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Excuse my tardiness with my review of action maestro Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious as I meant to have it out when the film hit theaters last month. I was able to distribute my exclusive interviews with Tanigaki as well as the film’s stars Joe Taslim and Xie Miao (click here for all three exclusive chats) but with work and my daughter’s surgery and subsequent recovery, there was just no time and thus life intervened once again. I also felt that by the time my review would have come out that my opinion didn’t really matter as everyone and their grandmother associated with action film blogging had already dished out their reviews hoping to be quoted on the eventual Blu-Ray cover when it hits so who really cares at this point?
Well, I care and with The Furious crashing onto Digital this week, I thought why not put out my thoughts as I probably would have to turn in my action film blogging membership card if I didn’t with this one. So, what better way of defining the film than to include it in my Essential Action category reserved for movies that are just that, essential viewing for any serious or hardcore action fan. Spoiler alert…The Furious not only succeeds in probably being the best action film of 2026 (or any recent year for that matter) but it looks to do what other action classics like Bloodsport, John Wick and The Raid films did for the genre and that is essentially redefine action as we see it. This is the very definition of essential action viewing and just when you thought you saw something new and fresh with a fight sequence in the film, Tanigaki and prolific martial arts/action/fight coordinator Kensuke Sonomoura (Baby Assassins, Ghost Killer) say, “hold our beers” and delivers something even more insane and jaw dropping. Simply put, if you love this stuff, then you’ll really love The Furious and what the exceptional, elite cast and crew have done for the genre.
In terms of plot, this is probably where I can nitpick and say something kind of negative as this is standard stuff we have seen before. I mean Liam Neeson basically created his own subgenre for it with the Taken films and ever since that first flick hit, there has been a barrage of one-man armies unleashing hell to rescue their daughters or loved ones from vile human traffickers. Yep, this time we have one of the most criminally underrated martial arts action stars in Xie Miao (Hunt the Wicked, My Father is a Hero), playing one sympathetic father with his character of Wang Mei. Just in case Wang being a struggling single father didn’t make him sympathetic enough to the audience, Tanigaki makes him a mute single father struggling to raise his daughter Rainy (Enyou Yang) who is spending summer vacation with him in Thailand. Yep, he’s got me beat as I’m simply just a struggling single dad, but I do talk so there’s that.
On the other side of the same coin, we have Navin, played by action legend Joe Taslim (The Raid, The Night Comes for Us), who is also sympathetic in the fact that his wife has been kidnapped by, you guessed it, vile human traffickers. It seems that Navin’s wife is a reporter and she had the unfortunate misfortune of getting too close to the traffickers while doing a story. When Wang’s daughter is taken from him, this puts him on a collision course with Navin and realizing they both have the same problem, the two eventually team up to take on everyone involved to retrieve their loved ones, and I do mean EVERYONE!
Substandard plot points aside, Tanigaki knows this is all about the action and he even has villains that are worthy of our heroes to engage with, and these baddies are the bottom of the barrel. We have The Raid’s Yayan Ruhian who makes his character of Mad Dog from that classic film seem like a boy scout compared to who he is playing here. Ruhian plays Tak who is essentially a track suit wearing, arrow shooting bad ass of unstoppable proportions who seriously enjoys killing people for the simple love of it. There is also the force of nature AKA Brian Le (Gladiator Underground) starring as the powerhouse behemoth Ho who is the very definition of runaway freight train. His sheer presence and fight scenes are insane and innovative and he literally uses himself as a heat seeking missile. Baby Assassins star Joey Iwanaga plays Paklung who, at first, seems to be more brain than braun but that changes in the finale when he deploys some sick kicking skills. Last but not least, there is action antagonist expert Sahajak Boonthanakit (Skin Trade) enlisting in the film as Mr. Song who is basically the leader of the whole operation. Boonthankit has made a living playing society’s worse villains in action films and here he is bringing his A game.
Before I talk about what we all want to talk about with the film’s elite action sequences, I first must lay out that Tanigaki brings layers of heartfelt human emotion to the proceedings and there is no cause for concern because viewers will relate to both Wang and Navin and will want to see them save their loved ones and save the day. This isn’t just extreme. bloody, visceral action for the sake of it. There are real and dire consequences to be had and with our stalwart heroes, the audience will be on board for the wild ride, and their rescue mission of martial arts infused vengeance. Both Miao and Taslim execute their parts with efficiency and when all is said and done, these are two heroes who deserve to come out on top when the dust settles and the last body hits the floor.
Miao and Taslim have a certain kind of energy and chemistry together and their buddy action aesthetic is welcoming and applauded. Miao is fantastic as a mute and his physical acting should be applauded as he says so much without uttering a word. Taslim is one of today’s top tier stars in action cinema as he can pull off sympathetic in one movie and dastardly in another without breaking a sweat. Taslim just might be an action cinema treasure.
