By Brent Snyder
If you enjoyed The Raid 2, there are several other excellent Asian action flicks to check out on Netflix:
Night In Paradise (2020) - Park Hoon-jung (I Saw The Devil) stages a tourist island getaway as the setting for a blood-splattered crime drama. Two strangers meet on an island and find they share some commonalities - both have had their families killed by mob hits, both share a love for fish soup - and both are very good at killing gangsters. Four stars.
Jung_E (2023) - The director of TRAIN TO BUSAN trades fast zombies for even faster battling robots in this sci-fi action melodrama. Three stars.
The Witch Part 1: The Subversion (2018) - What starts as a mystery wrapped in a sci-fi thriller shifts into overdrive as a blood-spattered action flick. The film's third act features some of the best stylized gunplay and super-powered kung-fu fighting since the original Matrix. Four stars.
The Night Comes For Us (2018) - Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais (The Raid) and Julie Estelle (The Raid 2) reunite for this epic Indonesian action flick written and directed by Timo Tjahjanto (May The Devil Take You). Frenetic handheld camerawork, hard-hitting martial arts choreography and horror movie style blood and gore effects all collide into a twisty tale of brotherhood, betrayal and redemption. Four stars.
Headshot (2016) - Iko Uwais (The Raid) is the latest action icon to star in a flick featuring a highly-skilled martial arts master who wakes up from a coma - and finds themselves targeted by an army of assassins out for blood! Following the path laid out by Jackie Chan, Matt Damon, Uma Thurman and even Steven Seagal, Uwais delivers an entertaining romp with fun fighting sequences.Three stars.
Maria (2019) - Christine Reyes stars a retired assassin out for revenge in this slick looking Filipino action flick. Reyes makes for a striking central figure and performs equally well in both the dramatic scenes and the various well-crafted fight sequences. The film also features a rocking soundtrack of original alternative songs by Bones Frankenstein and Karl Kliatchko of Tower of Doom Studios, with vocals performed by Abby Clutario, Kat Taylor, Paige Buan and Sid Buan. Three stars.
The Big 4 (2022) - Timo Tjahjanto, best known for hard-hitting Indonesian horror and action flicks like "May The Devil Take You" and "The Night Comes For Us," offers a slapstick action comedy about a misfit band of anti-hero assassins (who only kill "the bad guys"). The humor may be sophomoric but the fighting choreography is top notch, especially scenes centered around the women in the cast. Three stars.
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