
For a Welsh-born director, Gareth Evans has an odd claim to fame: through a series of movies made in Indonesia, he brought the martial art pencak silat to Westerners’ attention, made a star out of martial artist Iko Uwais, and built a name for himself through brutal, precise action sequences and a memorable approach to violence. Evans’ movies Merantau, The Raid: Redemption, and The Raid 2 weren’t major action blockbusters, but among martial arts fans and cult-cinema enthusiasts, they enjoy the kind of delirious word-of-mouth that builds fandoms and boosts reputations.
Evans’ rep was likely a major part of what let him sign on with Netflix for a distinctly odd and personal project: his first film actually shot and set in Wales, and his…