The Raid: Redemption (2011)

[Stuart Feedback Andrews]

THE RAID: REDEMPTION (2011)
Directed by Gareth Evans.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H-2YM5Yfafg/T1o46rYmSlI/AAAAAAAAU-Y/4BZUxZ_OkWM/s400/The+Raid_Poster_MM.jpg

This ultra-violent martial arts action flick from Indonesia has been generating much delirious praise on Chonebook this week. After winning the audience choice award at the Toronto Film Festival's Midnight Madness program last September, it's been picking up fans and accolades across the globe ever since.

It was recently given a theatrical release here in Toronto so I saw it Friday night at a jam packed theatre downtown. And while the audience seemed to gobble it up with insatiable giddiness, I'm afraid that my miserable British bastard impulses got the better of me because I wasn't overly impressed with this rambunctious little effort.

First, it's short on anything remotely resembling a smidgeon of a fraction of a margin of a suggestion of any narrative and/or thematic substance. In other words, there's absolutely NOTHING or NO-ONE in this flick that inspires any level of sympathetic engagement whatsoever.

It's essentially an endless barrage of brutally violent but magnificently orchestrated fight scenes.

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I could be perfectly happy with this except that the choreography of the camera does not live up to the choreography of the martial arts.

From a stylistic perspective, it's atrocious, relying purely on shaky, handheld close-ups with a rapid Armageddon style montage that renders the geographical integrity of the fight scenes almost completely incoherent.

And that's a shame because while the fighting is brilliantly staged, the haphazard, frantic use of sloppy, schizophrenic film tricks completely undermines what should have been an action movie that lived up to the hype and acclaim it's been receiving from overly eager (and forgiving) film fans.

Honestly, by the final climactic set pieces, I was so numbed out by the experience that I just wanted it to end.

And it's the sort of movie that 21st Century film fans seem to adore - a completely empty, shallow exercise in adrenaline infused brutality thoroughly devoid of both subtext and elegance.

And to add insult to injury, some knobhead in the third row spent half the movie surfing on his iChone. He may as well have been shining a flashlight back to the entire audience (who surprisingly didn't seem to mind as I was the only one who complained!)

After enduring his ignorance for about 20 minutes, I screamed at the blithering chone to put away his phone but in typical fashion, he responded with great indignation as though it was ME who was being the disrespectful, insolent twat.

So maybe THE RAID and its accompanying irritations are but signs that it's time I take gently the counsel of the years and slide gracefully into middle age and perhaps retire from going out to the cinema!

I used to think that chones who only sat at home watching movies on TV were failing to appreciate the artform the way it was intended. But I'm quickly starting to realize that it's possibly the ONLY way left to properly enjoy viddying the old films now and again.

If it's not the text messaging knobheads at the multiplex, it's the snickering hipsters at the rep houses or the hoity toity contingent at the art house. It's true, hell is other people and the only refuge left appears to be in my living room! (Or at my pal Jesse's place who has a six foot wide HD TV screen in front of the comfiest couch this old chone has ever sank into.)

But I'm not saying it was better in my day....

But it was better in my day.

FDBK

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ARH0garZw6Y/T1dfQrsw9NI/AAAAAAAApx8/vyuLah3VpmQ/s1600/Serbuan%2Bmaut%2B%25282012%2529.jpg

[Stuart Feedback Andrews]

I should point out that a story can often be a side element to a great martial arts flick. I remember a couple of the best ones I've ever seen on the big screen - Jackie Chan in YOUNG MASTER and DRUNKEN MASTER 2. And what I remember of those flicks is not the story but the beautifully orchestrated fight scenes. The entire third act of YOUNG MASTER is one extended fight between Jackie Chan and a malevolent Kung Fu master. And of course, the mind-bending, long take in DRUNKEN MASTER 2 remains one of the most exhilarating pieces of film I've ever viddied. To me, Jackie Chan is the Buster Keaton of Kung Fu and I love films of that nature not because of the violence or the aggro involved but because of the beautiful ballet of both the performers AND the camera.

I remember Tarantino making a comparison between Kung Fu flicks and musicals and I agree. I like musicals too and I see a great relationship between, say, an old Jet Li flick and a Gene Kelly dance number.

