The Furious
June 12th, 2026
MOVIE: THE FURIOUS
STARRING: MIAO XIE, JOE TASLIM, ENYOU YANG, YAYAN RUHIAN
DIRECTED BY: KENJI TANIGAKI
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 4 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 113 MINUTES
There are many ways to love and appreciate a martial arts film. What I’ve always admired most is that, like any art form, the genre constantly adapts, evolves, and reinvents itself. From Jackie Chan to Jet Li to Iko Uwais, every generation has produced superstar performers who have pushed martial arts cinema forward with every punch, kick, and innovation. The Furious is the latest film poised to set the genre ablaze. Featuring an exhilarating new style of combat in which bodies are battered with hammers, wooden pallets, and bare fists, all in pursuit of dismantling a child trafficking ring, The Furious is bold, brutal, and bloodthirsty filmmaking.
As far as the plot goes, it’s as simple as it gets. Wang (Miao Xie) is a mute man raising his daughter Rainy (Enyou Yang) somewhere in Southeast Asia. He works at a restaurant, trains in martial arts, and does everything he can to protect his daughter from a dangerous world. But when Rainy is tricked by a young boy asking for help and kidnapped in broad daylight, Wang tears through the streets in pursuit, first in flip-flops and then barefoot across rocks and broken glass. His desperate attempt to rescue her leaves him battered and bruised, but it’s only the beginning. When the police prove useless, Wang embarks on a relentless hunt fueled by rage and desperation before the worst can happen.
The second layer of The Furious follows Navin (Joe Taslim), another father searching for his daughter with his wife’s help. Unlike Wang, Navin has been pursuing the traffickers for some time and carries the scars of that obsession. During Wang’s pursuit through a nightclub, the two men realize they are chasing the same enemies. From there, their mission becomes a ruthless gauntlet of bone-crunching fights across a variety of locations. A UFC cage, a high-rise building, a meat-packing plant- anywhere that offers an opportunity to turn ordinary objects into deadly weapons becomes a playground for spectacular action sequences.
An average audience member might ask, “Aren’t all martial arts films the same?” The Furious quickly proves otherwise. Director Kenji Tanigaki isn’t simply interested in spilling blood- though there is plenty of that. His focus is on creating a fresh style of choreography. The combat revolves around whatever happens to be within reach, whether it’s a wooden pallet, the loose fabric of an opponent’s pants, or a pair of scissors. The fights aren’t graceful displays of precision but chaotic struggles built on momentum, leverage, and constantly shifting weight. Wang rolls over one opponent only to be kicked to the ground, scrambling beneath another attacker before launching into his next move. It evokes the inventiveness of Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master, the ferocity of The Raid 2, and the elegance of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
At its core, however, The Furious is a rescue mission propelled by the unstoppable momentum of a freight train. From one sequence to the next, Tanigaki expertly balances the contrasting approaches of Wang and Navin. One is driven by fresh, uncontrollable rage; the other by years of frustration and heartbreak. Together, they form an unstoppable and deeply angry duo, resulting in some of the most thrilling martial arts action in recent memory. The Furious feels like the beginning of a new chapter for action cinema- at least until it inspires the next great filmmaker to push the genre even further. That’s the beauty of martial arts movies. They are always learning, always evolving, and always finding new ways to hit harder. See The Furious with a raucous crowd that understands the assignment. You won’t regret it.
4 STARS
THE FURIOUS IS PLAYING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2026.
Written by: Leo Brady
