Same here. Had a hard time caring about what was going on plot-wise and didn't much care for any of the characters either. The first was more straight-forward, to a John Wick degree, which served it incredibly well.
shareLove them both!
But they entirely different films, 1st one is a balls to the wall action film.
The 2nd movie is more of a crime/drama/action with a more complex story.
They are both great in their own ways and it's good to see them mix it up instead of doing the easy thing of making a carbon copy of the 1st.
Both are flawed but I prefer the first one for sure. At least that film knew what it wanted to be and stuck too it. This film one minute is trying to be a serious gangster movie and the next a ridiculous (but fun) Kung Fu movie.
To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script -Alfred Hitchcock
For me it's not even close.
The first movie was impressive, this second movie was just utterly incredible.
First movie had me on edge of my seat in places, the second my heart was racing and I was squirming all over the place.
I'm trying to think of a better action movie I've seen and I'm drawing a blank, this film is simply next-level, the choreography, special effects, camera work and editing, all outstanding, wow!
THE RAID 1 - 8/10
THE RAID 2 - 4/10