There was a time, not so long ago, but long enough that it seems impossible, when access to high-quality martial arts action was near impossible. You had to know the right people, trade the right tapes, or be willing to pay high prices for imports going back to the early 2000s. Jackie Chan was a well-established name, to be sure, with successful crossover titles like Rumble in the Bronx (1995) giving way to Rush Hour (1998), the Shanghai films, and several other titles. But if you wanted to see Iron Monkey (1993), Black Mask (1996), or even some classic Shaw Brothers, you had to *know* where to look. The Americas did have an influx of titles thanks to the popularity of Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport; Lionheart; Double Impact) and Brandon Lee (Showdown in Little Tokyo; Rapid Fire), but nothing like it is now and, in the parlance of the day, audiences are eating. From Hong Kong homages like the John Wick series to actual Asian cinema, thanks to Well Go USA and streamer Hi-yah!, like the Baby Assassins trilogy, Eye for an Eye series, and Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert (2026), folks don’t have to hunt anymore — it’s come right to you. The latest coming to theaters is going to wreck your senses as director/action choreographer Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious is a devastating blitz of action and emotion that allows for few breaks before managing to raise the intensity over and over until everyone’s spent. Incorporating talent in front of and behind the camera, The Furious is like nothing you’ve ever seen and is the film to beat for action for all of 2026.
For an exploration of the film that’s entirely spoiler-free, head over to EoM Contributor Justin Waldman’s TIFF 2025 festival review.
To learn more about the making of The Furious, head over to the four interviews EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning conducted with director Tanigaki, actors Xie Miao and Joe Taslim, and producer Bill Kong.
L-R: Brian Le as Ho and Xie Miao as Wang Wei in THE FURIOUS. Photo Credit: Norachai Kajchapanont. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Somewhere in Southeast Asia, a series of child kidnappings catches the eye of reporter Matia Pham (Jija Yanin), but her investigation reaches a point where her husband, Navin (Joe Taslim), loses track of her. Meanwhile, in the final days of her summer break spent visiting her father, young Rainy (Yang Enyou) is lured into a trap and picked up off the street, sending unassuming handyman Wang Wei (Xie Miao) into a frenzy trying to get her back. When the two men intersect on their quest to find what’s been taken, the perpetrators will soon discover that cruelty comes at a heavy cost.
Even if you’re not familiar with Tanigaki’s direction from projects like Enter the Fat Dragon (2020) or the Shinobi series, you have likely either seen a film he’s appeared in (Sakra; Snake Eyes; Dragon; Blade II; SPL: Kill Zone) or one he’s choreographed (The Prosecutor; Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In; Special ID). These films have featured talent like Donnie Yen (Enter the Fat Dragon; The Prosecutor), Andy On (100 Yards), Sammo Hung (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), Louis Koo (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), Chow Yun-Fat (The Monkey King), Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers), and many more, sometimes working together multiple times across projects. Tanigaki’s name may not be known by households (yet), but the ones that do know, *know him* and trust him. Looking at the cast list for The Furious, a veritable who’s who of cinematic pain, one gets the sense of incoming amazement before the film’s even started. In front of the camera, there’re Xie of the Eye for an Eye films; Taslim of The Night Comes for Us (2018) and The Raid: Redemption (2011); Yayan Ruhian of both The Raid films, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019), and Legend of Gatotkaca (2022); Yanin of Chocolate (2008); Joey Iwanaga of Baby Assassins: 2 Babies (2023) and Enter the Fat Dragon; and Brian Le of Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) and The Paper Tigers (2020). Behind the camera, cinematographer Meteor Cheung (Table for Six series); writers Shum Kwan-Sin (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), Frank Hui (Wasted), Mak Tin-Shu (Kung Fu Jungle), and Lei Zhilong (A Cool Fish); and, the very special ingredient, action choreographer Kensuke Sonomura, who’s responsible for the action in the Baby Assassins series, as well as the director behind HYDRA (2019), Bad City (2022), and Ghost Killer (2024), films that go bar for bar with some of the best martial arts action in modern cinema. For those who can recognize these names and/or projects, The Furious contains an expectation that feels impossible to meet, yet Tanigaki manages to do so again and again; regardless of whatever circumstance his characters must face, they overcome it with ferocity and nobility, taking our breath away each time. For who that don’t, you are in the for the ride of your life and have the great fortune of so much homework afterward because these are names you’ll remember and films you’ll seek to experience.