So from a narrative point of view, I was okay with the straight forward conceit of THE RAID but I was thoroughly let down by the ham-fisted, spastic, ADHD approach to its cinematic execution.

Imagine Gene Kelly's dance number in SINGING IN THE RAIN filmed from about a million angles that cross cut every 1.5 seconds (or even more frequently than that) with the majority of the angles finding Kelly in a new position that defies the continuity of the previous shot. Believe me, if that was the case, we wouldn't think of it as the classic we do today. We'd think it was atrocious and we'd feel sorry for Kelly that the director, cameraman and editors had brazenly TROUNCED upon his wonderful choreography and the execution of his manoeuvers.

Well...that's EXACTLY how I feel about THE RAID.

[Fred Garvin]

Yeah, well, I still want to see it. :p Just maybe not in the theater. But I hear what you're saying. Why do filmmakers today feel the need to edit everything to death? Use a wide-shot during an action scene once in a while. I blame Michael Bay. For everything.

[ROBERT BLACK]

I've said it many times flash editing,smash cuts,and purposely jump cutting all over the place in the middle of an action scene is a great way to cover up shitty fight choreography. It's long been the preferred western mode of presenting an action scene. Despite that,the action sequences in THE RAID are masterful almost all credited to the overzealous stunt people which perform brilliantly. They are the reason why this film should be seen by a larger audience. IT IS a simple minded action film but I see nothing wrong with pure escapism for it's own sake.

[Stuart Feedback Andrews]

That's the great shame of this for me, exactly BECAUSE the fight choreography is so good. The camera and the montage could have stepped out of the way for much of it.

[Llama]

I really enjoyed The Raid and was totally engaged with the film until about the last 15 minutes. The first half of the film reminded me of John Carpenter. The lack of narrative was forgiven by the awesomeness of the amazing fight scenes and the choreography involved. The scene involving a refrigerator was particularly jaw dropping. The last act was a bit numbing with the non stop martial arts but still really enjoyed it.

I too had had some neighbours checking messages and got a similar response. Had some banking issues with an ATM before heading into the theatre. Sent other half in while I got on the horn with the bank. Got it sorted and walked in just as the title card hit the screen. This was a late show on a Sunday and the theatre was totally rammed. Couldn't find the other half and only seat available was in the front row. The idiot two seats down was checking messages every 10 minutes. I asked him to turn off the sun, he did, but I got a loud sigh as a response. I really fucking HATE seeing anything in a multiplex these days.

[Evil_Otto]

So has anyone else seen this sweet Indonesian martial arts meltdown? If not I'd highly recommend checking it out, whether you're a chop-socky fan or are down for a John Carpenter-esque action flick.

Like Assault on Precinct 13, the premise is simple--a SWAT team storms a ghetto apartment block to arrest a crime lord (waiting in the top floor with a bank of close-circuited monitors and an army of machete/machinegun weilding maniacs for his orders).

Don't want to gush too much but this is simply one of the best martial arts/action films I've seen in a few decades.

[Frankensteinhead]

Yeah, saw this with my kids and we loved it. Just non-stop action and a simple plot. It reminded me of what I always wanted the Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba movies to be like but they never were. Way cool!

[The Gore-met]

That's the great shame of this for me, exactly BECAUSE the fight choreography is so good. The camera and the montage could have stepped out of the way for much of it.

Have you seen Ip Man (2008)? It has all the cliches of a big-budget Hollywood historical epic, but the fight scenes are outstanding (and well-shot). I watched it right around the time the original board was closing and didn't start a thread on it. Donnie Yen very convincingly pummels the fuck out of everyone in amazing close-quarter action!

[Stuart Feedback Andrews]

Have you seen Ip Man (2008)?

I haven't yet. I saw the prequel that came out last year but not the first couple (but I don't think the prequel is officially connected to the first two anyway.)

As for The Raid, I'm definitely in the minority of folks who didn't enjoy the film but like I said, as violent, as brutal and as acrobatic as the fight sequences are, the haphazard style of how they were shot and pieced together is not my cup of tea. Fine for Michael Bay and 'Armageddon' fans I suppose. But not for me.

[The Gore-met]

I haven't yet. I saw the prequel that came out last year but not the first couple (but I don't think the prequel is officially connected to the first two anyway.