I could go on all day and talk about how the film oozes with dark, brooding and unflinching atmosphere, but why waste time with all that when it’s the action we all came here for. Certain words come to mind when I talk about the action design and what it offers fans. Relentless is one word as the fights in The Furious are a kinetic, take no prisoners marathon of bone breaking and blood spraying carnage that is unrivaled. Tanigaki and Sonomoura have truly crafted action sequences that change the game and how we see it. Miao, Taslim and company unleash some of the most barbaric, brutal and unflinching action design ever put to celluloid that can best be described as unadulterated throat ripping, eye gauging, unforgiving martial arts action that will satisfy on all levels. This is onscreen martial combat in its purest and stripped-down savage form yet. The sequences on full display here are a bevy of no holds barred, gravity defying, death defying fight choreography that is inventive, fierce and killer with no filler. The team assembled here is of today’s top martial arts action stars serving up a master class of apocalyptic empty-handed mayhem that nothing else will come close to for a long time. Is that good enough? Maybe I should put more adjectives in place, but I think you get the point so I will move on.
Highlights (and there are ample ones at that) include Miao going to town with assailants in an MMA Octagon with a ball peen hammer as he literally bludgeons people’s head in with ferocious and untapped brutality. When I say this is redefining stuff, I mean Miao basically climbs up his assailants as they charge at him and uses each body as a ladder prong while he plays a ferocious form of king of the broken bone mountain. It’s like an aggressive and unabashed circus act that you have to witness. We also get to see Taslim and his fellow The Raid co-star Yayan Ruhian square off in a rematch that promises to be even more insane and hard hitting than their previous one in Gareth Evans’ classic action pic. Not only does it deliver, but it surpasses their previous effort if you can believe it. There’s also a, what did I just see, sequence where Wang and Rainy play a lethal game of chicken with a horde of thugs while on motorcycle and it comes off like a sadistic motorcross match where victory means you don’t get obliterated by the bike. I do not think that any of the assailants won the trophy on that one.
The finale is a blood-soaked chef’s kiss and is worth the price of admission alone. For the climatic barrage of martial arts apocalypse, Tanigaki and Sonomoura pull out all the stops and the brakes and essentially change the laws of physics and gravity with extreme choreography that is both grounded, and extreme at the same time. I’ve heard some criticisms of the film that the fighting is unrealistic but let me just defend that by saying if The Furious was filled with realism, each fight would be over in two or less minutes and be nothing more than grabbing, pushing and running away. If you complain about the action in this film, then you’re not a fan of this type of film. Pure and simple.
The remaining thirty plus minutes is the stuff of legends and while on paper it sounds generic as it’s basically Wei and Navin taking on Pak Lung, Tak, and Ho in a local police station but that’s where the standard definition stops. Yes, it’s generic stuff that’s been done multiple times before, but Kensuke Sonomoura’s creation can be best described as both brutal and beautiful at the same time. Think of a savage and bombastic ballet of fists, feet, knees, elbows and pretty much every other body part being used for maximum effect where his muses get to rise to the occasion on a playground of unconventional violence and implementing several styles of martial arts discipline is what really makes the action sizzle. Just like the Bloodsport, which is also hailed as a redefining martial arts classic, The Furious gives you ample styles of unarmed brutality. All on display are Xie Miao’s flow like water Kung Fu. Joe Taslim’s effectiveness and brutal intricacies of Judo. Yayan Ruhian deploying the insane speed and devastation of Silat. Joey Iwagana’s kicking master class, or Brian Le’s battering ram style that utilizes blunt force trauma as if it was being executed by a Mack truck. What’s more impressive is Le is on record as saying that he basically taught himself and all I can say is he’s both master and student morphed into one brick breaking force to be reckoned with.
The choreography in The Furious is like almost nothing we have ever seen and we’ve seen a lot. The fights are infused with implementing ways to move the body that I cannot explain in a short amount of time. I am a martial artist having studies for well over thirty years and this film made me see martial combat in a unique and distinct way and if anything, the movie should be studied in school as to how to do it not only right but creatively all at once while getting filmmakers to think of just how action can adapt and overcome for years to come. The Furious basically invents a new kind of action design language that interprets the standard and makes it something else completely. Tanigaki and Sonomoura execute each and every move with precision, unbridled force and flawlessness that really needs to be watched over and over again.
To sum it all up, The Furious is the very definition of game changer. This is martial arts action cinema redefined for a whole new generation, and the insanely stacked and talented cast led by Xie Miao and Joe Taslim are all at the top of their games. Cast and crew all execute it all with master class precision and this movie does something that I have only experienced a few times in the past and that’s asking the question of “now what?” How do you do an encore? How does action cinema learn from what The Furious has to teach and offer? This film not only raises the bar, but it also shatters it into a million pieces.
The Furious is next level action from a team of Navy SEAL caliber action cinema talent that is unrivaled. This one not only lives up to the hype but it jump spinning hook kicks it into the wall with some of the most savage and visceral empty-handed martial combat ever captured on screen. The story is rich with heartfelt human emotion while at the same time brandishing some of the best and unrivaled blood spraying and bone shattering action design that will be nearly impossible to surpass in the future. This is elite martial arts action that will redefine the genre for years to come.
VERDICT: 5 Out of 5 Stars
The Furious Sets a New Standard for Martial Arts Action Cinema and is a Brutal, Visceral and Relentless Assault on the Senses!
The Furious is the Movie to Beat for the Best of 2026
A Perfect Slice of Bad Ass Cinema!
The Furious is Now Available on Digital & VOD!
