Director/Stunt & Action Coordinator Kenji Tanigaki (Enter The Fat Dragon) makes his first TIFF appearance with his latest film, The Furious. Imagine if the John Wick series were all over the top martial arts action. This is the fun and excitement Kenji delivers.
The film follows mute Wang Wei (Xie Miao), a single father living day to day as a tradesman to support his daughter (Yang Enyou). One unfortunate day she gets kidnapped by human traffickers and after failing to rescue her, Wei must track down those responsible for her kidnapping, leading to a martial arts revenge tale. Along his mission he encounters Navin (Joe Taslim), a journalist in search of his missing wife (Jiji Yanin) who was investigating the same human traffickers. Wei and Navin must team up to find those responsible and discover the truth behind the operation.
Director Kenji’s experience of working as a stunt and action coordinator shows the film’s strength for its martial arts action. With quick cuts and an exhilarating score, the adrenaline fuels your blood and gets you soaked into the scene. There was never a dull moment and never felt repetitive, which is a common occurrence in action films. It is tough to choose which sequence is my favourite without giving too much away, however, if you are a fan of films such as Enter The Dragon, The Raid, and Ip Man, you surely would not be disappointed.
Actors Xie Miao and Joe Taslim delivering revenge seeking performances as both characters want the same thing, to find their loved ones. What helped capture their performances is that trafficking is a real issue that occurs around the world. Thanks to Kenji Tanigaki’s directing, both actors can shed light on how it affects people and how much of a real issue it is. They bring the humanity of their characters to build that connection to the audiences.
However, what The Furious falls flat on is what has plagued action movies lately, and that is an underdeveloped story. While Wei and Navin are the primary focus, the film never truly developed the crime organization running the child trafficking operation. While we do see the mastermind behind the operation here and there in the beginning and second act, we only see little glimpses and never fully until we get to the climactic third act of the film. We see their bases of operations, yes, but mostly it is a quick exposition on where Wei and Navin must go to next followed by more exhilarating action. Experiencing The Furious during TIFF’s Midnight Madness Programme with a packed audience helped liven the excitement and enthusiasm to make the experience enjoyable. A tale of revenge, The Furious will please fans of the Martial Arts genre. Despite an underdeveloped story with more focus on action and our protagonists over the antagonists, there is still much to enjoy and more replay value for the exciting action.
Watch a clip right here.
All images via Lionsgate.
Directed by Kenji Tanigaki
Screenplay by Mak Tin-shu
Produced by Frank Hui, Bill Kong, Shan Tam
Starring Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian, Yang Enyou, Joey Iwanaga, Brian Le, Jija Yanin
Premiere Date: September 6, 2025 (TIFF)
Runtime: 113 minutes
Cinema from the Spectrum 
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