I've only seen the first, which is essentially an old-school kung fu flick I'm sure you would appreciate.

[Stuart Feedback Andrews]

I've only seen the first, which is essentially an old-school kung fu flick I'm sure you would appreciate.

Yeah, I'm well up for giving it a spin. I heard the sequel is fun too.

[The Gomorrahizer]

Twitch:
"And The Inane Non-News Headline Of The Day Award Goes To ..." (by Todd Brown, May 24, 2011)
http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/05/and-the-inane-non-news-headline-of-the-day-award-goes-to.php
Just a few hours ago I posted a rant directed at the PR folk behind The Hunger Games (http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/05/dear-casting-agent-and-publicist-for-the-hunger-games-i-hate-you.php) in particular but also against the generally growing wave of inane junk that is increasingly passing itself off as film journalism online these days.

. . .

Seriously, people, what were you thinking? How could this possibly be considered news? Did you owe the publicist a favor?

WildGrounds.com:
"The Raid: Buzz Redemption" (June 5, 2012)
http://wildgrounds.com/2012/06/05/the-raid-buzz-redemption/
A smart reader had the great idea to see how many "The Raid" articles have been posted on [Twitch. "Bradford 2012 Review: THE RAID: REDEMPTION (http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2012/05/bradford-2012-review-the-raid-redemption.php)" (May 8, 2012) is the forty-seventh (47th) Twitch article about the movie, and the fifth (5th) Twitch review of it.] The results... A tsunami of news? THE RAID, THE RAID everywhere! Hard to keep up?

[JPEG of Sasori41@ADC's outdated list of the articles in question (http://wildgrounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/theraid-twitchnews2.jpg)]

Let's push further! When the film was finally coming out in North American theaters, the distributor Sony Pictures had the great idea to create this amazing poster... Oh wait! What's written on the building...? [The following: "'The best action movie in decades!' - TwitchFilm".]

[JPEG of the poster in question (http://wildgrounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/theraid-usposter2.jpg)]

And if you look carefully, you can see the name of Twitch founder Todd Brown at the bottom of the poster. Most reviews published online were positive (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_raid_redemption/) (7.4 rating on RottenTomatoes), and yet... Great choice!

The website of the executive producer is praising the film (http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2011/09/tiff-2011-the-raid-will-kick-you-in-the-head-and-make-you-like-it.php)! [One of the companies that produced The Raid was Los Angeles County-based XYZ Films (http://xyzfilms.com/), which has "an ownership stake in" Twitch, and is partners with Paris-based Celluloid Dreams (http://www.celluloid-dreams.com/) in the international sales agent for the movie, Celluloid Nightmares (http://www.celluloid-dreams.com/nightmares/).] What's next? A quote from the director himself saying that he loved working on this project? Not obvious enough? Marketing fail.

[The Gore-met]

Ouch.

[Stuart Feedback Andrews]

Interesting finds, Gomorrahizer.

As stated in the article, in his BEST OF 2011 (http://twitchfilm.com/featured/2012/01/twitch-crews-best-of-2011-twitchiest.php) wrap-up, Todd Brown cites THE RAID as the best film of the year and openly states, "Conflict of interest be damned--I'm credited as an executive producer on the film...."

Conflict of Interest be damned? Really?

What does that actually mean though? That such an obvious conflict of interest is no longer relevant? Or that TWITCH is somehow exempt from these basic journalistic notions?

In fairness to Mr. Brown, I have no doubt his enthusiasm for the movie is genuine and I'm certain he feels by perpetually revealing his economic ties to the film that he's sufficiently qualifying his accolades.

But given the amount of overall exposure the movie has received on his site (and Twitch's numerous financial connections to the film) there's a serious conflict of interest there.

It's not unlike publications owned by media conglomerates heavily promoting films owned by the same media conglomerates.

But you know what's almost quaint and heart-warming? That someone actually still CARES to keep tabs on this sort of thing. It's cute and old fashioned. I like it. It's refreshing. With that in mind, the writer from WILDGROUNDS.COM (http://wildgrounds.com/) gets my praise (first time I've visited that site, by the way.)

From what I've seen in the past few years, I have little regard or faith left in most of the genre film 'journalists, reviewers & press' out there. Like Rutger Hauer says in BLADE RUNNER, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe."

