Best action movie since Raid 2 and about 10 years before that.

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2015)

Of course the plot is nothing new, it's your usual revenge story. However the delivery of this well-trodden path is told in such a quirky, interesting and stylish manner, it makes all the difference.
First off, the camera work and fights scene are superb. Please any director making Bourne, James Bond or the awful Inception, keep the bloody camera on and at a distance. This stupid jumping, cutting every 2 nanoseconds with a camera 5 centimeters from the nose of the actor, is awful. It ruins any action movie.
We know the story is cliché, so the director presents the story in a very chic and interesting way, which doesn't leave you bored. There is also this tongue-in-cheek criminal world with its own rules and quirks, which adds to the interest.
I notice from other reviews there is a lot of focus on the revenue story, being boring and routine. There are almost no original plots these days, most stories are based around a simple plot of love or revenge. This is no different, but what elevates it above so many other actions films is the style, pacing and brilliant fighting scenes. It doesn't dwell on the obvious, it treats the viewer with some intelligence.
There is very little unnecessary obvious join-the-dots dialog. Everything is keep lean, fast and minimal. It doesn't hide the inevitable story, it embraces and celebrates it.
Before someone accuses me of being someone with no film experience, I am in my 40's and have seen way too many movies, I find nearly everything predictable and dull. This one was a very pleasant surprise in a sea of mediocrity.