Notable Cast: Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Yayan
Ruhian, Jeeja Yanin, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga
I love martial arts films. Down to the point that I might
call it a core part of my personality. When there’s a new martial arts action
film coming down the pipeline, you can guarantee that I’ll be there in my best
suit, waiting in line to partake. When there’s a new one that starts to garner
a lot of buzz in the film community, I almost feel surprised. It’s not often
that a martial arts movie makes waves, and too often I feel like some of the
best in the genre are tossed off by the greater film community as just low-brow
entertainment at best. Yet, here we are in 2026, and critics and audiences seem
to be, surprisingly, in love with a new martial arts film.
Of course, the film I’m referring to is The Furious,
the latest international martial arts stunner that has found some success
theatrically even in the US. Directed by action choreographer and stuntman
extraordinaire Kenji Tanigaki, The Furious blends classic Hong Kong
action cinema characters and plotting with an international mix of star power
and martial arts stunt powerhouses, and the results are as violent and driven
as one might expect. Its success overall with audiences, particularly in the
West, is because most audiences understand the language it's using - good guys
beating the ever-living shit out of bad guys, and it does it with immense style
and a raucous amount of diversity in its endless fights.