If you didn’t know who director Kenji Tanigaki (Enter the Fat Dragon) was before, then after you see his explosive newest feature, The Furious, you’ll know he is one to look out for if you’re a fan of movies like The Raid (2011) and John Wick (2014). So, prepare yourself for one of the most beautifully choreographed and directed action movies of the year. What The Furious manages to do with the genre is not only give audiences a pulsating, adrenaline-fueled action flick, but one where the violence and chaos has a purpose in an enriched story that carefully balances out the action and heart.
A scene in THE FURIOUS. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
The movie starts with Matia (JeeJa Yanin) as Matia, a reporter, who immediately sees a child being abused on the streets which sets up the first action piece. This slowly develops, but then we transport in time to a few months later when we meet Wang (Xie Miao) whose daughter (Enyou Yang) gets kidnapped by child traffickers. Wang is determined not to let his daughter go and starts an on-foot chase against their car that ultimately continues the fast-paced action Tanigaki ensures the audience is prepared for throughout the feature. When his efforts are futile, Wang teams up with Navin (Joe Taslim), another journalist who’s been investigating these child traffickers, to find Wang’s daughter and Navin’s wife — Matia. Throughout their journey, they’re met with different immovable forces including characters played by fan favorites Brian Le (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and Yayan Ruhian (The Raid series), as well as Joey Iwanaga (Baby Assassins: 2 Babies), which not only build upon the impossible task that Wang and Navin have in front of them, but gives the audience something to truly have their jaw unhinged by with the remarkable and impeccable action sequences these five actors manage to pull off. Whether isolated or all collectively, the actors load every action piece as a shot of adrenaline and inject it straight into the audience, keeping them heavily engaged and captivated.
A scene in THE FURIOUS. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
The script for The Furious was written by Frank Hui (Wasted), Lei Zhilong, Mak Tin Shu (Detective vs. Sleuths), and Shum Kwan Sin (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), and, while the story is not the selling point here, it is what keeps the audience from having their hearts give out from too much adrenaline. As simplistically as it can be stated, the movie is about a father wanting to get his daughter back from kidnappers and a husband/journalist wanting to take down a crime ring that has also kidnapped his wife. Fighting for your loved ones and ending child endangerment and kidnapping is a universal want, so having those as the crux makes the story work effortlessly.
Xie Miao as Wang Wei in THE FURIOUS. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
The action in The Furious has been talked about plenty at this point, so instead of continuing to rave about how brilliant it is, I want to focus on one segment in particular. The scene involves the characters of all five men — Brian Le, Yayan Ruhian, Joey Iwanaga, Xie Miao (Eye for an Eye), and Joe Taslim (Mortal Kombat; The Night Comes for Us) — all with different fighting styles and techniques, in a battle. The sequence deserves to be hailed as one of the greatest action pieces in modern cinema. It is truly a spectacle that will never be able to be replicated. The scene takes place in the third act when the emotions are high and the action is cranked to 11, lighting the proverbial fire under you and having you foaming at the mouth, cheering and screaming in excitement as it unfolds.
Xie Miao as Wang Wei in THE FURIOUS. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
While The Furious may not be telling a story that is inherently original, it doesn’t detract from the fact that it is filled with passion and brilliance from the actors. While Taslim is the clear stand out star here, to negate the performance that Xie Miao brings would be unjust. As for Brian, Yayan, and Joey, they all bring their A-game to the action and create a tense world for the audience to get lost in, and one where we want to see our heroes absolutely annihilate the bad guys. The Furious is one that is best viewed with friends so you can get riled up together with the pageantry that is presented in Tanigaki’s direction and executed through the action direction of Kensuke Sonomura (with a whopping 91 stunt credits including Baby Assassins 2, Ghost Killer, and Baby Assassins: Nice Days). The Furious is a movie that needs to be seen to be believed, and it truly touts itself as one of the greatest modern action movies, deserving that title tenfold.
Screened during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival The Furious webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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