Opening with the generic “Somewhere in Southeast Asia” header, director Kenji Tanigaki sets up the audience for a smorgasbord of different backgrounds, fighting styles, and dialects all converging at once in The Furious. The film opens with the indomitable Jija Yanin, star of the TIFF classic Chocolate, as reporter Matia. Investigating the trafficking of children, Matia is forced into action when she sees one child being abused, resulting in a phenomenal opening fight that sets the tone for the rest of the film. Months later, we meet Wei (Xie Miao), a handyman whose skills belie a different skill set once his daughter is abducted off the street. During his dogged pursuit of the abductors, Wei crosses paths with Navin (Joe Taslim), Matia’s husband, and the pair form an unlikely duo set upon destroying the entire crime syndicate responsible.
Kenji Tanigaki is well-versed both as a director and a fight choreographer, and this experience shows with some excellent fight sequences and some of the most believable ‘1 man vs a crowd fighting’ I’ve seen on screen. The Furious ranks up there with the aforementioned Midnight Madness classic Chocolate, as well as The Raid, Ong Bak, and SPL as one of the hardest hitting films of this programming shingles’ history.
But my favorite performances come in the form Wei’s spunky daughter Raini, played by Enyou Yang, the deranged turn as the main villain from Joey Iwanaga, and stunt performer/ actor Brian Le’s scene-stealing turn as a hard-headed henchman that won’t stay down.
Image Credit: Courtesy of TIFF
- Rated: 18A
- Genre: Action, Martial Arts
- Release Date: 9/6/2025
- Directed by: Kenji Tanigaki
- Starring: Brian Le, Guo Junqing, Jija Yanin, Joe Taslim, Joey Iwanaga, Manatsanun Phanlerdwongsakul, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Winai Wiangyangkung, Xie Miao, Yang Enyou, Yayan Ruhian
- Produced by: Bill Kong, Frank Hui, Nick Spicer, Shan Tam, Todd Brown
- Written by: Frank Hui, Lei Zhilong, Mak Tin Shu, Shum Kwan Sin
- Studio: XYZ Films
