The Furious (2025)

Sometimes you want the latest Spielberg magic. Sometimes you want to spend some time being amused by a slick rom-com. Sometimes you need to check out the latest hot horror movies. And sometimes . . . sometimes you really want something with a very slight plot that's just an excuse to have people punching and kicking one another in the face.

Xie Miao stars as a mute handyman living with his young daughter (Rainy, played by Yang Enyou). He needs to start tearing through bad guys when Rainy is snatched up by men involved in a child trafficking ring. That's almost the entirety of the plot. Okay, Joe Taslim is involved, playing a journalist named Navin who is looking for his missing partner, and there are a number of main baddies standing out from the crowd, but this film boils down to watch Xie Miao dismantle a large crime ring in pursuit of his young daughter.

There's a ridiculousness to this whole thing, from the slight plotting to some of the bad dialogue, but I'm less concerned with criticising the four people who shaped the screenplay and more concerned with praising director Kenji Tanigaki. What he's done here is present a slice of pure adrenalin-pumping action insanity, with fights and savage violence that will have even the most hardened action movie fan picking their jaw up off the floor on a number of different occasions.

Even the relatively small-scale opening sequence has some impressive fight moves, but things really step up to another level once our hero sees his daughter in trouble and shows his determination to save her at any cost. An impressive two-on-one fight is quickly followed by some dangerous driving, but that's nothing compared to what unfolds after that. Take one man, one hammer, and a club with a MMA octagon in the middle of it and you have the ingredients for one fantastic set-piece. A room with plenty of large ice blocks is the setting for another highlight. And I can't even begin to describe the extended final sequence, which features such an astonishing blend of inventiveness and savagery that I actually think I almost forgot to keep breathing a couple of times.

Taslim may be the more well-known of the leads, but it's Miao you'll be researching once the end credits roll. He's an incredible talent, up there with the likes of Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa when it comes to making a strong impression with his fighting skills. Yayan Ruhian portrays another memorable bad guy, Brian Le combines bulk and grace in a way that reminded me of the mighty Sammo Hung, and Joey Iwanaga is the sharp-suited "final boss" who eventually shows that his bite can be just as bad as his bark.

I can't tell you that I'm writing this review without some rose-tinted glow affecting me, having been blown away by the choreography and the fighting styles on display (there's also a fantastic score helping things along). But I CAN tell you that I've watched this twice in the last week, aiming to watch it again whenever I get the free time, and will probably be waiting quite some time until something else comes along that absolutely blows my socks off in the way that this did.

9/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Night Comes For Us (2018)

A film that you could easily mention in a dictionary to help illustrate the definition of the word “savage”, The Night Comes For Us is a fast and frantic run from one brutal action sequence to another. Writer-director Timo Tjahjanto knows how to deliver genuinely astonishing spectacle, helped by a cast more than capable of the physicality that’s required.

When he saves the life of a young girl (Reina, played by Asha Kenyeri Bermudez) after massacring the rest of her village to teach a harsh lesson about stealing Triad money, Ito (Joe Taslim) has a sudden attack of conscience. He no longer wants to be in the violent life that he once considered a natural fit. Nobody gets to just leave though, especially if they have killed other Triads to make their escape. Many people are then instructed to kill Ito and Reina, including Arian (Iko Uwais), a former gang member who was also once a close friend.

It's hard to single any one person out here, despite Taslim being the lead and Uwais arguably being the most recognisable of the main cast members nowadays, but those who get a decent amount of screentime deserve some recognition of how much they help to maintain the believability and steamrolling momentum of the central premise. Although some characters have different styles, sometimes helped by different weaponry they have to hand, everyone is motivated by sheer survival instinct, flailing around and aiming for a death blow as fists and feet and blades blur around them. Taslim doesn't try to paint himself as anyone who suddenly deserves our sympathy, but his one decision that changes things for everyone around him is enough to have us rooting for him as he does everything he can to ensure the safety of one young girl. Uwais is calm and cool, for the most part, but starts to fray at the edges when his character arc is about to be completed. Sunny Pang is a boss man who orders others into battle, Julie Estelle is very good as another cool and skilled killer (simply known as The Operator), Zack Lee gets to steal a couple of moments as a drug addict who finds some redemption in a fight that has him greatly outnumbered, and both Dian Sastrowardoyo and Hannah Al Rashid are a lot of fun as Alma and Elena, a very dangerous duo who work together to maintain the edge against those who often underestimate them.

