The Furious (2026) Review: Fists First, Plot Second

Is The Furious worth watching?

Yes, with reservations. The Furious is a ferocious, beautifully choreographed martial arts film whose fight scenes rank with the best the genre has produced in years, even if its story exists mainly to connect them. Director Kenji Tanigaki, one of the most respected action choreographers in Asian cinema, stages hand-to-hand combat with rare clarity and impact, and Xie Miao and Joe Taslim make a compelling pair. The reservation is everything between the fights: the plot is familiar, the villains are thinly drawn, and the violence around its trafficking storyline is grim.

What is The Furious about?

The film is a rescue thriller built on a desperate premise. When a child is abducted by a criminal network that traffics children, the search draws together two men with very different skills and very personal reasons to fight: one played by Xie Miao, the other by Joe Taslim, whose own wife has gone missing. With police corruption blocking the usual routes to help, the pair form an uneasy alliance and push deeper into the criminal underworld, fighting their way through the gang’s enforcers as time runs out.

The Furious was directed by Kenji Tanigaki, best known for his work as action director on the Rurouni Kenshin films, and it runs just under two hours.

Fight choreography with rare clarity

The action is the reason to watch, and it is exceptional. Tanigaki shoots combat so that the audience always understands where each fighter is, what they are trying to do and how the space around them shapes the fight. Blows land with weight, stamina visibly drains, and each set piece builds with its own rhythm rather than dissolving into rapid editing. The camera stays wide enough to show whole bodies in motion, trusting the performers’ skill rather than hiding it.

The variety is impressive too. Brawls in cramped rooms, fights across stairways and open spaces, and encounters with a series of distinctive opponents each have their own physical logic. The film makes the most of an ensemble of experienced martial artists, and the escalation from one confrontation to the next is carefully judged.

Two leads who fight as well as they act

Xie Miao, who began his career as a child martial arts star, brings speed, precision and a coiled intensity to his role. His character communicates as much through movement and determination as through dialogue, and his desperation gives the fights emotional stakes. Joe Taslim, a veteran of international action cinema since The Raid, provides a strong counterweight: heavier, wearier and driven by his own loss. Their partnership, which begins in suspicion and grows into something closer to trust, gives the film its human thread.

Where the story runs thin

For all its craft, The Furious has a skeletal plot. The trafficking ring and its corrupt protectors are drawn in broad strokes, and the film’s attempts at emotional depth, particularly around the missing loved ones, rely on familiar genre shorthand. Some of the dialogue scenes feel perfunctory, as if the film is impatient to return to the action, and the villains rarely rise above types.

The subject matter also gives the film a darker tone than many action pictures. The trafficking storyline is treated seriously, but it sits uneasily with the exhilaration of the fight scenes, and some viewers will find that combination uncomfortable.

Who should watch The Furious?

It is essential for dedicated martial arts fans, admirers of Joe Taslim’s action work and anyone who values practical, clearly staged fight choreography over computer-generated spectacle. It is less suited to viewers who want a rich story or complex characters. The violence is frequent, intense and often bloody, and the themes of child abduction and trafficking are disturbing, so it is strictly for adults.

Two classics from our catalogue that share some of its DNA:

• High and Low, Akira Kurosawa’s masterly kidnapping thriller, which trades fists for moral suspense.
• Seven Samurai, the great ancestor of every film in which skilled fighters take on a stronger enemy to protect the vulnerable.

The verdict

The Furious is a thrilling showcase for martial arts filmmaking at its most precise, anchored by two strong physical performances and some of the best-staged fights of recent years. Its thin story and grim subject matter hold it back from greatness, but for action fans it is not to be missed.