just saw this shit tonight. IMO it lived up to the hype. the hand-to-hand close-quarters combat in the film was amazing. it felt far more brutal & real than the fights in Jaa's films IMO, not to take anything away from Jaa. guns & knifes etc are incorporated into alot of the action, in such a way that when the hand-to-hand fights occured i never felt like "well why dont they just pull out a gun?"
the only real warning i'd give is--- this movie doesnt jump right into the martial arts. i expected it to, & thats what made the beginning feel a bit slow to me. for the record, this movie does NOT start out slow. nothing about it is slow or boring. but the first portion of the infiltration is focused on heavy gunplay & firepower. during those sequences, the shakiness of the camera worried me slightly because i didnt want the martial arts action to be marred by it--- & i was glad to see that the camera relaxed after all the explosive bullet-driven chaos.
as for the story, in knew it was going to be minimal going into it. what surprised me was that i did care about the plot twists, & that i think the ending could lead into a very interesting sequel.
the mob boss/kingpin druglord landlord of the building reminded me alot of Choi Min Sik in I Saw the Devil, & Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) is a fucking BEAST. he's the long-haired lil dude who'd rather fight than shoot, for those who've seen it. he also choreographed the shit, along with the main dude (Iko Uwais).
if anyone is in portland, this is playing at the theater across the street from lloyd center, & also @ cinema 21.
for an action/martial arts movie, this is a 9/10 to me. future classic.