The Furious more than lives up to its name.
Directed by Kenji Tanigaki, The Furious follows Wang Wei (Xie Miao), a man whose life is upended when his daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network right before his eyes. Receiving no help from the local police, he immediately sets out on a rampage to retrieve his daughter and bring her home safely. Along the way, he meets Navin (Joe Taslim), a journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared at the hands of the same organization. Together, the duo attacks the streets with unhinged vengeance, leaving no corner of the underworld safe as they attempt to retrieve their beloved family members.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen action as fast and… well… furious as Tanigaki offers us here. Though only his third feature, Tanigaki’s career is best known as the stunt co-ordinator on countless other projects and he puts every one of those impulses to good use onscreen. After all, this is a film where characters slide under and over one another while turning every object into a potential weapon. From arrows to ice blocks, bottles to bicycles, no untethered object is safe from becoming lethal in the hands of these heroes and villains.
But the centre of the film remains its star. As Wang Wei, Xie Miao flips, fires and flies on every cylinder. He’s so slick and so swift that watching him fight feels like we’re watching the smoothest of ballets. (And the intensity of his running would make Tom Cruise jealous.) His movements may be violent but Xie Miao carries himself with such elegance that one simply cannot take his eyes off of him. Teamed with Taslim, the duo makes masochistic magic together as they pummel bad guys from floor to ceiling. Yes, some of the visuals are graphic and bloody but so much more of the film is simply dazzling to behold.
It’s brutal but somehow beautiful.
Even so, Furious gives more to Xie Miau than merely conducting murderous mayhem. In fact, there’s a surprising level of empathy in his performance that makes him also endearing. Though he never speaks a word, Xie Miao’s eyes soften instantly whenever he’s paired with his onscreen daughter. We know that he fights on her behalf but only to keep her safe. (And, to be fair, he also insists that she continue her training herself as he knows the world is a brutal place.) And, when the two are offered moments together, they demonstrate a parent-child connection that feels genuine.
But more than this, while the film could focus solely on one family’s trauma, Tanigaki allows his story to broaden its scope. Instead of merely a ‘revenge’ movie, The Furious comes across as a cry for justice on a larger scale. While it doesn’t get into details, its exploration of child exploitation feels both earnest and urgent. This is the sort of action movie that seems like a call to expose corruption while preserving the safety of our children at the same time.
Though, to be clear, it’s not asking us to pick up a hammer in order to do so. Instead, the film feels like the sort of passionate call for the public to wake up and demand more from government agencies and police who seem stymied by the epidemic. As a result, The Furious seems to have a deeper level of commitment to its storyline that few other action films are willing to lean into.
In short, this isn’t just about saving his daughter. It’s about saving all of our children.
For these reasons, there really is something truly special about The Furious. With fire and fury, Tanigaki is unleashed what feels like the perfect action film. With jaw dropping choreography, the film gets the viewer’s heart pounding and their pulse racing. However, at the same time, the film also feels like it serves a larger purpose than flying fists and wild weaponry. Instead, Tanigaki embeds it with an emotional core and cry for help that grounds the film, even during attack mode.
The Furious is available in theatres on Friday, June 12th, 2026.
