Every few years, an action movie emerges that changes the game forever. Whether it be the seminal works of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and director John Woo, the influence of The Matrix on Hollywood, Jason Bourne’s impact on James Bond, the bone-crunching modern masterpiece The Raid, or the shadow that now looms over western action thrillers thanks to Keanu Reeves’ John Wick, a large stone is thrown into the cinematic puddle every once in a while, rippling out and transforming the genre. Well, a boulder was just launched, as what’s been hailed as one of the best action thrillers of the year finally hits theaters.
Directed by action choreographer-turned-filmmaker Tanigaki Kenji (Raging Fire, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), the name of this particular boulder is The Furious. Bringing together a cast of actors and fighters in Xie Miao (My Father Is a Hero), Joe Taslim (The Raid, Mortal Kombat), Jeeja Yanin (Chocolate, Triple Threat), Yang Enyu (Eye for an Eye 2), Brian Le (The Brothers Sun), Joey Iwanaga (Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I – The Final), and Yayan Ruhian (The Raid, The Raid 2), the hype for the action thriller has been palpable. But, somehow, it’s lived up to it.
Boasting the kind of no-nonsense premise that action classics are often made of, in which a man witnesses his daughter being kidnapped and sets out on a violent path to get her back, The Furious also lives up to its title, unleashing the kind of unrelenting martial arts spectacle so rarely seen. MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman heaped praise on The Furious, calling it “a hurricane of savage beatdowns.”
“It’s not hyperbole to say that the film has some of the best action and fight choreography to grace the silver screen in recent years. Famed Japanese stunt coordinator and director Kenji Tanigaki delivers martial-arts bliss with a truly gifted ensemble. All the players deserve credit for jaw-dropping scenes that will literally have audiences cheering out loud.”
Unfortunately, due to one pesky nay-sayer, The Furious has now lost its perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A score it’s held since debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September 2025. However, it does boast a near-perfect 99% from critics alongside 97% from audiences, with Spectrum Culture calling it “a world of pure action.” Pop Culture Leftovers, meanwhile, hails it as “hands-down the best action film of the year. What begins as a familiar revenge story evolves into a relentless adrenaline rush fueled by some of the best fighting sequences arguably ever.”
Further reactions from critics call it “pure, ferocious action” that features “fight choreography that ranks among the best seen in years,” that’s “one of the best martial arts films ever made,” with Los Angeles Times saying, “In five years, Keanu Reeves will be brawling like this.”
Turning audiences, The Furious has been hit with a barrage of five-star reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes users calling it “the best extreme kung fun movie I’ve seen in a while,” the “Best movie I’ve seen this year, lots of action from start to finish,” and “absolutely fantastic. 10/10. It was a blood bath. Premium action from beginning to the end. Definitely a must watch.”
The Furious finally hits theaters as of June 12. Mark the date, because a new era of action cinema has begun.
Release Date
June 10, 2026
Runtime
113 minutes
Director
Kenji Tanigaki
Writers
Mak Tin-Shu, Shum Kwan-sin, Frank Hui, Lei Zhilong
Producers
Bill Kong Chi-Keung, Frank Hui, Tam Chi-San