The Furious (2026) Review: Bone-Crunching Fights Carry a Thin Plot

This The Furious review starts with a simple promise: a father, a missing child and a lot of broken bones. Directed by Kenji Tanigaki, the 2026 Hong Kong martial arts thriller is built for fight fans and rarely pretends otherwise. If you want physical, high-impact action, it delivers.

The Furious Review: The Story So Far (No Spoilers)

The Furious plot is easy to follow. A criminal network kidnaps the daughter of Wang Wei (Xie Miao), and the police, who are corrupt, will not lift a finger for him. So he goes looking for her himself.

His only ally is Navin (Joe Taslim), a tenacious journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. Two desperate people with different losses join forces, and the film sends them through one violent confrontation after another. The tagline says it plainly: to save their loved ones, they will fight everyone.

That setup is familiar, and the screenplay, credited to Shum Kwan-Sin, Frank Hui, Mak Tin-Shu and Lei Zhilong, does not try to hide it. The story is a clothesline for the action.

What Works in The Furious

The fight choreography is the reason to buy a ticket. Tanigaki, who has a long background in screen action, stages brawls that feel heavy and dangerous rather than flashy. Hits land with weight, and the pace rarely lets up.

• Physicality: The fights favour impact over fast-cut trickery, so you can follow what is happening.

• Variety: The action moves through different spaces and styles, which keeps the brawling fresh.

• Chemistry: Xie Miao and Taslim work well as a mismatched pair, and their teamwork gives the choreography some personality.

Fans of the genre will also enjoy seeing several celebrated action performers share one screen. It is a treat for anyone who follows Asian martial arts cinema. For more of the same energy, browse our action movie reviews.

The Furious Cast and Performances

The Furious cast is chosen for skill in motion first and dramatic range second. That is a fair trade in a film like this.

• Xie Miao plays Wang Wei, the desperate father.

• Joe Taslim plays Navin, the journalist who becomes his partner.

• Yang Enyou plays Rainy.

• Yayan Ruhian plays Tak.

• JeeJa Yanin plays Matia.

• Brian Le plays Ho.

Xie Miao brings a grim, wounded intensity to Wang Wei, and he sells the physical toll of every fight. Taslim adds a looser, more scrappy energy that contrasts nicely. Some viewers have found the line readings stiff, and the dialogue gives the actors little to work with. Still, the performances serve the film's purpose.

Where The Furious Stumbles

The story is thin. Characters follow well-worn types: the grieving dad with a dangerous past, the sidekick with his own agenda, the spirited kidnapped child and the menacing villains. Anyone hoping for surprises in the writing will not find many.

The drama also struggles whenever the fighting pauses. Dialogue feels like an afterthought, and some plot logic, especially the behaviour of the police, asks for a lot of goodwill. Audience reactions are divided for this reason: some viewers love the brutality, while others find the film hollow beyond the action.

If you want emotional depth, you could turn to the drama movie reviews on our site instead. This film is not trying to compete there.

Is The Furious Worth Watching?

Yes, The Furious is worth watching if you come for the fighting. It is a lean, relentless martial arts film that runs 113 minutes and spends most of that time in motion. The R rating signals that the violence is bloody and intense.

The story will not stay with you, but the choreography might. As a pure action experience, it is confident and well crafted, and it earns a strong recommendation from us for genre fans. The Furious release date is 10 June 2026, and details on where to watch The Furious are best checked with local listings.

For background on the film's credits, see its IMDb page.

Who Will Enjoy The Furious

• Martial arts fans who value choreography over plot.

• Viewers who loved the intensity of Indonesian and Hong Kong action cinema.

• Anyone looking for a no-nonsense rescue thriller with plenty of bloodshed.

If you prefer a plot with more twists, our review of Minotaur may suit you better.