L-R: Xie Miao as Wang Wei and Joe Taslim as Navin in THE FURIOUS. Photo Credit: Norachai Kajchapanont. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
The success of The Furious begins with the script. The audience is given only as much information as they need and rarely any more than any single person might say in a given situation. This means that we don’t learn Navin’s name until well into the film, same with Wang’s. Who they are matters less than the reasons they are doing what they’re doing, so the focus is on ensuring that the stakes are set and the threat level realized. The opening sequence establishes the baseline conflict (people are trafficking children somewhere in southeast Asia) and that the people doing it are ruthless. Including more than just the cruelty we know exists by virtue of trafficking children, Tanigaki gives us a brief sequence in which Yanin’s Matia throws down with several opponents, only to come up against the bow-and-arrow wielding Ruhian. In brief, Tanigaki shows us that being fast and powerful will only get you so far and that one’s comfort with tools is going to outweigh physical prowess. It’s also a sequence that conveys to the audience that dialogue is going to be in short supply, which makes sense seeing as both Tanigaki and Sonomura understand that smartly designed stunt work communicates just as much, if not more, about a character than dialogue can. How one reacts, their speed, their intensity, their hesitation, and their approach to combat tells us who is honorable, who cares only for pain, and who wants it more — among other things. In this way, the script might seem light or thin, but that’s only because dialogue only comes into play during the setup period with Wang or during the few breaks in the action. Otherwise, Tanigaki shows us what we need to know either through cinematography, stunt work, or actor performance.
With the caliber of talent assembled, this is a relatively easy task. To add in making sure that the performances feel unique, each character utilizes a different fighting style. For instance, Wang we know from the setup portion between himself and Rainy, regularly practices Chinese kung fu, whereas Navin uses judo (grappling), Brian Le’s Ho seems to use a far more aggressive interpretation of drunken master, and Ruhian’s Tak seems to stick to silat. This does several things all at once, whether the audience realizes it or not. First, it helps to differentiate each fighter, crafting a unique fighting form the audience can follow in combat which also helps to convey who may be in control of an engagement based on the style used by the aggressor. Second, it reduces the sense of flatness that can occur in elongated action set pieces wherein the characters all use the same fighting style. The absence of dynamism reduces any sense of wonder or excitement, regardless of current stakes or changes in setting. Third, it creates a sense of anticipation in each sequence as one style of fighting may not be advantageous over another given one’s setting or circumstance. Close-quarters fighting works well for Wang’s more close-up technique, whereas Ho’s might struggle in such a situation; however, given room to bounce or rebound, Ho becomes an impossible force no matter how much Wang tries to move him about or Navin tries to contain him. Similarly, the choice to make Tak use a bow-and-arrow suggests someone who likes to cause pain, focusing on precision with weaponry that supports stealth and attacks from a distance, which enables him to hide a strength in close-quarters combat, as well. Unlike protagonists who are designed with one mode of attack, opting to give Tak flexible strategies turns the right-hand heavy into a serial killer, a shape that moves through shadows and sound with unsettling deftness. Impressively, each time that the audience thinks that we can’t learn something new or see the bar get raised, Tanigaki, Sonomura, and the actors find a way to do so that borders on insanity for its creativity and precision. This film is going to throw everything it has at you and still come up with something new in the very next scene.
Yayan Ruhin as Tak in THE FURIOUS. Photo Credit: Norachai Kajchapanont. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
The Furious is a film that entirely lives up to its title and the hype. The characters are fueled by the kind of rage that empowers one to push through unimaginable physical pain, making each effort a matter of spirit. As long as that doesn’t break, everything else will hold and no other force on this planet can stop them. Of course, as we learn, this applies to everyone in the story, so don’t expect the leads to be the only ones imbued with such a gift of violence and, cinematically, audiences all the better for it. Thankfully, in part to the cast and the approach of the script, the action may be what audiences show up for, but the ride they’re given feels entirely earned. We worry for the safety of the characters we care about, we cheer when they overcome, and we hurt when victory could be out of reach. Because of this, The Furious isn’t just a high-octane thrill-ride (which it very much is), the pathos within it makes any desire to return absolutely worth it.
In theaters June 12th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Lionsgate The Furious webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
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