If you want better runtime
Choose Heart of the Beast. It scores 5.0 vs 1.5 for runtime, with a 3.9 overall score.
The Furious Movie Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for extraordinary martial-arts choreography, practical stunt work, and a raucous crowd experience. Skip it if thin characterization, awkward dubbing, or graphic child-endangerment violence will overwhelm the spectacle.
Best for
Best for adult martial-arts and action fans who value inventive choreography, practical stunt work, clear camerawork, and an energized theatrical experience over narrative complexity.
Not for
Skip it if you need deep character development, polished dialogue, restrained violence, or family-friendly viewing; the child-trafficking material and gore are intense.
Verdict
The Furious is a near-essential watch for martial-arts fans because its action design is unusually inventive, tactile, and easy to follow. Kenji Tanigaki and a world-class cast turn hammers, bicycles, bodies, and crowded rooms into escalating set pieces that repeatedly feel new. Xie Miao’s wordless intensity, Joe Taslim’s charisma, forceful sound design, and long-take camerawork give the combat real weight. The tradeoff is substantial: the rescue plot is basic, character development is thin, dialogue and ADR are frequently awkward, and the ending divides reviewers despite an acclaimed final fight. Its graphic violence and disturbing child-trafficking material also make it strictly for mature audiences. Still, the overwhelming consensus is that the physical filmmaking is strong enough to eclipse nearly every narrative flaw.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
44 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.023 (52%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.47 (16%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.45 (11%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.47 (16%)
-
Very negative below 1.52 (5%)
Pros highlights
-
The fight sequences are exceptional: inventive, punishing, clearly staged, and constantly escalating. Prop-based combat, layered group choreography, and the five-way finale make the action feel genre-leading.
-
Xie Miao’s wordless intensity and physical presence carry the film, while Joe Taslim provides charisma and a complementary style. Their control, athleticism, and expressive action work are exceptional.
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The camera moves with the fighters while preserving spatial clarity, often using wide shots and energetic long takes. A few moments feel slippery, but the visual coverage is overwhelmingly praised.
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The father-daughter bond and anger at the traffickers give the action real emotional force. Some dramatic beats land less effectively, especially when the dubbing or late-story structure gets in the way.
-
The reliance on trained performers, long takes, and visible in-camera movement is one of the film’s biggest attractions. Very little of the action feels dependent on doubles or glossy digital fakery.
-
Editing is generally clear and rhythmic, letting completed moves land instead of hiding them behind frantic cuts. The sped-up look of the final fight is a rare visual misstep.
Cons highlights
-
Awkward English dialogue, conspicuous ADR, and clunky dubbing are persistent distractions. The next fight usually arrives quickly enough to keep these flaws from sinking the movie.
-
The story is intentionally simple and often effective as a launchpad for the fights, but it becomes thin, messy, or poorly organized whenever the action pauses.
-
The climactic combat is spectacular, but the surrounding resolution is uneven. The rushed wrap-up, extra epilogue, and fading dramatic stakes may leave the ending less satisfying than the final fight.
-
CGI quality is inconsistent: some blood effects look credible, while other blood, lip-sync work, and isolated digital shots appear obvious or crude. The physical stunt work remains strong enough to overshadow most of it.
-
The screenplay is widely viewed as functional at best, with thin plotting, blunt dialogue, and obvious dramatic shortcuts. It succeeds mainly by creating reasons for the next elaborate confrontation.
-
The kidnapping-and-revenge setup is familiar and predictable, with little novelty in the plot itself. The tradeoff is easier to accept because the combat presentation feels fresh.
Cast & Creators
-
HoLe is a scene-stealing physical force whose comic resilience, size, and unusual movement make Ho a standout antagonist.
-
PaklungIwanaga turns Paklung into a memorable villain, shifting from restrained businessman to explosively dangerous fighter.
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DirectorTanigaki’s direction is praised for clarity, confidence, and an extraordinary command of large-scale physical action.
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Action ChoreographerSonomura’s choreography is celebrated for intricate combinations, escalating group fights, and inventive use of bodies and props.
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CinematographerCheung’s cinematography keeps complicated movement readable while giving the fights a dynamic, immersive visual flow.
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Wang WeiMiao delivers a charismatic, emotionally expressive lead performance through physicality, facial intensity, and precise martial-arts skill.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in pacing, critic appeal, originality, near average in story quality, ending satisfaction, below average in special effects quality, age appropriateness, world-building.
Comparison summary
44 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher27 (61%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts6 (14%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower11 (25%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| pacing | 4.7 | 2.9 | +1.7 |
| special effects quality | 2.0 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| age appropriateness | 1.0 | 2.7 | -1.7 |
| critic appeal | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| originality | 4.8 | 3.3 | +1.5 |
| action sequence quality | 4.9 | 3.8 | +1.1 |
| world-building | 2.3 | 3.8 | -1.5 |
| rewatch value | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better screenplay quality
Choose Exit 8. It scores 4.8 vs 1.7 for screenplay quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better age appropriateness
Choose Project Hail Mary. It scores 4.8 vs 1.0 for age appropriateness, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better editing quality
Choose Leviticus. It scores 4.8 vs 4.2 for editing quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
John Wick
- Worse: martial-arts skill The reviewer considers its physical skill level even higher than John Wick's.
- Compared: action style The film shares similarities with John Wick but still stands apart.
- Compared: over-the-top action It is compared with John Wick but described as even more outrageously over the top.
Taken
- Similar: family rescue drama The family rescue element is compared with Taken.
- Compared: rescue premise The kidnapping premise is compared with Taken, but the hero's martial-arts abilities are even more extreme.
The Raid
- Better: groundbreaking impact It does not reach The Raid's groundbreaking heights, though it remains a crowd-pleasing action success.
- Compared: bone-crunching action The film shares The Raid's bone-crunching intensity while pushing the excess further.
FAQ
Is the action really the main attraction?
Yes. Nearly every source treats the elaborate hand-to-hand choreography, practical physicality, and inventive use of props as the film’s defining achievement.
Does the story hold up between fights?
The rescue plot is clear and emotionally accessible, but it is deliberately basic. Many reviewers found the writing thin, clunky, or poorly developed outside the action.
How graphic is the violence?
Extremely graphic and nearly constant, with broken bones, blood, dismemberment, child endangerment, and brutal improvised weapons. It is intended for mature viewers who tolerate hard-R action.
Are the dialogue and dubbing distracting?
Often, yes. Awkward ADR, stilted English delivery, and visible dubbing are recurring complaints, although most reviewers say the action quickly recaptures attention.
Is it worth seeing with a crowd?
Reviewers strongly favor a large screen and lively audience, describing applause, cheering, laughter, and gasps as part of the movie’s appeal.
Does it have rewatch value?
For action fans, yes. The speed, density, and layered movement of the fights give viewers plenty of details and combinations to revisit.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - AngryJoeShow
- Review score
- 4.6
YouTube - John Rocha
- Review score
- 4.1
Article Reviews
themoviebuff.net
Looking for a review of "The Furious?" The Movie Buff is your source for reviews, movie news, and more.
- Review score
- 4.3
pluggedin.com
‘The Furious’ is packed with top-shelf martial arts action. But the end result is messy in oh so many ways.
- Review score
- 2.5
decider.com
Kenji Tanigaki directs the best assemblage of choreographed martial arts violence since The Raid.
- Review score
- 3.4
empireonline.com
Kenji Tanigaki goes all-in with martial-arts action epic The Furious — in UK cinemas now. Read Empire's review.
- Review score
- 3.9
digitalspy.com
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the...
- Review score
- 4.5
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