The Furious

The Furious
Promotional poster
Traditional Chinese火遮眼
JyutpingFo2 Ze1 Ngaan5
Directed byKenji Tanigaki
Written by
  • Mak Tin-shu
  • Lei Zhilong
  • Shum Kwan-sin
  • Frank Hui
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMeteor Cheung
Edited byChris Tonick
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 6 September 2025 (2025-09-06) (TIFF)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryHong Kong[2]
Languages
  • English
  • Mandarin
  • Tagalog

The Furious (Chinese: 火遮眼[3]) is a 2025 English-language Hong Kong action film directed by Kenji Tanigaki and written by Mak Tin-shu. Starring Mo Tse, Joe Taslim, Jeeja Yanin, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga, and Yayan Ruhian, the film follows an ordinary tradesman Wei (Tse) whose daughter is kidnapped, and with journalist Navin's (Taslim) help, he has to fight a criminal empire on his way to rescue.

The film had its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2025.

Cast

Production

Development

The Furious was announced to be in development in April 2024, which is set to be primarily financed and produced by Hong Kong's Edko Films, while the project will be in English language and filmed in Thailand, with the American XYZ Films co-producing and handling world sales.[1] The production budget was reported to be roughly $20 million.[7] Kenji Tanigaki was announced to helm the project as director, and Mak Tin Shu attached as the writer, while the ensemble cast features a pan-Asian lineup, including China's Mo Tse and Yang Enyu, Indonesia's Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian, and Thailand's Jeeja Yanin.[1] The filming crew mostly comprises Thai locals, while the stunt team is Japanese.[7] First images were released on 23 August, with Brian Le and Joey Iwanaga revealed as part of the cast.[8] In September, the film was presented at the project market of the Toronto International Film Festival.[5]

Filming and post-production

Principal photography began in April 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, and spanned across three months.[7] A recurring police station set in the film was constructed and renovated from an old retail unit on Surawong Road, and was used for 18 days of shooting.[7] Filming wrapped in late July.[7] In May 2025, American musician Flying Lotus was reported to be involved in producing the film's soundtrack, while XYZ Films represented the film at the Cannes Film Market.[6]

Release

The Furious had its world premiere at the Midnight Madness section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2025,[9] and screened in competition at the 58th Sitges Film Festival and at the Midnight Passion section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival.[10][4] HK01 initially reported that the film would be released theatrically in Hong Kong within the same year.[11] In October 2025, Lionsgate Films acquired international distribution rights for the film outside Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China, planning a day-and-date worldwide release with the aforementioned territories in 2026.[12] The film was also screened at the 2025 Beyond Fest in the United States,[13] the 45th Hawai'i International Film Festival,[14] and the 5th Red Sea International Film Festival.[15]

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 19 critics' reviews are positive.[16]

Chris Bumbray of JoBlo gave The Furious a 7/10 and compared it to The Raid (2011), describing it as a "kick-ass, crowd-pleasing ride" despite not reaching the latter's hype due to "clunky" dialogue, overdubbing, and technical inadequacies, but overall delivering a "sheer adrenaline and crowd-pleasing ferocity" with "dynamic and unrelentingly brutal" action choreography.[17] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote that while the film suffers from "atrocious" dialogue and "goofy" plotting, it features "well-directed and choreographed" stunt work by Kenji Tanigaki that delivers "the most impressive fight scenes in years".[18] Andrew Webster of The Verge also praised the film as an "absolutely unrelenting and bone-crunching action movie", particularly its "brutal yet balletic" fight scenes and the "inventiveness and playfulness" where "everything can be part of the choreography".[19]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2025 50th Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award, Midnight Madness N/a Runner-up [20]
58th Sitges Film Festival Best Feature Film N/a Nominated [10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Frater, Patrick (25 April 2024). "'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' Producer Bill Kong Aims to Reset Martial Arts Genre With 'The Furious,' Directed by Tanigaki Kenji (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  2. ^ Coman, Monica (14 September 2025). "The Action Genre Just Got an 'Instant Masterpiece' as The Furious Debuts With a Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  3. ^ 莫匡堯 (10 September 2025). "金像武指谷桓健治導演新戲多倫多首映　打足90分鐘但難攞龍標？". HK01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  4. ^ a b Ramachandran, Naman (6 September 2025). "'Crouching Tiger' Producer's Toronto and Busan Martial Arts Actioner 'The Furious' Aims to Revitalize Genre: 'Pushing the Boundaries'". Variety. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Frater, Patrick (23 August 2024). "'The Furious': How Japan's Tanigaki Kenji Elevated a Steaming Bangkok Red Light District Into a Temple of Martial Arts Action (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b Ramachandran, Naman (15 May 2025). "Flying Lotus Boards Tanigaki Kenji and Bill Kong's Asian Action Epic 'The Furious' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e Frater, Patrick (23 August 2024). "'The Furious': How Japan's Tanigaki Kenji Elevated a Steaming Bangkok Red Light District Into a Temple of Martial Arts Action (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  8. ^ Mack, Andrew (23 August 2024). "THE FURIOUS: Our First Look as Production Wraps on Kenji Tanigaki's Upcoming Action Flick!". Screen Anarchy. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  9. ^ Merican, Sara (27 August 2025). "'The Furious' Clip: Joe Taslim, Miao Xie & Brian Le Lead Pan-Asian Cast In Toronto-Bound Action Epic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  10. ^ a b León, Por Karla (11 September 2025). "Conoce la programación del Festival de Sitges 2025". The Hollywood Reporter (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  11. ^ 陳穎思 (31 October 2024). "東京電影節｜洪金寶談振興港產片：香港電影圈而家氣候唔太好". HK01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  12. ^ Grobar, Matt (28 October 2025). "Lionsgate Acquires Hong Kong Actioner 'The Furious' Following TIFF Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  13. ^ Vlessing, Etan (10 September 2025). "Beyond Fest Lineup Includes 'Good Fortune,' 'Dust Bunny,' 'The Furious'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  14. ^ Shackleton, Liz (18 September 2025). "Hawai'i International Film Festival To Open With 'Rental Family'; Sets 'No Other Choice' As Centerpiece Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  15. ^ Goodfellow, Melaine (27 October 2025). "Charlie XCX Picture 'Erupcja' & 'The Secret Agent' Set For Red Sea; Tarik Saleh Guest Of Honor At Les Arcs & Stephen Frears Geneva Career Award – Festival Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  16. ^ "The Furious". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  17. ^ Bumbray, Chris (8 September 2025). "The Furious (TIFF) Review: A banger of a martial arts flick". JoBlo. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  18. ^ Tallerico, Brian (12 September 2025). "TIFF 2025: Dust Bunny, The Furious, Normal". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  19. ^ Webster, Andrew (7 September 2025). "Wake Up Dead Man adds a delightfully dark twist to Knives Out". The Verge. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  20. ^ Hammond, Pete (14 September 2025). "'Hamnet' Wins Oscar-Predictive Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
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