The Furious: Kenji Tanigaki’s Action Thriller Confronts Child Trafficking

The Furious follows mute tradesman Wang Wei (Xie Miao) whose daughter Rainy (Yang Enyou) is kidnapped by a child-trafficking ring in Bangkok. He teams with journalist Navin (Joe Taslim), whose wife also vanished, and confronts syndicate leader Paklung (Joey Iwanaga) and enforcer Ho (Brian Le). The core conflict is Wei’s relentless quest to rescue Rainy against a corrupt network beyond police reach.

IndieWire

Director Kenji Tanigaki built the fight design on the leads’ own styles—Xie’s Chinese Wushu versus Taslim’s Judo. Six weeks of rehearsal included cinematographer Meteor Cheung, who worked with the stunt team to embed camera movement. The climactic 20-minute brawl, shot over 18 days on a police-station set, expanded to a five-person melee after Tanigaki reinstated Brian Le’s villain.

Variety Magazine

Kenji Tanigaki directs; Xie Miao stars as Wang Wei; Joe Taslim plays Navin; Joey Iwanaga and Brian Le portray antagonists Paklung and Ho. The screenplay was written by Mak Tin-shu, Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan-sin and Frank Hui. Producer Bill Kong oversaw the project.

IndieWire

The film opened in the United States on 1,251 screens, earning $2.75 million its first weekend and receiving 97 % Rotten Tomatoes critic approval and 95 % audience scores. In China it debuted at #1 with RMB 76.1 million (?$11.2 million) and has totaled $13.9 million. Lionsgate, which holds worldwide rights outside China, called release “profitable” and a showcase for rising filmmakers.

Deadline Hollywood

Tanigaki describes the movie as an “emotion picture” where anger drives the action, arguing that child trafficking offers a universally reviled villain that lets audiences channel righteous fury. Xie says the characters’ pursuit of justice “keeps growing until he can overcome evil,” framing the violence as emotional catharsis rather than gratuitous spectacle.

IndieWire

Tanigaki said film’s timing with revelations was coincidental, stressing that “human trafficking, especially children, we all know that’s bad.” He noted “most of the fights happen at the peak of the emotion” calling choreography “the dialogue of the action scenes.” Xie called the story “about a father who has lost his daughter,” saying justice is “a very important part of action.” Lionsgate called release “profitable” and a testament to commitment “rising filmmakers who deliver a fresh and distinctive point of view.”

IndieWire

• “It’s a kind of coincidence,” — Kenji Tanigaki

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• “‘Beat him! Beat him!’ That kind of thing is very important for this movie. Maybe for other movies it’s different.” — Kenji Tanigaki

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• “In the ending, everybody is furious for their own reason, and we need that energy,” — Kenji Tanigaki

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• “ He added, “It’s a motion picture, but it must also be an emotion picture.” — Kenji Tanigaki

IndieWire

Tanigaki confirmed plans for a sequel, contingent on the first film’s commercial success. Production will likely reunite the same creative team and continue exploring the intersection of high-octane action with socially charged themes.

IndieWire