The Raid (2011)

Plot is optional in The Raid. A police squad goes into a tower block, the tower fights back, and the few story turns that show up, a hidden connection here, a crooked boss there, feel bolted on between rounds. It’s also relentless, and by the last stretch I was more worn out than thrilled. But the fighting is something else. Iko Uwais moves like he’s solving a math problem with his whole body, fast, precise and weirdly graceful, and Gareth Evans shoots it wide and clear, so you can follow every block and counter. A brawl in a narrow hallway is choreography at its absolute peak. Yayan Ruhian’s Mad Dog, a small, polite man who would rather put the gun down and settle things by hand, is one of the most memorable villains in modern action. It made $9.3 million worldwide on a reported $1.1M. An 8.4 because nobody has topped these fights since. $996 says you watch one clip on your lunch break and lose the whole hour to the next three.

What works: Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian deliver some of the cleanest, most inventive fight choreography ever filmed, shot so you can actually follow it.

What doesn’t: The story is thin and the characters are barely sketched, so the nonstop action turns numbing in the final stretch.

Who it’s for: Grown-up action fans who rewatch fight scenes frame by frame to figure out how they did it.