The Indonesian movieThe Raidfrom 2011 is nothing less than a martial arts action masterpiece. The simple narrative makes way for intense action sequences and the kind of brutal ballet that is rarely seen on the big screen. Due to the success ofThe Raid, an English-language remake was put into development with writer Adam G. Simon taking on scripting duties. Now with the titleZeno, the remake is no longer such, with Simon and director Joe Carnahan going in a slightly different direction with their version.
“The thing [director] Joe Carnahan, [star] Frank Grillo, and I saw eye to eye on from the jump, was thatit wasn’t a remake, it was a reimagining. There is no need to redo something that has already been done exceptionally well.”
Trying to recreate something as exceptional asThe Raidwould be a daunting task, so it makes sense for the creative team to attempt to do their own thing,using the original Raid movie as a foundation. Simon then went on to elaborate on how the idea ofZenoevolved during the creative process.
“When I started writing and sending pages over to Joe, it turned into something all it’s own. It became its own animal. Through that process, a story emerged. A tale about two brothers and an examination of why we can fight so viciously with the ones we care for most. It kept evolving that way from the first draft until the current draft we have now. Zeno is comparable to The Raid as Die Hard is to Dredd.”
Simon then went on to offer some new details about the movie’s narrative, which he says will extend past the original movie’s overt violence and serve as a commentary on society’s fixation with fighting.
“Zeno is one of the brothers. He’s an operator and broken at the top of the story. He is a guy who, in many ways, is at the point of hanging it all up. Then, unexpectedly he is forced to go back in on an op. Zeno is in no condition to fight but he has to. He has to dig down deep to rediscover his will to fight. I felt for the character, I am constantly trying to turn over a new leaf, trying to hang up the violence in me, but Tinseltown tough guys seem hell-bent on testing my f-cking patience.”
However,Zenowill not bea total departure from the story that inspired it, with Simon assuring fans that they can still expect the same kind of intense action, but with more of a focus on the brotherly relationship that played a part in the original movie.
“It is one hell of a story with a lot of heart. The central theme of brotherhood and family remains intact as we move through the gears and scream around the track at a face-splitting speed. I will say this about The Raid films. If you loved them as I did, you will love Zeno.”
Zenodoes not yet have a release date set, but until then do yourself a favor and just watchThe Raidand the sequelThe Raid 2. This comes to us fromComicbook.com.
