I can't say I've been eagerly hoping for another martial arts movie. After a string of John Wick movies, I thought I'd had enough. It didn't take long, though, for me to get caught up in the preposterously exaggerated action of The Furious, a movie that begins by telling us that it's set "somewhere in South East Asia." That may sound generic, but so what? The precise location doesn't matter because The Furious isn’t about geography, it’s about punch-and-kick action. A threadbare plot -- children are kidnapped and trafficked by sneering villains -- becomes a launch pad for what amounts to a nonstop helping of fighting. Director Kenji Tanigaki, who did some of the design work for John Wick: Chapter 4, has a field day as he follows Wang Wei (Xie Miao), a mute handyman who tries to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Eventually, Wang Wei teams with Navin (Joe Taslim), a husband who's investigating the disappearance of his wife, a journalist who tried to expose the kidnappers. Marked by inventive fight choreography, and outsized villains, The Furious offers an opportunity to delight in the ways that Tanigaki ups the ante with each successive fight. For the record, Xie, who appeared in Jet Li movies as a child, practices Wushu style martial arts. Taslim focuses on Judo and once belonged to the Indonesian National Judo Team. OK, those aren't Actors Studio credentials, but both of these stars are masters of the art of acrobatic showmanship the movie boldly displays. Ouch!
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