The Furious

The Furious
Starring Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Brian Le
Directed by Kenji Tanigaki

Jason Statham has had a string of mediocre films lately, most of which involve him saving children from predatory monsters, including the upcoming "Mutiny" where he does this on a boat. Each film is bland, mediocre, and just what you'd expect from a Statham movie. However, if you're looking for an action movie featuring heroes saving the lives of children who are about to be trafficked, look no further than "The Furious," a film that is 99% action and 1% story, but that doesn't matter - we know the basics, and that's all we need. We come for these movies for the action, and this one defines the word "action."

Wang Wei (Xie Miao) is a tradesman with a young daughter Rainy (Yang Enyou), and life is rather idyllic until Rainy is kidnapped, forcing Wang to embark on a quest to find her. Aiding him is journalist Navin (Joe Taslim) who's searching for his missing wife who disappeared while investigating a string of child kidnappings. 

That's it, that's the premise of the movie. What fills it is some of the best action sequences set to screen in recent memory, bringing in talents from all over the world including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United States in a multi-layered film that includes not only the best choreography (a man literally fights enough men to put himself on top of a human pyramid) but also cinematography that rises, falls, twists and turns with the characters. Editor Chris Tonick chops the shots into moments that really amplify the impact of every attack, and a stunning five-man all-out finale had my jaw on the floor. While the story is simple, the action is not, and "The Furious" puts the "art" in martial arts.

The Score: A