We happen to be massive fans of Gareth Evans films The Raid and The Raid 2: Berandal. This is mostly because he is possibly the best action director working and because they are some of the best action movies ever. So you can imagine the reaction here at Flixist when we learned they’d be doing an American remake without him. Seems kind of dumb. And as dumb things do, it started to stagnate with everyone dropping out.
But we now have word it is lurching back to life and… it may not suck. XYZ Films today tweeted out the video below of The Grey director Joe Carnahan and actor Frank Grillo watching the original film and talking about an adaption. From there Carnahan confirmed that he was indeed working on the remake and he had the full blessing of Evans.
That’s good news all around, folks. While I still don’t think a remake is necessary, Carnahan is at least a skilled director who will bring his own take to things. In fact he’s promising it’s not a remake, but instead a new take on the concept. There’s not much evidence that he can handle martial arts fights, but I’m willing to give him a chance since The Grey is an effing masterpiece. Check out the video and tweets below.
Oh, and in case you want to watch a Raid remake that is awesome in its own right now, there’s always Dredd.
💥 BIG NEWS WEDNESDAY💥 #TheRaid @carnojoe #FrankGrillo pic.twitter.com/ALhgZWgafq
— XYZ Films (@XYZFilms) February 15, 2017
THE RAID remake will hew closer in tone & feel to THE GREY and NARC.@Ghuevans is producing alongside & has given us his full blessing.
— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) February 15, 2017
It's not a remake. It's a reimagining of the same scenario.
Everybody take a deep breath.
We won't disappoint you, rabid-fanboy-from-Hell. https://t.co/ShPcXmng5n— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) February 15, 2017
You can't remake The Raid, guys. It's a fantastic film. So, ask yourselves why would we be doing it, unless we had something really special.
— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) February 15, 2017
