Around last year, Film Inquiry released a few pieces on screenplay structure. Not necessarily the classic “character has a problem, character tries to solve problem, problem is resolved successfully or unsuccessfully”, but screenplays structured as video games. Like games, the scenarios serve as levels, and with each level increase, the character obstacles grow with difficulty.
In the movie Falling Down, the Michael Douglas character’s weapons become more deadly scene-to-scene (weapon upgrades) and in The Warriors, the guys face larger challenges in each neighborhood they venture to (changing levels). In The Raid: Redemption, we get upgrades and new levels in a single apartment complex.
The movie has a simple premise and tight running time. A SWAT team based in Jakarta head to a building run by a ruthless crime boss to take him in. Once the team arrives, all hell breaks loose. Additionally, as the hell is breaking, the movie becomes a masterclass of escalating action and challenges, much like a video game.
Instructions Of The Objective
In classic arcade games, the game provides instructions prior to the action, similar to exposition found in movies. It tells us what needs to be done in order to complete a level or reach the final one. Once the text leaves, our character avatars jump into the action. This movie adopts the formula perfectly.
The team leader instructs the crew that this untouchable crime boss resides in the penthouse of an apartment complex. The objective is to storm the building to arrest him. Unfortunately, the building houses other gangsters and criminals on every floor. The team, like game characters, receive the objective and once the truck reaches the complex, it jumps right into the action.
The crime boss stays at the top until our heroes reach him in the end. Prior to that, the team must face an entire apartment building filled with the city’s most dangerous criminals. As they attempt to reach the top, it only gets more difficult for them.
Leveling Up
The game, Double Dragon, is a two-player game where your character walks down a city street and has to use martial arts toward any incoming figure. These attacks are not random, but planned. Every figure that comes toward them wants to fight, as if every bad guy in town knows who is after them. The SWAT crew faces a similar ordeal.
The criminal apartment building knew they were coming, and are ready to attack. Guns start blazing almost as soon as the SWAT truck parks. Our heroes go on the defense immediately, prepared to fight anyone they cross, like in Double Dragon.
As the cops storm the building, each floor builds more obstacles that attempts to prevent them from reaching the top. The number of criminals increase, while the cops decrease. Injuries become more fatal, and the choice of weaponry deadlier. When it looks like all is lost, our main hero Rama ( Iko Uwais), utilizes the often used strategy of seasoned gamers: knowing the correct button combination for a brutal attack.
Wild Fighting Moves
As a middle schooler, my favorite games to play at the arcade were the fighting games. Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat always ate my quarters, and showed the young me the thrill of using near impossible fighting moves. When you use just the right button arrangement, your character goes beyond just a punch or kick to an almost supernatural offense that obliterates the opponent. With the omission of his gun, Rama turns into a live-action street fighter.
What makes this movie impressive for action fans is both the lack of CGI and “wire-fu”. Like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan before him, Iko Uwais is a skilled martial artist who is his own special effect. His speed and agility would make a ballet dancer weep. As he cranks up the punches and kicks, he is able to cover several floors (levels), eventually reaching the crime boss (final level).
Final Thoughts On The Raid: Redemption
As with any video game, the hero beats the crime boss, the cronies cower away, and it’s game over. With this straightforward premise and non-stop action, The Raid: Redemption (in my eyes) is a future action classic and it helped shine a light on the Indonesian film industry. The movie became a hit, spawning a sequel, and led to Iko Uwais appearing in other action movies.
The video game structure it follows helped in the film’s success. A tight script that hits all the beats without wasting time on uncountable subplots nobody cares about that leads to a bloated running time. Also, it’s nice to see some good old-fashioned martial arts in a movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, please make an effort. I cannot recommend this gem enough.
Do you think the movie is structured like a video game? Can you think of other movie examples? Please leave a comment below!
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