One of my favorite films at this year's Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Gareth Evans' The Raid 2.   Picking up right where the first film left off, the sequel follows Rama (Iko Uwais) as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and uncover the corruption in his own police force.   Loaded with some of the best action sequences I've ever seen, The Raid 2 is truly a must-see movie.  Thankfully, with a March 28th release date, you won't have to wait too long to check it out (although it might be trimmed down a bit because of the extreme violence).  The film also stars Julie EstelleAlex AbbadMarsha TimothyArifin Putra, Mathias MuchusTio Pakusadewo, and Cecep Arif Rahman.

The morning after the world premiere, I landed an extended video interview with Evans.  During our wide-ranging conversation (which is spoiler free), he talked about the pressure to raise the bar with the sequel, his writing process, the length of the shoot (132 days), the size of the budget ($4.5 million), deleted scenes, if he'll release an extended cut on Blu-ray, how the MPAA might react to the film, how close the Sundance cut will be to the final version released in theaters, the status and subject of The Raid 3, his thoughts on the Marvel superhero Iron Fist, if he's interested in directing it, future projects, his favorite John Woo movie, and so much more.  If you're a fan of Gareth Evans, I promise you will love this interview.  Hit the jump to watch.

And if you missed it, you can read Matt's review of The Raid 2 here.

Gareth Evans Time Index:

  • 0:28 - The pressure to raise the bar and the satisfaction about the ecstatic reaction at the film's world premiere
  • 1:44 – The feeling of listening to the audience's vocal reactions
  • 2:41 – The length of the shoot, the size of the budget, and the cameras they used
  • 4:55 – The writing process as it related to the first film
  • 7:21 – Geeking out about working with the stunt team that's worked on John Woo films
  • 8:04 – His favorite John Woo movie
  • 8:42 – The time spent on pre-production, designing the fight, rehearsing the fight, and shooting the fight
  • 9:50 – The length of the assembly cut
  • 10:18 – Deleted scenes
  • 11:29 – Discussion of the most violent scenes and how the MPAA might react
  • 12:44 – Meeting in Hollywood following the success of the first movie, and future projects
  • 13:48 – Budgets affecting the shooting location and creative control
  • 14:48 – His thoughts on the Marvel superhero, Iron Fist, and thoughts on handling a PG-13 movie
  • 17:28 – Going back three hours from a point in The Raid 2 as the beginning of The Raid 3, and other thoughts on the sequel
  • the-raid-2-gareth-evans
    Image via Sony Pictures Classics
    18:38 – How far he is in the writing process for The Raid 3
  • 19:17 – The possibility of Hollywood calling if The Raid 2 is a success
  • 19:46 – Possibly releasing an extended cut on Blu-ray, and keeping the deleted scene
  • 20:35 – How close the Sundance cut will be to the final version released in theaters
  • 21:41 – Screening the movie for friends and working with Aram Tertzakian on the editing process
  • 22:45 – The length of the editing process and the equipment he used
  • 23:46 – Changes from the script to the final film
  • 24:23 – Films he's seen recently that have blown him away
  • 25:18 – Technology he's interested in using
  • 26:20 – How he uses Twitter
  • 28:22 – The reaction in Indonesia for The Raid 2
  • 29:40 – His next project

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Image via Sony Pictures Classics