the supposed American remake will honor these choices and not turn a brutal survival story into some kind of melancholic sibling tale. Would hamper what is, in this reviewer’s perspective, one of the more perfect cinematic experiences one can have simply by trying to appeal to an audience that doesn’t speak the same cinematic language as the source material.

The Raid: Redemption Legacy Special Features:

4K UHD Disc

• Unrated version of the feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, approved by director Gareth Evans
• Indonesia/Bahasa Atmos + Indonesia/Bahasa & English 5.1 audio

Blu-ray Disc

• Unrated version of the feature presented in high definition
• 5.1 Indonesian and English audio
• Special Features:
  • Commentary with Gareth Evans
  • Behind-the-Scenes Video Blogs
  • Inside the Score
  • In Conversation with Gareth Evans and Mike Shinoda
  • An Evening with Gareth Evans, Mike Shinoda, and Joe Trapanese
  • Behind the Music with Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese
  • Anatomy of a Scene with Gareth Evans
  • Claycat’s The Raid
  • The Raid TV Show Ad (circa 1994)
  • Theatrical Trailer

Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo Steelbook January 16^th, 2024.

For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures The Raid: Redemption webpage.

Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming

Tags: 4K UHD, action, Alfridus Godfred, Bahasa, Celluloid Dreams, crime, Donny Alamsyah, drama, foreign film, Gareth Evans, Iko Uwais, Indonesia, Joe Taslim, Joe Trapanese, martial arts, Merantau Films, Mike Shinoda, Pierre Gruno, Ray Sahetapy, remaster, Serbuan maut, Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Stage 6 Films, steelbook, Tegar Satrya, The Raid, The Raid: Redemption, XYZ Films, Yayan Ruhian