By George Bate
Ever since the 1960s, Hong Kong has been a hub for martial arts cinema. The legendary Shaw Brothers turned Hong Kong into the Hollywood of the East with movies like One-Armed Swordsman before the likes of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung solidified Hong Kong as the home for some of the most intricate and imaginative stunt and fight choreography ever put to screen. After The Raid: Redemption, an Indonesian production helming from a Welsh filmmaker, drew inspiration from Hong Kong-style martial arts movies to create a universally beloved action epic of the 21st century, director and fight choreographer Kenji Tanigaki thrills with The Furious, a new film filled to the brim with brutal, elaborate, inventive, and simply stunning action choreography that ranks among the best action movies of the century.
The Furious follows Wang Wei (Xie Mao), a mute father with a mysterious past and expertise in martial arts. After his daughter Rainy (Yang Enyou) is kidnapped by a sex trafficking organization and being denied help from the corrupt local police office, Wang relentlessly pursues those who took his daughter, unleashing all manner of fury upon anyone who gets in his way. Wang’s sole ally in this pursuit is Navin (Joe Taslim), the husband of a journalist who disappeared while looking into the sex trafficking network. Together, Wang and Navin engage bad guy after bad buy in vicious combat as they do whatever they can to be reunited with their loved ones.
Movies like John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Mad Max: Fury Road are often listed as the best examples of what the action genre has to offer in the 21st century. These films stand apart from the deluge of other action movies that hit theaters or streaming services seemingly every week by forging a unique visual language for the action they present. John Wick, for instance, stood apart for its “gun-fu” action, seamlessly blending close-quarters martial arts with firearms. The Mission: Impossible franchise, meanwhile, has bolstered some of the most death-defying stunts ever put to screen, thanks to the mind-boggling bravery of Tom Cruise. Mad Max: Fury Road similarly benefitted from practical stunts, while integrating them with vehicular combat in what essentially is a feature-length car chase. All of these disparate action movies have something in common – they do something different, both in their filmmaking and in choreography, than what the action genre typically has to offer. In 2026, The Furious joins their ranks.
Japanese filmmaker Kenji Tanigaki triumphs in his willingness to go back to the basics of Hong Kong martial arts cinema. Gone is the rapid editing, tight close-ups, and CG augmentation found all too frequently in modern action movies and in its place is intricate, elaborative, and hard-hitting choreography that is afforded the opportunity to speak (or punch) for itself. Tanigaki employs long takes and uses wide shots to allow the audience to see every hit land visceral in real time.
The choreography draws on everything from MMA to wushu to judo to Taekwondo to Muay Thai and more, giving each action sequence a distinctness and sense of spontaneity. Tanigaki certainly leans into stylized territory at times with some of the moves characters are able to pull off but tows the line between heightened and unrealistic deftly and carefully. While some characters admittedly survive a perplexing amount of violence, the film does well to balance the playfulness and brutality of its action.
Every performer, from leads Xie Miao and Joe Taslim down to stunt actors on screen for just a few moments, overwhelmingly delivers with the physicality required of such sophisticated action choreography. Brian Le, in particular, stands out as a hulking, martial arts-adept blend of Jaws and Oddball, who lights up the screen every time he appears.
Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, and Brian Le are among the performers who participate in the film’s epic 2 vs. 2 vs. 1 showdown. There are numerous moments during this climactic clash that left us in awe, such is the inventiveness of the action on display.
Tanigaki continually outdoes himself in the film as each action sequence is more jaw-dropping than the last. Making these action sequences all the more visceral is superb sound design, which amplifies every blow that a character takes. The sound design, coupled with the intricacy of the fight choreography, ensures that viewers feel every punch that lands and will find themselves holding their breath and tensing up throughout.
In this sense, The Furious plays like a bonafide crowd-pleaser. Tanigaki imbues his film with the rhythm and epic moments of a superhero film and, akin to the likes of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, gives the audience ample opportunities to cheer in the theater.
Hindering Tanigaki’s film, however, are awkward dialogue and overdubbing. None of the lines in the film feel like things people in the real world would actually say, an issue that is made all the worse by the extent to which The Furious employs poor dubbing over various characters. While at times this can be quite charming and harken back to the dubbing and dialogue of Hong Kong martial arts movies of old, it more often than not proves distracting and detracts from immersion in the unrelenting action.
The Furious is firmly an action movie through and through and, as such, doesn’t allocate too much effort to its extraordinarily straightforward plot. Tanigaki definitely leans into rather disturbing material at times, whether that be depicting on-screen violence against children and pregnant women or picturing children tied up on beds and in cellars, but the barebones of the narrative have been seen countless times before. Those seeking a story that matches the novelty of the action will likely come away disappointed with how Taken-esque it all is, although viewers simply wishing to experience a kind of action and fight choreography never put to screen before will be overwhelmingly pleased.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
The Furious taps into the sensibilities of classic Hong Kong martial arts movies of old while delivering 113 minutes of some of the most inventive, elaborate, brutal, and simply stunning action choreography ever put to screen. While awkward dialogue and overdubbing distract at times, Kenji Tanigaki’s film overwhelmingly succeeds with a relentless stream of fight sequences that let the sophisticated choreography speak for itself. Tanigaki strikes a careful tonal balance with the action, ensuring that it retains its playfulness and style while remaining brutal and, for the most part, grounded. The action gives way to numerous crowd-pleasing moments that evoke the applause that arrives while watching superhero epics like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Furious is not only one of the best action movies in recent years – it’s one of the best action movies of the century.