The Furious (2026) Is a New Benchmark for Modern Action Movies

A simple rescue story turns The Furious into one of the most entertaining action films I've seen in years.

The Furious is a must watch action film in my view, with a ton of fun to be had featuring some talented people who are clearly just being allowed to do what they’re good at.

Plot

A father fights fiercely against ruthless kidnappers to save his abducted daughter.

Good Points

• Relentless, well-paced action from start to finish

• Great choreography

• Strong cast with personality

• Every major fight has its own style and identity

• Inventive use of the environments

• The final act

Bad Points

• Characters are thinly sketched outside of their combat roles

• Emotional stakes are serviceable rather than memorable

My Thoughts on The Furious

A cast full of people who know what they’re doing

If you’ve spent some time watching Asian action films, there’s a good chance you’ll recognise at least a few faces here, because the movie has gathered performers from different countries and different martial arts backgrounds, where nobody feels wasted either.

Xie Miao is the lead, and is brilliant, and even when he isn’t even fighting, he just brings so much personality to the table as well without ever needing to just rely on endless dialogue, as his physical presence alone also does a lot of the work.

Equally, Joe Taslim is great here too.

This man has been intimidating people on screen for years and yet still finds new ways to make throwing another human being across a room look effortless and great, and every time he enters a fight scene, there’s a sense that somebody is about to have a very bad day.

Spoiler - They usually do.

The fight scenes are the main event

Let’s be honest, nobody is wanting to watch an action movie like The Furious because they’re hoping for some deep philosophical conversations, because the action is the selling point here, and thankfully, it absolutely delivers in that department.

What will also stand out to people who have watched a lot of actions movies was how clearly everything is filmed, as you can actually see what’s happening, and while I know that sounds like a low bar, but modern action cinema keeps proving that it isn’t.

Here, the camera actually stays back long enough for the performers to show what they can do, and that’s exactly how it should be, so you can appreciate the movement, the timing, the reactions, and all the little details that make a fight scene work.

It’s refreshing.

Action films can also sometimes get a bit repetitive and dull I sometimes find, where they peak early and then simply just start repeating themselves, where you get the same exchanges, the same choreography, the same rhythm over and over again, but that never really happens here.

Each fight seems to have its own tone and style, where one fight might focus on speed, while another might be built around brutal close-range combat, and the next will turn everyday objects into weapons.

You will end up smiling a lot at the creativity on hand being shown here, and you will also end up wincing too at how every throw/punch actually looks painful, where every hit feels like it matters.

It’s the kind of action that makes you appreciate the amount of work involved.

The final showdown

By the time the movie reaches its climax, I was wondering how it planned to top everything that came before, and I was dreading the climax being a disappointment, but it wasn’t, as it tops what came before by just throwing absolutely everything at the screen - the finale is long, inventive, and incredibly satisfying.

It was also impressive in the sense of how many different fighters were involved and how easy it remained to follow, as I always knew who was fighting who, I always knew where everyone was, and I always understood what’s happening.

Now, that sounds basic, but it is something films get horribly wrong in action films all too often, but The Furious builds into one huge payoff that rewards everything the movie had been setting up, with plenty of gasps and “oh damn”thrown in as well, which is usually a good sign, right?

What I think really separates The Furious from a lot of action films though is the bold commitment it shows, as nobody here is doing the minimum, and everybody seems determined to create something memorable, and that effort shows in every major sequence.

It simply focuses on delivering great action, and it turns out that’s a pretty effective strategy.

Final Verdict

Please go and watch The Furious - it’s fast, inventive and packed with great performers - one of the best actons films I have seen in a long time!

Trailer

Directed by Kenji Tanigaki

Screenplay by Mak Tin-shu, Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan-sin and Frank Hui

Cast Includes - Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Jeeja Yanin, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga and Yayan Ruhian

Cinematography by Meteor Cheung

Edited by Chris Tonick

Music by Elliot Leung, Olivia Xiaolin and Flying Lotus

Running time - 113 minutes