Tanigaki Kenji’s The Furious (2025) offers non-stop martial arts action – so non-stop, in fact, that it simply refuses to ever stop. Its paper-thin characters simply keep punching and kicking each other for so long that it is possible to wander off and make oneself a cup of tea while waiting for them to take a breather.

In many respects the film represents a child’s wish for narrative cinema. If all of the action-oriented elements of popular cinema are so dynamic and thrilling, why not simply cut out all of the boring talking bits and just keep the exciting stuff? It is like gorging on a bagful of chocolate: after a while the flavour grows tiresome, and after two hours of sugar the whole enterprise makes one rather nauseous.

The plot, such as it is: southeast Asian gangsters kidnap Rainy (Yang Enyou), the daughter of non-verbal Chinese handyman Wei (Xie Miao), to be trafficked for torture and murder. The kidnappers do not realize that Wei is a retired special forces operative, who will be relentless in finding his daughter and punishing her captors. Wei teams up with journalist Navin (Joe Taslim), who is investigating the same trafficking ring that has taken Rainy. That the ring specialises in murdering children live to an online audience of wealthy strangers, and that Wei sets off with only a claw hammer to defend himself both act as firm indicators of the sorts of bloody, relentless scenes that ensue.

Some films have demonstrated that it is possible to create a non-stop action film by carefully interweaving moments of plot and character into the fight sequences. Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evan’s loose Indonesian trilogy of Merentau (2009), The Raid (2011), and The Raid II (2014) largely stand as testament to a successful approach. A large part of Evans’ success comes from a rigid structure: in The Raid, a protagonist fights from the bottom to the top of a criminal-filled apartment building in 100 minutes. Tanigaki has failed to secure such a firm structure in The Furious; the result is an untidy film with a longer duration.

Yang is pleasingly charming as Rainy, and the film actually gives her pro-active and whip-smart things to do after she is abducted. Xie Miao is suitably grim and determined as Wei, but of course the main focus of his character is beating people up and getting beaten up in return. Joe Taslim dominates much of the film’s dialogue as Navin, and has a watchable quality that he’s previously demonstrated in a range of films like The Raid and Fast & Furious 6 (2013).

Taslim is not the only Raid graduate to make an appearance. Popular martial artist Yayan Ruhian also makes a prominent guest appearance, as does Thai action star Jeeja Yanin, choreographer Brian Le, and Hong Kong actress Mimi Chu.

The fight and stunt choreography is the primary attraction of The Furious, and its entire reason to exist. It is incredibly well staged and performed, and fans of the action genre will find much of tremendously thrilling. Even the most enthused viewers might still find it all a bit much. After close to two hours of pummelling, cracking of bones, and spilling of blood, the blunt promise of a sequel may have them running for the exits.

It turns out you can have too much of a good thing.