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VKeAvsEijiE/TVVrlO2CciI/AAAAAAAABCU/I694FhiPqUY/s1600/bladerunnerne0.jpg

But I'm in a precarious position. Even though I could (and perhaps should) blow the whistle on more than a few outrageous examples of journalistic ass-rapery, blatant plagiarism, abject lies, ignorance and seething corruption, the reality is I would be cast as the "VILLAIN!" for exposing the actual villains.

Such is the world we live in. Mark Schmuckersberg gets Man of the Year while Julian Assange gets arrested on bogus sex charges. Bradley Manning is in jail while Dick Chaney runs free. That's the reality of the modern age.

And while the whole world functions this way, the film business is perhaps one of the most laughable manifestations of this principle. It makes whores out of almost all involved. It's a massive hob-nobbing, knob-gobbling, seething circle jerk of neurotic filmmakers, producers, programmers and various industry folks with the 'journalists' often cast as the gimps in these sordid Marquis de Sade type scenarios.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/3530749010_ed71ec3585.jpg

A horror film journalist - as seen yesterday.

If you think someone may help your career or further your contacts you'll look the other way as they wantonly violate the truth, especially if speaking out threatens to disrupt your good standing within your professional network. This was true in Nazi Germany, the McCarthy Witchhunts and the pattern continues in the modern age. The horror film community is not immune. We're talking basic human nature here and the psychology of the 'mob.'

The truth is, you pay a price for speaking up for what you believe in as indicated by the pathetic debacle I've described elsewhere (a situation where those who should have spoken up kept silent for fear of losing favour with an important horror outlet):

http://the-mortuary.com/showthread.php?t=31264

Of course, being professionally dismissed by a chone in the horror community is one thing, it's rather meaningless ultimately but in the real world, the price is much more serious for telling the truth (as evidenced by the tragic case of Bradley Manning (http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=bradley%20manning&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CG8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBradley _Manning&ei=5unTT9wN5_jpAc_ksb8D&usg=AFQjCNGCLQP58ZOkl6ZA9YaNqn8cAa-8yA).)

And believe me, I don't think I'm exempt from the corruption I've described here just because I've opened my trap once or twice. Out of interests of self preservation, more often than not, I keep my big mouth shut and turn a blind eye.

Problem is, I've been doing this sorta thing too long and I've crossed paths with too many folks in this 'genre film' community. I'm fatally compromised.

Even here, I had to think twice before commenting because I know Todd, I've interviewed him before on Cinephobia and I frequently bump into him at various film events. A more sensible person in my position would perhaps keep quiet but I'm not that smart. ;)

The fact that I had to think twice before commenting on this situation is what actually inspired this particular rant.

And while I'm not your typical horror social butterfly, posting on Chonebook every two seconds about how David Cronenberg is gonna come over to help me move house on the weekend, I have formed certain relationships with a select few individuals from the horror film world and it has definitely coloured (and compromised) the work I do as a journalist. It's one of the 'professional' hazards I suppose.

For instance, I gave an enormous amount of coverage on my humble little show to THE THEATRE BIZARRE, largely because I have friendships with some of the filmmakers. So does that make me a worthless whore devoid of any journalistic ethics? Well, yes. It does.

But it's not so black and white.

First, I was proud to support that project because it's an example of the sort of filmmaking I hold in high regard - talented filmmakers exploring interesting ideas with almost no money, with little more than a genuine enthusiasm for the process to sustain them as they pursue filmmaking devoid of the usual, soul-sucking, creative restraints imposed by your typical fucknut film producers.

But beyond that, as a spoken word radio host, I'm always looking for interesting subjects for conversation. I suppose that's why I'm somewhat friendly with some of those THEATRE BIZARRE guys because I find them to be genuinely interesting to talk to and they make for great 'interrogation' specimens.

(Incidentally, this is why I very rarely interview 'actors' on the show. Generally, I find them to be insufferable egomaniacs devoid of insight. Some of the worst interviews I've ever done have been with 'actors' and rock musicians.)

