Kenji Tanigaki, Kensuke Sonomura Built 'The Furious' Fights With 0 Special Effects
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 12
Kenji Tanigaki, Kensuke Sonomura Built 'The Furious' Fights With 0 Special Effects
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 12
Summary
June 12’s report spotlights how “The Furious” staged its standout action beats practically, with director Kenji Tanigaki and choreographer Kensuke Sonomura creating the film’s acrobatic combat without special effects.
One featured club sequence shows Wang Wei somersaulting over attackers and a railing while striking midair, illustrating the pair’s emphasis on continuous movement and body control rather than digital enhancement.
The choreography turns nearly every body part into a weapon—shoulders, knees, legs, arms and hips—and uses opponents as obstacles or props to be vaulted over, ducked under or climbed.
That practical approach underpins a simple rescue plot in which Wang Wei, played by Xie Miao, joins Navin, played by Joe Taslim, to fight through gangsters after their loved ones disappear.