‘The Furious’ REVIEW: Grudge Match of the Millennium
‘The Furious’ REVIEW: Grudge Match of the Millennium
Wang Wei (Xie Miao) unsheathing his weapon | Still courtesy of Edko Films
One of the more striking images of The Furious as shown in its official trailer could also serve its entire summation of strength: in an overwhelming mass of bodies that began as an coordinated ambush attack, Wang Wei (Xie Miao) dodges and climbs various enemies that stand in his way as he inflicts severe, bloody blunt force head trauma upon them with his hammer, ultimately forming a period that he stands on top of. It is a sight to behold, even if ultimately not even a top 5 entry in the category of “most insane interaction in a fight” in the movie (which speaks less to the effectivity of the scene itself — which is very — and more to the general intensity the entire movie works on), but also a sort of ‘statement’ on what makes this intense brawler one of the most illuminating genre works, or movies in general, this year. The Furious is the near-endpoint of a commixture of action’s past and present done with craft and viscera, done through such technical tangible movement that it hoists itself up to undeniability, hitting you in the head with insane stuntwork and a self-confident sense of style all the while.
This implication of commixture is already more than apparent in the personnel working on this movie. Director Kenji Tanigaki is more than familiar with the inner workings of action cinema, and that is for sure one hell of an understatement. Having worked with the stunts and fight choreography for films such as Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Raging Fire, and the live-action Rurouni Kenshin adaptations, and a constant collaborator with Donnie Yen, he knows his way around scoping choreography to a heightened degree steeped in Hong Kong action tradition. Same goes with the fight choreographer of this film, Kensuke Sonomura, who has carved out a niche for himself through his intricate, frantic brand of action as seen in his work within Yugo Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins franchise, his own filmography, and other projects he has worked with and left a stamp on. The central cast, who are tasked with the ambitious endeavor of performing every punch, kick, pratfall, and beyond, all have been noted action film actors from across numerous countries and decades with their own distinct flavor (Miao had his start on The Enforcer alongside Jet Li as a child actor, Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian are cemented modern Indonesian action icons with their involvement with The Raid films and other acclaimed facemelters, dancer and martial artist Joey Iwanaga has already worked with both Tanigaki and Sonomura in past outings, and JeeJa Yanin and Brian Le both have implemented their real life martial arts practice in their filmographies). With these primary figureheads, it is no wonder, yet still such an utter bliss, that The Furious is as well-oiled as it is in form and tangibility.
Navin (Joe Taslim) executing a throw | Still courtesy of Edko Films
Credit where credit is due, this is not just a two-hour fight choreo VFX reel (though if it were, I would still be losing my mind), as it is tied together by a simple, broad yet effective story that immediately sets the stakes for the rest of the film. The Furious, at its core, is a tale of revenge, one inflicted by father Wang Wei (Miao), who, after the kidnapping of his daughter (Yang Enyou) by human traffickers, must break out of his isolation as a result of a mysterious past and rescue her with brute force. Joining him is journalist Navin (Taslim), who himself has an axe to grind after the disappearance of his wife (Yanin), who planned to expose the trafficking operation
Both Miao and Taslim form a nice little rapport in their physicality (especially in the former with a dialogueless performance he pulls off really well) that provides a nice “bash brothers” dynamic to the proceedings, and the father-daughter relationship at its core not only is heartwarming in of itself (helps that Enyou in her young age is more than able to keep up with the intensity of the film) but is a compelling central figure in the web of tangled emotions and motivations that lie beneath the surface of its heroes and villains. Families, vengeance, regret, and vows all make themselves unsubtly apparent as the prevailing theme, but with a film like this, sometimes straightforward works well as character and plot motivators, especially as it sets the table of what people are here to see: how they are seen through the fights.
Wang Wei (Xie Miao) and Rainy (Yang Enyou) on a motorcycle, wearing determined expressions | Still courtesy of Edko Films
I am not even gonna try to do hyperbole when I say these are probably going to be the best fight sequences you’d see on the big screen this year, as no matter what mode they’re in, they are all consistently outstanding. Tanigaki frames them all in a way that highlights both the practicality of the performers and the unabashed high-emotion intensity of the plot that almost feels quite animesque (especially one visual near the end), and Sonomura’s sequencing feels like an escalation and rewiring of his style unto a new level, the quick interactions and standoffs feeling more relentless than ever with constantly shifting ebb and flow momentum, like a sense of brutal poetry in the midst of the grime.
There’s also variety too in a lot of ways: from the settings of the fights, to the amount of people involved (from 1v1 beatdowns to Musou-like sequences of dozens of performers on screen, and everything in between), to the martial arts used, it really brings something fresh every time there is a single sign of lull, which is impressive knowing that even in the moment-to-moment, there’s already ridiculous ‘oh my god’ moments at each turn.
If anything, the price of admission is worth the entire final act alone, which may be one of the most transcendent stretches of martial balladry this decade to an extent that may leave your jaw agape (the local crowd at the Robinsons Movieworld Galleria premiere had to break into applause during several moments). If I’m sounding a bit vague with how I describe these sequences, it’s because they could only be seen to be believed.
Wang Wei (Xie Miao) and Navin (Joe Taslim) vs. Tak (Yayan Ruhian) and Paklung (Joey Iwanaga) | Still courtesy of Edko Films
The Furious truly feels like an explosion, a shotgun blast to the chest of the best of the past decade’s martial arts cinema has to offer, tied together into a glorious culmination full of blood, sweat, and maneuvers that will lodge itself into your brain for a while. Fueled by skilled work behind the camera and emotionally driven and physically preposterous performances in front of it, once it starts, it never stops. If you are a fan of action films, this will be a must-watch delight and an awakening to the rise of a new generation of fighting. If you aren’t all too familiar, well, I implore you to open yourself to a wholly absorbing world to get rocked in, for this may go down as a stone cold classic in its own right
‘The Furious’ is now showing in Philippine cinemas through Pioneer Films in R-16 and R-18 classifications.
