While the premise of “The Furious” is simple — a father named Wang Wei (Xie Miao) must find his daughter after she is kidnapped by a child trafficking ring — it’s the springboard for a nonstop flurry of action. Kenji Tanigaki’s Hong Kong epic, which opens in American theaters today via Lionsgate Films, stars some of the world’s most talented martial artists fighting quickly as a steady camera follows, ditching any blurriness that might come from lesser hands. Our hero and the scores of villains alike rely on found objects, quick wits and even faster blows in order to wage combat, with moves that hit like a fist smashing bricks.
Tanigaki, who has had a three-decade career in action choreography and stunt coordination, says that much of the electricity in his fight scenes comes from having talent with different styles square off.
“I’m so lucky to have a good choreographer and stunt team,” he says. “We think together and set pieces come first: Who fights who and what kind of style, because in action cinema, the characterization is very important. So we use our actors’ own martial arts background. Xie Miao is a Chinese Wushu, Joe Taslim is a Judo. This Judo versus Chinese Wushu is very simple but a big difference. So our choreography comes from this point first. Because Joe Taslim is a Judo, he tries to grab Xie Miao and throw him, right? But Xie Miao tries to keep the distance from Joe, as Joe tries to close in.”
