JONESING FOR FILMS

I first saw The Raid: Redemption back in 2012 and fell in love with the action and the relentless pace; it was an instant classic of the martial arts genre. Even through all of the John Wick movies and a sequel, I still consider it the pinnacle of modern day fight movies. The Furious comes the closest to reaching the dizzying and euphoric heights of action in The Raid.

The story is very simple; Wang Wei (Xie Miao) is a mute man living in a non-descript Southeast Asian city and working as a local handyman. His daughter, Rainy (Yang Enjou), is visiting him and wants him to come home to China. Before she can travel home to her mother, she is kidnapped by an underground criminal syndicate that trafficks children. Wei pursues her and her captors in a desperate attempt to retrieve his daughter. In the process, he crosses paths with Navin (Joe Taslim), an investigative journalist who is try to find his wife who went missing several months prior while investigating the trafficking. Together, they seek vengeance and justice.

Similar to the John Wick universe, which is littered with skilled assassins, there seems to be a plethora or everyday people in this world who seem to be skilled martial artists. Though he is a man of mystery given that they only hint at his background, Wei is an unassuming handyman leading a quiet and unremarkable existence. Even journalists like Navin have fists of fury.

It’s great when a movie like this has a solid plot, but if the choreography of the fighting is good enough, then the plot can take a bit of a backseat to the action spectacle on display. Having the child kidnapping early on creates a ticking clock for Wei to rescue his daughter, the more time passes, the less likely he is to find her. Also, Wei being mute means that he gets to let his fist do the talking. And they talk fast and deliver maximum impact.

Almost all of the fights are praiseworthy and distinct in their style, how weapons are utilized, and how the environment plays into it. One early scene has Wei chasing a truck through the city streets and taking on two of its occupants. There is a tremendous two-pronged scene where Wei and Navin are individually fighting waves of gangster heavies in an underground club that doubles as a dance party and MMA bareknuckle fight club.

There are just too many fights to list, but nearly all of it is rapturous action, particularly the final fight that sees Wei and Navin fighting two final bosses (including the always outstanding Yayan Ruhian) and one other guy (Brian Le, the guy who fights with a buttplug in Everything Everywhere All At Once) fighting all four of them, 2-on-2-on-1 action that might break your brain.

This is my first exposure to Xie Miao, but it looks like he has had a productive career in China dating back 30 years or more. He is more than up to the task as the lead of such an action-heavy role, but he also has a good connection with Yang Enjou plyaing the daughter Rainy.

For a movie I thoroughly enjoyed, I don’t have a lot more to say about it. The plot is just good enough to hold everything together and move the pieces around from glorious fight to glorious fight. The fight scenes are the kind that will leave you giddy and chuckling to yourself because they are so audacious and impressive and frenetic. Anyone who is a fan of martial arts movies should see The Furious, and anyone who sees The Furious might become a fan of martial arts if they aren’t already.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars