Rolling Stone called its choreography method a "game-changer" for modern action movies.
Released in 2011, The Raid: Redemption is often cited as one of the most influential action movies ever made -- and for good reason. The movie completely defined the genre as it exists today, marking a seismic shift from the overstylized action blockbusters of the 1990s.
Directed by Gareth Evans from his own screenplay, The Raid: Redemption stars Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, and Yayan Ruhian in a brutal revenge story featuring some of the most innovative and creative action set pieces ever filmed.
The story centers around a group of police officers who are called to investigate a notorious drug lord -- but when they get stuck on the fifteenth floor of his criminal complex, they have to fight for their lives to get back to safety.
The Raid: Redemption is a masterclass in making the most of strict budgets and tight sets, treating them not as filmmaking restrictions but rather opportunities to maximise tension. Almost the entire film takes place in a single building, but Gareth Evans knows how to use this claustrophobic setting to his advantage.
The film is brimming with single-take action sequences where enemies are crammed together and have to use their environment as part of the fight; there are no massive explosions or big-budget car chases, but rather close-quarters combat and narrowly choreographed gunfights.
In 2021, The Raid: Redemption was ranked No. 4 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 Best Action Movies of All Time, with the publication praising its bold creativity and long-lasting legacy.
They wrote: "The Raid's bigger-faster-more methodology was such a game-changer that it's now become the go-to template for choreographing fight sequences, from those John Wick/Atomic Blonde carnage-fests to Evans' own, just-as-great-the-second-time-around 2014 Raid sequel."
Rolling Stone picks up on something crucial about The Raid: Redemption that very few action movies can claim: this isn't just a great movie in its own right, but it's also one that fundamentally changed the genre for good.
Whereas action cinema in the '90s and 2000s had been preoccupied with scale -- big explosions, slow-motion car chases, breathtaking stunts -- The Raid: Redemption proved that one-on-one fight sequences and hand-to-hand combat can be just as exciting.
This was later popularized with movies like John Wick, which has since become the golden standard for modern action movies. Audiences don't need immense visual effects and blaring music to be entertained -- two characters throwing punches with no sound but their own grunts can work just as well.
