A martial arts action film that premiered last September has maintained pristine critical standing as it prepares for global release. The Furious, directed by Japanese action filmmaker Kenji Tanigaki, currently sits at 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes following its debut at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival.
The film stars Xie Miao as Wang Wei, a tradesman whose daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network. With no help from corrupt police, Wei embarks on a violent rampage to find her. His unlikely ally is Navin, played by Joe Taslim, a relentless journalist searching for his own missing wife. The two men, drawing on hidden combat skills from their pasts, fight their way through a criminal empire in what reviewers describe as an escalating series of combat sequences that rarely pause for breath.
Tanigaki, who spent decades as a stunt coordinator and action choreographer in Hong Kong action cinema, brings his accumulated expertise to bear on the choreography. The director coordinated action sequences for films including SPL: Sha Po Lang and the Rurouni Kenshin series, and won awards for his work on titles like Hidden Man and Raging Fire. The Furious marks his feature directorial debut, a role he was well positioned to take after years designing fights for some of Asia's most celebrated action films.
The film's final sequence, set in a police station, demanded 18 nights of shooting. Five martial artists, each wielding distinct fighting styles, orchestrated an extended confrontation that required both precision and physical capability. "They weren't just performing, they were actually fighting while acting, and at the same time working together to bring what seemed like an impossible sequence to life," Tanigaki explained when asked about the most challenging fight to execute.
The cast extends beyond Taslim and Xie Miao to include Brian Le, Yayan Ruhian, Joey Iwanaga, Jeeja Yanin, and Yang Enyou. Reviewers have noted that each performer brings distinct physicality to their role. Critics have singled out the choreography as the film's central achievement, with several noting that the dialogue and plot function primarily as scaffolding upon which the action sequences hang.
Rotten Tomatoes reviewers have described the film as delivering "the most impressive fight scenes in years," with one critic suggesting director Tanigaki may have crafted the best all-out martial arts brawler since the Raid films. Others acknowledged weak dialogue and predictable storytelling but argued the action sequences transcended these limitations entirely.
Producer Bill Kong, known for financing and producing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, backed the project through his Hong Kong company Edko Films. The film was shot in Bangkok, Thailand, with a Japanese stunt team and largely Thai crew. Lionsgate acquired international distribution rights outside Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China in October 2025, planning a worldwide release.
The film opens in the United States on May 29, 2026, marking the widest distribution yet for what has become one of the year's most acclaimed action imports.