The Furious Wins 4-Star Praise, Poised to Reshape Action Cinema
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jun 11
The Furious Wins 4-Star Praise, Poised to Reshape Action Cinema
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jun 11
Summary
Opening Friday in wide release, “The Furious” is hailed as a potential genre-shifter because its fight scenes turn familiar brawls into dense, multi-directional swarms of bodies.
Kensuke Sonomura’s choreography drives that verdict: hallway and circle-fight setups become layered attacks from above and below, while Kenji Tanigaki’s staging keeps the action grounded rather than wire-fu weightless.
Xie Miao plays a mute father chasing kidnappers after his 9-year-old daughter Rainy is abducted, but the review calls the rescue plot routine and the script one of the film’s weakest elements.
Joe Taslim, JeeJa Yanin, Yayan Ruhian and Brian Le bolster the cast, with Yanin and Le singled out for standout combat moments in a multinational, Southeast Asia-set crime story.
At 1 hour, 53 minutes and rated R for strong bloody violence and language, the Lionsgate release is framed as a defining stunt film that could influence Hollywood action within a few years.