But there's a big difference between Twitch's coverage of THE RAID and my coverage of THE THEATRE BIZARRE (http://www.rue-morgue.com/2012/04/rue-morgue-podcast-david-gregory/) (beyond the obvious discrepancies with regards to our respective profiles and audience numbers) because unlike TWITCH and THE RAID, I have no financial stake in THE THEATRE BIZARRE.

If I did, then anything I would have to say to rationalize the extent of my coverage would be rendered meaningless. And while I have no doubt that Todd Brown genuinely loves THE RAID and is proud to support it, given how financially entangled he and TWITCH are in the production, they should have put the brakes on the coverage more than they did.

Don't get me wrong, I believe Todd Brown does a lot of good work with Twitch and they've brought some much needed attention to films deserving of a wider audience and wider praise but for the sake of journalistic objectivity, I think he should have restrained his comments on the site. Plus, there's absolutely no justification for why a TWITCH film blurb was plastered on the film's poster when the site itself is part-owned by the very sales agency behind the film. This was a serious blunder on the part of the marketing department, as pointed out in the Wild Ground article.

http://entretenetepehuajo.solucionespsg.com.ar/Fotos/2Dop5.jpg

Of course, getting back to my own violations of journalistic principles, Rue Morgue obviously funds the Rue Morgue Podcast and recently, I had Rue Morgue President Rodrigo Gudino (http://www.rue-morgue.com/2012/05/rue-morgue-podcast-rodrigo-gudino/) on the show to talk about his upcoming feature, The Last Will & Testament of Rosalind Leigh.

So is this a conflict of interest? Yes (especially considering I actually worked on the film in some capacity, shooting the behind the scenes stuff.)

But the reason I put him on was because I found the subject matter to be genuinely interesting with regards to the resourcefulness demonstrated in realizing this low budget indie project.

But am I gonna review the film when it comes out? Of course not. That would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

Imagine if the poster for the upcoming Rue Morgue movie had a sole blurb on there stating, The Rue Morgue Podcast calls Rosalind Leigh "FANTASTIC! (Now, give me a raise!)"

So when I first saw that RAID poster, long before I read the article posted here, I quietly groaned to myself but unlike my brave colleague over there at Wild Grounds, I kept silent (until now I guess).

Now I'm not blaming Todd Brown for the poster. For all I know, he had nothing to do with it but I view the whole Twitch / Raid situation (including how transparently and 'innocently' the conflicts of interest were revealed) as symptomatic of a wider erosion of objective journalistic principles. It almost feels 'old fashioned' to complain about this predicament though, doesn't it? Such is the slippery slide we've already done down the rabbit hole.

But my experiences over the last year or so have seriously forced me to re-evaluate my role as a 'horror' journalist (not that I'm fond of sullying the profession by implying that I belong to it.)

This is one of the reasons I was proud to have SHLOGGS on the show. He's the absolute polar-opposite of the thousands of social butterfly horror journalists out there. He covers the genre purely out of passion, he doesn't get paid to write reviews, he won't accept screeners and you won't find him knob-gobbling with Eli Roth at Hollywood movie premieres.

And I fully believe that what he writes on his site he came up with himself - he didn't steal his reviews from anyone else and he actually WATCHES the films in question.

You see. he has a REAL job and a REAL life and he's far too sensible to compromise any of that by entangling with the innumerable chones who proliferate in some of these genre film community circle jerks (that is, until Rob Zombie starts inviting him over for horror pool parties and barbeque shindigs!)

So while I don't have the luxury of being as virtuously unpolluted by the horror industry as Shloggs, moving forward, I'm honestly gonna try to preserve as much of my innocence as possible and focus my coverage in a direction purely motivated by a genuine admiration for what I think is worth celebrating about the genre (that is, until someone offers me some fucking REAL money!)

http://theaddictiveblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/difference-between-mark-zuckerberg-and-julian-assange.jpg

[The Gomorrahizer]

Stuart 'Feedback' Andrews wrote:
But I'm in a precarious position. Even though I could (and perhaps should) blow the whistle on more than a few outrageous examples of journalistic ass-rapery, blatant plagiarism, abject lies, ignorance and seething corruption, the reality is I would be cast as the "VILLAIN!" for exposing the actual villains.

