Gareth Evans makes punishing action that we can follow, giving performers room to show their skill. We rate his direction highly, though his characters need more of the attention he gives their fights.
Fi1m perspective
In The Raid (2012), the cramped spaces of a building occupied by criminals give the fighting its pressure. Evans keeps finding different ways to stage a confrontation as the police move through the floors. We were exhilarated by Iko Uwais’s speed because the shots let us follow each exchange of blows.
The partnership began with Merantau (2009), Evans’s first collaboration with Uwais and an early vehicle for silat. The Raid became his breakthrough, with a crime story that largely exists to put people in one another’s way. The Raid 2 (2014) widened the scope and made room for larger set pieces. The settings matter in his work: walls and narrow spaces determine what the performers can do, and give us a way to follow them.
In The Raid, cinematographers Matt Flannery and Dimas Imam Subhono keep the takes long and wide enough for the choreography to register. The camera moves with the performers without losing the shape of the fight. Evans also edits, keeping the exchanges quick while preserving enough movement within individual shots for us to appreciate the physical skill involved.
The limitation is how little changes in our feelings from one confrontation to the next. At 101 minutes, The Raid still has passages where the fighting becomes routine, despite the changing choreography. Its thin characters and predictable plotting leave Uwais and the other performers carrying too much of our interest. We wanted a longer pause, or a little humour, so that the next fight would have something besides a new arrangement of blows to distinguish it.
Evans’s turn to folk horror with Apostle (2018) showed an interest in slower dread. He then co-created and directed episodes of Gangs of London (2020–), bringing his brutal action to television, before returning to features with Havoc (2025), starring Tom Hardy. For a first encounter, choose The Raid and give the choreography your full attention.
Biography
Gareth Huw Evans is a Welsh film director, screenwriter, editor and action choreographer. Born on 6 April 1980 in Hirwaun, Cynon Valley, he graduated with an MA in screenwriting from the University of Glamorgan.
After making the low-budget feature Footsteps (2006), Evans moved to Indonesia and directed the martial arts film Merantau (2009). He achieved international recognition with The Raid (2011), which he also wrote and edited, and its sequel The Raid 2 (2014). Both films showcase pencak silat and star Iko Uwais.
His later work includes the Netflix film Apostle (2018) and the series Gangs of London (2020–), which he co-created and directed. He directed the action film Havoc (2025).
