By Dolores Quintana
Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious has received a lot of praise and deserves all of it. I felt like the stuffing got kicked out of me while watching it, and I loved every minute of it. Incredibly intense action, gut-pounding fights, icy deaths, and a lot of heart. It pulls you in, and it’s every bit as gobsmacking and stunning as I hoped it would be.
This film is the pure violent joy and adrenaline of action cinema crossed with love and the wonder of the human spirit. You can buy tickets here. Do it.
Synopsis: After the daughter of Wang Wei, a Chinese man with a mysterious past, is kidnapped by a criminal network and he receives no help from the corrupt police, Wei sets out on a rampage to find her himself. His only ally is Navin – a relentless journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. Fueled by a furious vengeance, the unlikely duo ruthlessly fights against the kidnappers in this explosive martial arts showdown.
You can watch the trailer here:
Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Manatsanun Phanlerdwongsakul, Guo Junqing, and Winai Wiangyangkung star in the film, and there is a very special appearance by Yayan Ruhian and Jija Yanin.
The film drops you into the action and the heart of the story from the very first scene. There is very little extraneous storytelling. After the first scene, the action moves to the relationship between a mute father and his stubborn daughter, who believes that her father doesn’t care about her because they don’t live together full-time.
The stunt work and action sequences are nothing short of brilliant. Many of the actors and stunt performers are from different countries and have different fighting styles. One of the best things about the action work is that all of the actors’ skills are used to their best advantage. One of the actors who fights in the Indonesian Silat style uses bladed weapons to his own devastating advantage.
The fights have a complexity and speed that is dazzling, but never overwhelms the eye or the mind. The combatants utilize throws and their own and their opponent’s body weight in a way that is fascinating. While watching it, you might say to yourself, “That’s impossible,” but the evidence that these actions are very possible is right there on the screen. It’s just not something that you or I could do.
What is just as amazing is the cinematography by Meteor Cheung and the thrilling camerawork. I am a bit in awe of whoever the camera op was on this film. One of the most exciting things about The Raid was how close the camera was to the action. It made the fights even more immediate and realistic, and The Furious has some great angles on the most spectacular martial arts sequences throughout the film.
Chinese actor Xie Miao, as the father, and Indonesian actor Joe Taslim, as the husband Navin, are the heart of the film. Miao is mute with a serious mien, and Navin is more of a jokester, hiding heartbreak and his mission, with a more open and casual manner. The two actors have great chemistry whether they are at odds in a fight or working as a team.
Xie Mao has a wonderful moment when he brings his hands up in a guard position that is totally badass. It is the connection between the actor’s self, emotions, and his fighting skills that sends a shock wave through the screen. Joe Taslim is a sly joy to watch, and both actors bring heartfelt power to their roles. You believe that they are men who would stop at nothing to save the people that they love.
The cast members are very well chosen, and they bring the characters to life with flamboyance and utter seriousness, depending on the character and the scene. There are a lot of standouts: Brian Le as Ho, JeeJa Yanin as Matia, Enyou Yang as Rainy, Joey Iwanaga as Paklung, and, of course, action cinema favorite Yayan Ruhian, who, with Taslim, are the film’s connection to Gareth Evans’ beloved The Raid films.
It is not a film that relies only on action; it has great actors with charisma who can also fight like demons. The Furious could be one of the best martial arts films of the century even without that emotional connection and carnage, but it is all the better for making those connections with the characters to the heart.
Director Kenji Tanigaki is a Japanese action choreographer and stunt performer who has worked for thirty years in Hong Kong action cinema, Japanese movies, and finally, films in the United States, when he worked in stunts on Blade II and Snake Eyes, a GI Joe origins movie, and both films had terrific stunt work. But Tanigaki also has a strong grasp of the humanity of the film. These are not cardboard characters or red shirts waiting to be slaughtered. They are real human beings.
The Furious is one of the most exciting films of 2026 and one that shows the extraordinary lengths humans will go to and feats of daring and strength that human beings are capable of when they are defending those that they love and their friends. It is one of the best martial arts films ever made, and can make an entire audience cheer and gasp with shock.
It is that emotional connection that sets The Furious apart, creating a cinematic aria of passion and bloody, brutal violence that sings on a sublime level.
