The Furious review

I've seen The Furious twice now, once by myself and once with a group of friends, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time. In fact, I think I appreciated it even more. This is one of those rare action movies where you immediately want to watch it again because you're still processing everything you just saw. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw fight choreography this consistently inventive and beautifully executed.

A lot of people are going to compare it to The Raid, and I understand why. Joe Taslim is here, the movie has that same relentless momentum, and the action is similarly brutal. Personally, though, I think The Furious is even better. It may not have quite the same architectural elegance as The Raid, but the fights are more varied, more creative, and somehow even more satisfying to watch. Every major set piece feels like the filmmakers sat down and asked themselves, "How do we top the last one?" Then they actually did.

The setup is refreshingly simple. Wang Wei, played by Xie Miao, is a mute handyman whose daughter Rainy has come to visit him from overseas. The two have developed their own way of communicating, and those early scenes do a surprisingly good job of establishing their relationship. Rainy wants to stay with her father, but Wei insists she has to go back because he doesn't think she's safe where he lives. Of course, she's kidnapped before she can leave, and the movie wastes absolutely no time turning into the greatest "dad with a particular set of skills" story since Taken.

From that point forward, it's basically one man dismantling an entire criminal organization one body at a time.

The brilliance of the action isn't just that Wang Wei wins. It's how he wins. He's smaller than many of the people he fights, but he methodically works his way through them with incredible efficiency. The movie makes a point of showing that he doesn't immediately resort to weapons. He fights with his hands until circumstances force him to improvise, and when he finally does pick up a weapon or even an ordinary tool, it's over. The man becomes an absolute nightmare. Every object within reach turns into something lethal.

Along the way he crosses paths with Navin, Joe Taslim's character, an investigative journalist searching for his missing wife. Naturally, they fight before realizing they're after the same organization. Their first encounter is one of the highlights of the movie. It's beautifully choreographed, establishes that both men belong in the same league, and gives each of them a chance to shine before they become reluctant allies. From then on, having two protagonists instead of one only makes the movie better.

The villains deserve just as much credit. Brian Le is fantastic as the ambitious son in law trying to climb the ranks of the criminal organization. Unlike a lot of action movie bad guys, he's every bit as physically capable as the heroes. He's not sitting behind a desk giving orders. He gets into the fights himself, and he's legitimately dangerous. His contract killer is equally entertaining, but the real scene stealer is the hulking adopted son of the crime boss, played by Guo Junqian. He's basically an unstoppable force of nature. Every time you think he's finally down, he gets back up again. Watching him absorb punishment and keep coming was one of the most entertaining running gags in the entire movie.

The final act somehow finds a way to top everything that came before it. By the end, Wang Wei, Navin, the son in law, the adopted son, and the contract killer all end up colliding in one massive fight where allegiances are constantly shifting. At certain points it's almost impossible to tell who's attacking whom because everyone has a reason to hate everyone else. Meanwhile, Rainy refuses to simply escape once she's found because she wants to rescue the other kidnapped children as well. The result is an absolutely glorious, bloody mess that somehow remains easy to follow despite the chaos.

What impressed me most is that the movie never forgets what people came to see. It doesn't bog itself down with unnecessary mythology or melodrama. It gives us two heroes worth rooting for, villains we genuinely want to see lose, and then lets some of the best martial artists working today go to work. The physicality on display is extraordinary. Every punch, throw, kick, and broken bone looks like it hurts.

If you're looking for a great martial arts movie, stop looking. This is it. It's raw, vicious, unapologetically violent, and feels like a modern evolution of the classic Hong Kong action films I grew up loving. It's absolutely not for kids, but it's exactly the kind of movie I would've obsessed over as a teenager.

This is one of the best movies I've seen all year, and easily the best pure action movie of 2026.