Overview of 'The Furious'
Kenji Tanigaki's 'The Furious' is a martial-arts film that opens in generic dadsploitation territory, with a mute Chinese handyman named Wang Wei (Miao Xie) pursuing traffickers who have kidnapped his daughter (Enyou Yang). Set somewhere in Southeast Asia, the film quickly escalates beyond its Taken-inspired premise.
Plot and Characters
The story incorporates John Woo-style buddy dynamics when Wang Wei encounters an undercover journalist, Navin (Joe Taslim), who has his own reasons for chasing the traffickers. This straightforward narrative allows the film to focus on its intense action sequences.
Action Choreography
Tanigaki's direction showcases jaw-droppingly limber performers executing bruising maneuvers on concrete floors. The well-placed cameras capture unexpected delicacies and flourishes amidst the crunching dustups, combining crossbows and ballpeen hammers in a dance of violence. The editing creates soaring rhymes between bodies in motion.
Comparison to Other Films
While Tanigaki lacks the architectural sense of the Raid films, the precision of his set pieces is inarguable. The closing half-hour achieves a pummeling intensity unlikely to be matched by any other release this year, climaxing with a royal rumble for the ages.
Impact and Reception
The film tempers its ferocity with athletic and technical skill, matching intensity with invention and delivering as much exhilaration as evisceration. Viewers may require a long lie down afterwards. 'The Furious' is in UK cinemas from 26 June.
