Only halfway through the year, with six months still to go, “The Furious” is, hands down, the best action movie of the year… so far.
Every year, millions of reports are made around the world regarding missing children. They are torn away from their families, robbed of their childhoods and everything familiar, and taken into the unknown—places no parent or loved one would ever want to imagine. This very real tragedy continues to plague our world and remains one of the greatest crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, this is where the story begins.
Non-Stop Action
“The Furious” is a non-stop, exhilarating action feature that demands your undivided attention. While maintaining an intense, high-energy pace, it also finds meaningful ways to pull at your heartstrings and evoke raw emotion.
Somewhere in Southeast Asia (although I recognized that city skyline immediately and can confirm that all of the filming locations were in Bangkok, Thailand), we meet Wang Wei, portrayed by Xie Miao. A tradesman by day, his work keeps him occupied and away from his young daughter, Rainy (Yang Enyou).
Although their relationship has become strained, you can feel both the desire and the need for them to reconnect. Unfortunately, the demands of everyday life and circumstance continue to keep them apart.
What is particularly interesting is what isn’t said, but instead conveyed through Xie Miao’s performance. For reasons the film never explains, Wang Wei is mute, so many of his scenes rely on intimate close-ups that capture every subtle expression and flash of aggression. Rather than defining him by his disability, the film introduces him as a man who easily adapts to any situation and is more than capable of getting his point across through eye contact, body language, and, when necessary, his fists. Oh, and he does it all in flip-flops, might I add.
Impressive and Immersive Stunt Choreography
After a series of tragic events, Rainy is kidnapped by a ruthless criminal empire. With no help from the police, Wang Wei refuses to let his disability define him. He fights tooth and nail, stopping at nothing to find his daughter.
Yes, it’s a familiar and easy-to-follow premise, but what separates “The Furious” from films like “Taken” and “One Battle After Another” is its incredible fight choreography and a director who knows exactly how to capture every brutal encounter.
Kenji Tanigaki (“Rurouni Kenshin,” “Snake Eyes”), an accomplished stunt performer and fight coordinator with a long and distinguished career in cinema, brings all of his experience and expertise to this project as its director. The result is a film that will, without a doubt, be remembered as one of the best martial arts movies of this decade.
Every fight introduces opponents with their own distinct combat styles, ranging from Kung Fu to Judo to Taekwondo. The real excitement, however, comes when the choreography abandons convention. Everyday objects become deadly weapons, and carefully structured fights erupt into savage, animalistic free-form brawls that are as unpredictable as they are, only adding fuel to the fire.
Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian Co-Star
If you’re a fan of the violence and rampage this film delivers, you’ll appreciate just how stacked the cast is. Joe Taslim plays Navin, a journalist whose wife has gone missing. He’s fighting against the same fugitives from justice as our hero, hoping she’ll be returned safely.
My first introduction to Taslim was in the 2011 film “The Raid,” and it would be nearly impossible to talk about this feature without mentioning it. Not only did “The Raid” completely blindside audiences and win over action fans worldwide, but this film also features hallway fight sequences that perfectly echo those iconic corridor battles. To make things even better, another recognizable actor from “The Raid” appears here as well.
Yayan Ruhian, best known for his role as Mad Dog in “The Raid,” portrayed a vicious yet highly precise fighter who stunned audiences around the world with his speed and ability to take down even the strongest opponents. Here, he plays an archer and second-in-command who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s focused, disciplined, and always ready to get the job done.
A Fast Pace
I think it’s safe to say these two actors bring not only familiar faces to the film, but also experience, charisma, and authenticity to their characters. But who am I kidding? Let them fight.
But not every film is perfect. There are some effects that look a little cheap, but everything moves at such a fast pace that if you aren’t paying close attention, they can easily go unnoticed.
In my recent review, I criticized a film for using a continent as its setting without being more specific. However, I believe the message here is that these horrible acts against children don’t need to be reduced to one setting or one country, because they are happening everywhere, every day, to someone.
Societal Takeaways Underneath its Action
Sure, this is a film that I highly enjoyed for its action and ferociousness, but there is something deeper to take away from it. Earlier in the film, they highlight that these crimes are happening in the slums of this city, targeting people the public may not truly miss. It’s easy to discard someone when you already view them as trash.
Here, we have a father who said no. A father who defied all obstacles and fought through blood and bone—not only for what is right, but for what he sees as precious.
