Nordling here.
Thanks to Slashfilm for the heads up.
Here's the problem with the new title for THE RAID - or THE RAID: REDEMPTION. It sets up something for the audience to anticipate - someone's getting redeemed, or someone is worthy of redemption, and so even if it's a vague thematic thing, there's now an expectation there. None of this changes the movie in any way, just so you know. It's an awesome movie. But now the expectation is there, and for me, the film's surprises worked so much better when I didn't see what was coming. So, yeah, spoiler alert - someone's getting redeemed. It's there in the title, so I'm not really spoiling anything, but there it is.
And, according to Slashfilm, the U.S. release of the sequel will also be a colonized title: THE RAID: RETALIATION. So you also know, by the title, that some serious revenge is happening. The original title that Gareth Evans gave it, BERANDAL, is just vague and unfamiliar enough to be cool. Slashfilm says it's the Indonesian word for thug. Makes sense. But still, it's different, and with THE RAID: RETALIATION, you have a vague idea of what you're getting.
Does this change the movie at all? Not one bit. THE RAID is still the same movie, and although I don't know if I'll hit the screening at SXSW, I want to be there when the audience lets out. I want to see those shellshocked faces, as that crowd is just punched in the happy place, that sweet spot when you're watching a movie that you just know you're seeing a classic right in front of your eyes. It's happening, right there. That's my favorite feeling when I see a great movie. The title doesn't change that. But it does change expectations, and it was better when there weren't any. Oh well.
Sony Pictures Classics' THE RAID: REDEMPTION opens March 23rd. You know what you need to do.
