Gareth Evans Breaks Down THE RAID 2 Trailer

-On the opening scene, where we find Rama (Iko Uwais) Evans says, "The idea is that Iko’s character goes undercover in this one and there are shades of The Departed and Infernal Affairs in there. he prison section is the opening of the film, setting up his mission and that’s going undercover in order to infiltrate a mob family to uncover corruption in the police force."

-The scene with Rama punching the wall is meant to parallel one of the early scenes in the first film where he's punching the training bag. Said Evans, " In the first Raid, it’s all about him preparing himself spiritually, physically, emotionally so he can go off and complete his mission. He looks focused, he looks primed, he looks fired up. I wanted to contrast that now that he’s in prison on this mission and a lot of personal things have happened to him, so that ending to that punching session is designed to show a sadness and a tragic side to him as well. He’s full of regret as well.”

-Indonesian actor Arifin Putra plays Uco [pronounced Oo-cho], who Evans describes as the "lynchpin of the film". Teased Evans, "When we did the teaser poster, it was a purposeful thing to stick him dead center of the frame. He’s the driving force of the storyline for this. He’s the one pushing the plot."

-Uco’s dad, Bangun is played by Tio Pakusadewo. Bangun is the real connective tissue between the first film and the sequel. "Everything in the first movie - Tama’s building, Tama’s reputation - was all given to him by Bangun,” says Evans.

-Of course the sequel will have its version of "Mad Dog", the incredibly skilled one-man army from the first. In The Raid 2: Berandal, the person comes in the form of "The Assassin" played by Cecep Arif Rahman. "He’s this wordless, coldblooded assassin who specializes in using an Indonesian knife called the karambit. It’s a curved blade with a finger hook so you keep it very close to you. It’s brutal," said Evans.