Jun 17, 2026 12:30pm IST
‘The Furious’ Review: The Best Action Film This Year… So Far
No one goes to watch an action film for the plot. “The Furious” is no different. The narrative structure here is as basic as it gets: Xie Miao stars as Wang Wei, an unassuming, mute handyman whose young daughter, Rainy (Yang Enyou), is abducted by a ruthless human trafficking syndicate operating in an intensely corrupt environment. When the compromised local police dismiss his case due to a lack of evidence, Wei is forced to unleash a furious vengeance upon the criminal underworld. Along his bloody path, he crosses paths with Navin (Joe Taslim), an investigative journalist whose own wife mysteriously vanished while digging into the very same ring. Together, they form an unlikely alliance to dismantle the powerful syndicate and rescue the abducted children.
But a basic story is exactly what this movie needs, because the plot isn't what the audience is there for.
Related Stories
Instead, “The Furious” delivers the kind of hyper-kinetic adrenaline rush that will get you right off the edge of your seat. This is an international production that showcases elite martial arts performers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and the United States, and the chemistry behind the camera is pure mind-melding. Japanese director Kenji Tanigaki links up with his fight choreographer Kensuke Sonomura and Hong Kong cinematographer Meteor Cheung to create an entirely new visual grammar for screen violence. The camera rises, falls, twists, tilts, and whirls in perfect sync with the chaotic geometry of the performers' movements, while American editor Chris Tonick chops the footage into jagged moments that amplify the bone-crunching impact of every single attack and defense.
The film relies heavily on extended, breathtaking set pieces designed specifically to make the audience react. Case in point: an early, agonizingly intense truck-and-foot chase sequence. Our protagonist literally runs barefoot through broken glass to save his child. It is an explosive sequence that sets a brutal precedent: just when you think he is finally about to prevail, the movie violently knocks him down and forces him to start over from scratch.
Much of the movie's crazy energy comes from its awesome lineup of bad guys. The heroes have to fight their way through waves of regular thugs, including a terrifying powerhouse played by Brian Le. This bald, muscular beast treats opponents like human ragdolls and takes heavy hits without even flinching. You just can't hurt him.
But the real threat is the big boss, Paklung (Joey Iwanaga). At first, he looks like a harmless corporate crook in a nice suit. But the second his glasses come off, it's game on. Standing tall and moving with a wild, bouncing rhythm, he unleashes crazy, high-kicking attacks that will drop any fighter instantly. Get too close, and he'll kick you straight into next week.
While weapons are plentiful, the most relentlessly entertaining fights feature a distinct lack of elegance, leaning into a brutal survival instinct where characters weaponize standard household items. Characters butcher each other with ice picks, ball-peen hammers, sledgehammers, tables, chairs, and beer bottles. At one point, opponents even beat the absolute hell out of each other using entire bicycles like medieval broadswords.
The best, however, is strictly saved for the grand finale: a relentless five-way battle in a heavily guarded criminal stronghold that you simply cannot take your eyes off of. It begins with a magnificent thunderclap preceding a storm, launching into a sequence of martial arts showdowns that serves as a cumulative breakout for everyone involved. You know the end; you knew exactly how things were going to finish the moment the movie started. Yet, you are completely, beautifully engrossed. That is the magic of what “The Furious” does so well—it transforms predictable storytelling into an absolute standout achievement of pure, visceral action cinema.
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.