As dawn breaks, a full police SWAT team prepares to invade a notorious high rise in the slums of Jakarta. Notorious because it is the ultimate hive of scum and villainy in the city, run by a vicious drug lord who primarily rents out the rooms to the nastiest customers in the city in order to ensure there is a deadly buffer between his pad and the rest of the world. Floor by floor the cops take down the scum - until word gets out and the crime boss puts out a bounty for any resident who takes down a cop.

As the police get cut down to a handful, the surviving cops discover that their raid was an off-the-books operation by a rogue captain and there is no backup on the way. With only their wits, their fists and a handful of bullets to save their lives the final few press on to take the top dog down.

The Raid is a wake up call to the action genre. Packed full of real stunts and top shelf martial arts this film shows us what can be achieved with real talent rather than a mess of quick edits. The greatest star of the piece is undoubtedly Iko Uwais, whose body movement is up there with the greats and comes with solid acting ability to back it up. Though the premise itself is pretty straightforward the film manages to construct a story with surprising depth; certainly enough to make viewers actually care for the characters as well as take in the breathtaking action on display. The Raid is an unmissable experience.