The Furious Review

Directed By: Kenji Tanigaki
Written By: Mak Tin Shu, Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan Sin, Frank Hui
Runtime: 114 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence and language.

Xie Miao – Wei Wang
Joe Taslim – Navin
Enyou Yang – Rainy Wang
Joey Iwanaga – Pak Lung
Yayan Ruhian – Tak
Sahajak Boonthanakit – Mr. Song
Brian Le – Ho
JeeJa Yanin – Matia

Director Kenji Tanigaki delivers a frantic, nonstop, bloody ballet of violence in the new martial arts-heavy action movie, The Furious. Hailing from a stunt and fight coordinator background, Tanigaki brings strong authenticity and visual flair to this exciting action experience.

Set “somewhere in Southeast Asia,” the plot of The Furious concerns the mute handyman, Wei Wang (Miao), who takes various jobs around town while trying to raise his young daughter Rainy (Yang) and set a good example. He’s clearly haunted by his past life, as shown by residual damage from a wound at the back of his skull.

Unfortunately, Rainy gets kidnapped by human traffickers, which puts Wang on the warpath to rescue her. His wrathful path eventually brings him into contact with Navin (Mortal Kombat II star Taslim), who’s been investigating the traffickers’ operation, as his wife, Matia (Yanin), was trying to seek the whereabouts of the missing children before she was caught trying to rescue a kidnapped child in the movie’s prologue.

It’s now up to the unlikely duo of Wang and Navin to rescue Rainy and the missing children and bring down the human trafficking operation, no matter how many violent thugs they have to go through.

It’s always fun to watch an action movie helmed by experienced martial artists and stunt coordinators. It at least promises that the action will look legit, fast-paced, kinetic, and visually impressive. The Furious certainly brings that to the table.

Also, the lead actors perform most of their own stunts and fight choreography, so that means the action and fight sequences look way more cohesive than typical Hollywood blockbusters. Tanigaki favors much longer takes and shots, where the main actors take center stage with very few cuts, offering a greater sense of immersion.

Xie Miao delivers an especially strong performance, playing the determined, relentless, and loving father, Wei Wang. The character, as a mute, has no spoken dialogue, making it a one-hundred percent physical performance.

However, for Miao, not having any spoken dialogue is not a detraction but a strength. He physically showcases his love and care for his daughter, his despair and desperation over her kidnapping, and even his rage against her kidnappers. Miao creates a universal language through his physical movement, not just through his incredible fight sequences, but he also generates a harrowing emotional arc for his character.

His first meeting with Taslim’s Navin is crackling with cinematic energy, as they initially mistake each other for enemies, leading to one of the movie’s best fight scenes. Eventually, they realize that they are both after the traffickers and form an unlikely partnership to bring them down and save Rainy.

Despite the movie primarily being an English-language feature, the aspect comes off as unnecessary. Most of the dialogue in the movie is superficial. Plus, the English dialogue in certain parts comes off as woefully forced, especially in scenes involving non-native English speakers, which feature some noticeable instances of characters’ dialogue being overdubbed into English.

Considering Xie Mao delivers the film’s strongest performance without any actual dialogue, The Furious works best when the characters speak physically through their fighting, unlocking a unique type of performance art.

Also, the movie runs too long in the final act. The action and fight choreography are still good, but the shocking return of one character is where The Furious starts overstaying its welcome. The return of said character is amusing and draws a big reaction from the audience. However, the character’s surprising return adds little to the overall narrative and culminates in a rather underwhelming outcome.’

With the movie’s R-rating, Tanigaki depicts some rather dark and shocking subject matter. The Furious throws in some surprisingly bleak and harsh moments at points, but it raises the stakes for Navin and Miao, as they try to vanquish the vilest scum imaginable.

Tanigaki also shows a flair for creativity in his fight scenes. For example, one of the villains, Mr. Song (Boonthanakit), punishes his associates by freezing them to death in blocks of ice. The results of these victims are shown later, and at one point, someone uses a sledgehammer, smashing the frozen human remains and launching the ice chunks like projectiles. In short, the fight sequences grow especially wild, but in a crazy, fun manner.

Regardless of its flaws, The Furious still delivers a fun, bone-crunching, action-heavy experience. Fans of martial arts and hand-to-hand-heavy action flicks are guaranteed a fun night out at the movies.

Where To Watch The Furious

The Furious arrives in theaters on June 12, courtesy of Lionsgate.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Kenji Tanigaki delivers a frantic, nonstop, bloody ballet of violence in the new martial arts-heavy action movie, The Furious. Xie Miao leads the narrative with a strong physical performance, creating a nuanced, layered character despite having absolutely zero spoken dialogue. The English-language aspect comes off as a bit forced due to some rather clunky dialogue that detracts from the experience. However, The Furious works best when the actors communicate their characters during the action and stunt scenes, where the lead cast members perform most of the stunts themselves, creating impressively cohesive and stunning fight sequences.