I've generally enjoyed everything I have seen so far from Tjahjanto, although this is a reminder that I need to explore much more of his filmography. I think he generally does better with action than he does with horror (although many enjoyed Macabre much more than I did), and there are moments in most of his films that will have you wondering just how they were shot as you pick your jaw back up off the floor. He's a huge talent, undeniably so, but must also be helped by a very talented team around him.

Cinematographer Gunnar Nimpuno does well just to keep up with the action and bloodshed, editor Arifin Cu'unk shows a number of memorable moments without interrupting the flow of any major sequence, and composers Aria Prayogi and Fajar Yuskemal deliver an audio track worthy of running parallel to the visual spectacle. As for the makeup department, special effects, stunt team, etc . . . every single one of them delivers top notch work. Even the continuity department must have been kept on their toes as they kept track of the injuries and bloodstains.

A few of the early scenes don't work as well as they could, due to the story really coming together as various characters come into the storyline, but the majority of this is about as perfect as you want a full-on, full-blooded, action film to be.

9/10

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Prime Time: Mortal Kombat (2021)

I may have said this before, but I have always been a Mortal Kombat guy. I like Tekken, I was always frustrated when playing against people who knew more than me on any incarnation of Street Fighter, but Mortal Kombat was MY fighting videogame. It had the special moves, had plenty of blood and gore, and had great characters. And, against all odds, it was turned into one of the better movie adaptations.

A lot of people were excited when they heard that it was being rebooted in film form (or whatever phrase fits best for this incarnation), but I wasn’t too bothered. I already had a fun Mortal Kombat movie. The second one wasn’t great, but I also had some animated adventures, and the game series has endured throughout the past few decades in a way that I think may have surprised many.

A feature debut from director Simon McQuoid, as well as a debut for writer Greg Russo (although his co-writer, Dave Callaham, has plenty of credits under his belt), Mortal Kombat is a slice of action that feels very much like a film placed in the hands of a very capable stunt team, and that’s no bad thing. In fact, I wish there had been time made for even more fight sequences. Why let plot get in the way of a good Mortal Kombat movie?

Speaking of the plot. It’s time for the big battle that will decide the fate of Earth, of course. Some people who have been chosen to fight are unaware of the full situation, despite being marked with the symbol that tags them as a participant in the tournament, and Cole Young (Lewis Tan) only starts to become aware of his fate when he and his family are threatened by Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim). Coke encounters Jax (Mehcad Brooks), who sends him to connect with Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee). Sonya might be able to help, but she also has her hands full with Kano (Josh Lawson), a man she is keeping on a short leash while using him to get to the tournament. Other familiar faces who appear here are Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), and Shang Tsung (Chin Han). You also get screentime for Goro, Reptile, Nitara, Mileena, Kabal, and quite a few other moral fighters, and Hiroyuki Sanada gets to portray the legend we all loved to play . . . Scorpion.

This is a perfectly enjoyable film, with some decent fights that occasionally include a decent bit of blood and nastiness. I just don’t know why so many people raved about it though. It’s slightly overlong (clocking in at 110 minutes), some of the editing could have been improved to give the fights more fluidity, and to showcase the talented physical performers, and, as so many others have mentioned, it is a Mortal Kombat movie without the actual Mortal Kombat tournament at the heart of it. That is the aim, yes, but Shang Tsung wants to break the rules, which means being able to fight in a variety of locations that aren’t within the standard tournament environments. On the one hand, I can understand why this choice was made. On the other hand, Mortal Kombat should feel like Mortal Kombat. This doesn’t. It feels like what it is - a way to use the characters and fight moves in a rather standard action movie storyline.

Technically competent throughout, and the score does well enough, overall, to make you forget just how much you are missing the bombastic theme song from the first movie, there’s nothing particularly wrong here. The cast fit their roles well, and I believe every one of them could beat me up in a matter of seconds, and the special effects enhancing their capabilities are spot on. It just doesn’t have quite the right tone and narrative thrust to feel like the definitive Mortal Kombat movie. Maybe they will do even better with the next outing.

I will revisit this, it’s got enough good action and is entertaining throughout, but I will undoubtedly revisit the 1995 movie more. It is less polished, but just a bit more fun. And, despite inputting a code to get the maximum amount of blood ‘n’ guts, playing Mortal Kombat was always fun. 

7/10

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