Raid (2003)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I had loved the 2000 series and didn't even know that this sequel existed until reading the blurb on the brand new 1st English translation of a Raid novel Raid and the Blackest of Sheep. (Thank you, Ice Cold Crime!!!!!) I immediately launched on an internet search and managed to get a copy. I found it simply wonderful - all the more so after having read the cited novel.Unlike my fellow reviewer above, I really appreciated the inclusion of so many characters from the series (Sunderman, the Cowboy, et al.) OK. The Cowboy was there as a reference point only, but the series was so good that I appreciated every link between the two. The plot is complex and, yes, at times a little implausible, but it is also not to be taken entirely seriously. There is much of what I have come to learn from having watched all of Aki Kaurismaki's oeuvre is Suomi humor.The acting was great. The characters stayed in character. The music, which echoed that of the series, was great. There are many scenes where the countryside of Finland looks much more beautiful than it did in the series - almost to the extent that I wonder if people had kvetched about the series giving the country a bad name.I will be watching my DVDs of both the series and this film many times over the coming years and if you get them on DVD so will you.

In June of 2005, the Finnish embassy and the MHz channel arranged a special showing of the RAID sequel at the AFI Silver, just outside Washington DC. We stood in line surrounded by enthusiastic Finnish-Americans. Kai Lehtinen and Tapio Piirainen had flown in, signed autographs and posed for snapshots with fans.The film delivered most of our favorite characters in another involved political conspiracy with economic consequences. Running gags from the series were continued in the film. It was hard to judge if the film was funnier than the series, or if the enthusiastic crowd made it seem more humorous. The events in the series were fictional, but believable. Raid was still the talented and instinctive hero, and Uki, Tarja, Jansson and Sundman were still very believable characters; the actions they took were plausible enough to suspend disbelief. Sundman's relationship with a plump model was intriguing.This film was more action-packed, but it was more difficult to believe that the climactic events could have occurred without serious repercussions for Raid and his cohort. And the film's villain wasn't as memorable as Hammar.After the showing, Lehtinen laughed a lot while he and Piirainen fielded questions from the stage. Kai seemed very surprised and flattered to be a hit in America, but was grounded enough to brush off any talk of leaving Finland to pursue a Hollywood career.

I really enjoyed watching this movie, though finnish film production seldom makes me enjoy its fruits. Last days I have been surprised by some great pieces of finnish film industry, this is definitely one of them. Great acting, especially Oiva Lohtander's role as inspector Jansson made me laugh. I really recommend this to every film freak on earth. Worth seeing!

This movie has a nice sense of humour. The hero, Raid, is a renegade adventurer who is surrounded by all kinds of funny sidekicks. Like "Last Action Hero" it exaggerates the macho of the hero, to the point where you can´t help but to laugh. Also the villains are pure evil and totally depraved of feelings. But unlike "LAH", the hero doesn´t try or even want to get in touch with his softer side. The intrigue of the movie is that an political activist gets killed by the police during a demonstration. The story then spins about Raid all the way up to an international money laundry operation which includes a surprising actor...