[Review] Why The Furious《火遮眼》 Feels Like A Love Letter To Golden Age Hong Kong Action Movies

Directed by celebrated Japanese action choreographer and stunt perfomer Kenji Tanigaki, who got his early inspirations from action movie legend, Jackie Chan’s films, The Furious《火遮眼》 is a brutal and visceral love letter to classic action cinema.

The narrative is set in a fictional Southeast Asian city and follows Wang Wei, an undocumented immigrant and mute single father played by Chinese martial arts star Xie Miao. When his young daughter Rainy, portrayed by Yang Enyou, is kidnapped by a ruthless human trafficking syndicate, Wang is pushed to his absolute limits. Along his bloody path of vengeance, he forms a reluctant alliance with Navin, a freelance journalist played by Mortal Kombat star Joe Taslim. Navin is on his own desperate quest to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of his wife and writing partner.

While the premise provides an urgent catalyst for the relentless violence, you really watch this for the action and certainly not the storyline. If you walk into the theatre hoping for a tightly woven narrative with emotional depth, you are going to walk out scratching your head. The plot is full of glaring loopholes and relies heavily on tired genre tropes. The screenwriters depend on a predictable framework featuring corrupt police forces and irredeemable villains, leaving the dialogue and character development feeling as light as feathers.

However, what The Furious lacks in narrative depth, it more than makes up for with its jaw dropping choreography. The film features an ensemble of authentic martial artists bringing five distinct fighting styles to the silver screen. Fans of the genre will be thrilled by the presence of stars like Indonesian martial artist Yayan Ruhian, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stunt performer Brian Le, and Japanese-American action star Joey Iwanaga.

Tanigaki masterfully utilises each actors real life martial arts background into the fight scenes. You will see elements of Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, traditional Silat, and Wushu seamlessly integrated into the chaotic brawls.

One of the standout moments involves a harrowing fight inside an octagon cage where Xie Miao had to balance on the shoulders of multiple stuntmen while wielding a short hammer. The actor endured immense physical strain during the shoot in Thailand, battling temperatures soaring up to 47 degrees Celsius and even suffering an unnoticed head wound during a chaotic nightclub sequence. In one particularly memorable sequence, Wang relentlessly pursues the kidnappers across a warehouse, running on actual broken glass to save his child. Another scene echoes classic cinema by pitting the protagonists against a nearly unstoppable enforcer inside a freezing icehouse.

The absolute pinnacle of the film is a monumental five person brawl set inside a semi abandoned police station. This sequence alone took an astonishing 18 days to film.

Watching The Furious, I felt like I was transported back to a specific era of cinema. This is pure Hong Kong golden age action filmmaking. You can see the fingerprints of Bruce Lee in the way Xie Miao commands the screen with raw physicality. You can see the inventive chaos of Jackie Chan in the way the film uses its environment, turning ordinary objects like bicycles, ladders, and even ice blocks into deadly weapons.

That is where The Furious excels. It is packed to the brim with action. There is almost no downtime. As soon as one fight ends, another begins. It is an unapologetic, rapid fire action extravaganza designed to keep your heart racing.

If you can overlook the paper thin plot and focus entirely on the masterful execution of human movement and combat, you will find this to be one of the most satisfying cinematic experiences of the year. Avoid this movie if you are not in the action film genre, for this is a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be, and what it wants to be is loud, fast, and unapologetically violent.

In a year full of CGI heavy blockbusters that feel weightless, The Furious stands out for its old school cinematic approach and focus on action. It is not a perfect film. It is not even a particularly good film if you judge it by standard storytelling metrics. However, as a vehicle for martial arts action and a reminder of why we fell in love with kungfu and action movies in the first place, it delivers exactly what it promises. Turn off your brain, hold onto your seat, and enjoy the ride. 

The Furious《火遮眼》is rated M18 and is now showing in Singapore cinemas.