The French version of "The Raid: Buzz Redemption (http://wildgrounds.com/2012/06/05/the-raid-buzz-redemption/)" on AsiaFilm.FR, "The Raid : Bruit, Fureur & Conflit d'intérêts (http://asiafilm.fr/2012/06/07/the-raid-bruit-fureur-conflit-dinterets/)", includes comments from its author, wam (http://asiafilm.fr/author/wam/), that elaborate on points made in it; see, for example, the June 8th comment in which the following is noted: "C'est ce moment où une critique argumentée d'un film est reléguée à de l'aigreur par des spectateurs ayant avalé les communiqués de presse SANS MÊME AVOIR VU LE FILM [emphasis in original]."

Bing Translator (http://www.microsofttranslator.com/)

WildGrounds.com: "Thoughts on The Raid: Redemption" (http://wildgrounds.com/2012/03/28/thoughts-on-the-raid-redemption/) (review in English)

AsiaFilm.FR: "(Critique) The Raid de Gareth Evans" (http://asiafilm.fr/2012/03/29/critique-the-raid-de-gareth-evans/) (review in French)

[Dark Mark]

It's a single minded and hyper violent to a ridiculous degree. It could have been a great action movie had it not been totally ruined by the poor, frenetic and headache inducing camera work which detracted from every scene.

I watched it in the comfort of my own home on the big telly so there were at least no knob heads present if you discount my good self :)

[Fred Garvin]

Yeah, I was a bit underwhelmed when I finally saw it. After all the hype I was expecting more. But the aforementioned camera work, pointless fights that seemed to go forever, and a weak villain (a fat guy in flip-flops? Really?) ruined it for me.

[Nallix]

It's essentially an endless barrage of brutally violent but magnificently orchestrated fight scenes.

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I could be perfectly happy with this except that the choreography of the camera does not live up to the choreography of the martial arts.


It's a single minded and hyper violent to a ridiculous degree. It could have been a great action movie had it not been totally ruined by the poor, frenetic and headache inducing camera work which detracted from every scene.

You two completely summed up my feelings on THE RAID. For every two steps it took forward with the action sequences it took a step back (or more) with the horrible camera work. Such wasted potential.

[Adam L.]

I watched this for the first time last night, and I don't have much to add to Feedback's (and others') generally negative assessments of the film.

I knew pretty much what to expect from The Raid: Redemption, but I was more disappointed than I thought I'd be. As pointed out above, the martial artists in the film are talented and do some great work, but the filmmaking itself undercuts the power of the fights, and they're over-edited to the point that they're just not exciting anymore.

One of my favorite action movies is John Woo's Hard-Boiled, and while that film is one shootout after another, it at least spends enough time establishing the heroes and villains that you feel something during the action scenes.

The Raid made me feel nothing. I was along for the ride for the first 30 minutes or so, but after awhile I felt numb. Part of the problem is that while I enjoy the balletic grace of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, I don't particularly enjoy seeing people hacked, slashed, and shot in the context of a martial arts movie. I'm fine with hacking and slashing in the context of slasher movies, and in the context of realistic action/war films, but there's nothing about The Raid that is realistic. So the brutal violence isn't scary or realistic, just grimy and unpleasant.

Also, I've noticed that a lot of douchebags on the internet think that The Raid is a Japanese movie. Or Chinese or something. But they don't care because it's got cool fights.

This attitude bothers me. As someone who watches a fair amount of Asian cinema, I'm attuned to the culture and language of a film when I'm watching it. Granted, the characters in The Raid are anonymous and the film is mostly set in a single location, and I'm sure a lot of people out there watched a dubbed version, but as far as I'm concerned, if you don't know or care where a movie was made and just assume that because it's a martial arts movie it's Chinese or Japanese, you're a fucking cretin.

For instance, check out these Tweets from Twits:

"THE RAID-Redemption awesome action (Japanese or Chinese) film! Action packed!"

"The Raid : Redemption is such a gnarly movie even though its in Japanese"

and this follow-up from the same dude:

"dude its so fucking bad ass. Definitely worth it...plus 50% is people fighting so there's no reading then"

[The Caustic Contributor]

I enjoyed this quite abit and had the sense it and Dredd had a connection. However I'm not sure how well this holds up on rewatch? Anyone care to comment?

I've thought about playing this to a beer soaked audience on Friday night. I'm sure it would work a treat in this sense!