'The Furious' A Review

The Furious is a martial arts action movie set in an unspecified Southeast Asian city about a father Wang Wei(Xie Miao) and journalist Navin(Joe Taslim) who go after a human trafficking ring to find their missing daughter and wife(respectively).

Reminiscent of Taken, there is relatively little in the way of plot but quite a lot of compelling, intricate action. Miao and Taslim are decent actors, they give the story the necessary emotional weight, but it is their physical performances that really shine which is in keeping with the genre. What's more surprising than how good the action is(that's kind of expected) is how funny and goofy some of it is. With a conceit as dour as child slavery the pops of humor and over-the-top almost Looney Toons style physicality is much needed and balances the darkness of the subject matter to make this, if not quite a romp, kind of shockingly fun and tonally complex.

A relatively rote premise is elevated by inspired fight choreography and a streak of gleeful dark humor.

Currently in theaters.

See It.