First Poster Art For Iko Uwais' THE RAID! Plus, Watch A Stunt Guy Get Punched In The Face!

Indonesian fight star Iko Uwais made quite an impression in his debut, the Gareth Evans directed martial arts picture Merantau. Based on an actual Indonesian rite of passage, that one started off basically as a domestic drama before ramping up the violence about half way through. But considering Uwais has weapons strapped to every available part of his body in the first teaser poster for sophomore effort The Raid (Serbuan Maut) it's safe to say they're dispensing with the introductory pleasantries and getting straight to the violence this time out.

A swat team arrives at a rundown apartment block with a mission to remove its owner, a notorious drug lord named Tama. The building has never been raided before, never been touched by police. Seen as a no go zone it has since become a sanctuary to killers, gangs, rapists and thieves seeking accommodation in the one place they know they cannot be touched.

Making their move in the break of dawn the swat team work their way up the building under cover of silence. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and with news of their assault traveling to Tama in his penthouse suite the building is locked down with all lights out and all exits blocked.

Stranded on the 6th floor the swat team must fight their way through every floor and every room not just to complete their mission but to survive.

The entire Merantau crew - stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, writer-director Gareth Huw Evans, DP Matt Flannery and producer Ario Sagantoro, along with LA based executive producers XYZ Films - is back for this one and after months of martial arts prep and training with actual Indonesian SWAT units shooting is right around the corner. I'll actually be headed to Jakarta for a few days after the HK Filmart this year to spend some time on set. Time during which Uwais will - if all goes according to schedule - be attacked by men with machetes. I'll be reporting back on that.

Along with the poster art I also received a video file labeled simply "Sometimes This Happens ..." and when you're dealing with a director who has been compulsively filming fight training and choreography for months now, well, there's a fighting chance that the 'this' happening is not a naked woman jumping out of a cake. Check it out below.

Video

Sometimes this happens... from Merantau Films on Vimeo.

4 Comments

by kiaikicks, March 5, 2011 1:27 AM

So Todd, since he's working on this, what's the status on Berandal?

Todd Brown replied to comment from kiaikicks, March 5, 2011 7:50 PM

Berandal should be next. The story kind of expanded into a trilogy ... Iko will be playing the same character in this, Berandal and a yet to be written third film.

xino replied to comment from Todd Brown, March 6, 2011 4:50 PM

what are you talking about.
wasn't Berandal changed to the Raid?

Todd Brown replied to comment from xino, March 6, 2011 5:35 PM

Nope, Berandal was set aside in favor of The Raid and as The Raid developed it ended up becoming a sort of prequel to Berandal. It's going to be a trilogy of Iko playing the same character, last one may (big MAY) be in English.

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