Take 72: The Furious
The Furious is Hong Kong action film that never comes off the gas. When his daughter Guo-Guo (Enyou Yang) is kidnapped, Wang Wei (Miao Xie)is on a mission to save her, no matter what. His quest to reunite with his daughter leads him to uncover a huge child trafficking ring of which his daughter is just the latest victim. Realizing that in order to combat this nefarious syndicate, he teams up with Navin (Joe Taslim) whose wife had been investigating the ring and has also disappeared. Together, the two begin kicking butt and taking names in a brutal, hard-hitting bloodbath as they attempt to find their loved ones.
This was another Cinemark Secret Series movie so I already went in blind, but being an international film, I was also deaf and mute about it. It was very clear from the fight choreography of the first scene, if nothing else, this was going to be fun to watch. I mean, WHOA! I’ve seen plenty of fights in all my movie going days. It’s not often that I am surprised. In this movie however, moment after moment, I was reacting audibly and something that had just never seen that impressed me. There is a chase scene that had me on the edge of my seat. Since I knew nothing about the movie and the story that they were telling, I wasn’t sure of whose story there were actually going to be telling. So many close calls, any of which could have led to a tragic origin story. Not used to that experience so it was really nice.
Again, being an international film, shot in Thailand, I didn’t know a soul so I only had these performances to go on. Miao Xie anchors it nicely. His character is mute but the actor is not. He is for sure a martial arts so is able to easily sell the physicality of the role. The fact that he can also convey so much emotion without saying a single word throughout the course of the film is impressive. Joe Taslim plays his sidekick and is every bit as bad @$$ and is equally fun to watch in the action sequences. He also brings humanity and humor to the role and he wins you over instantly. The last of the primary players of this film is Enyou Yang as Guo-Guo. Her character is a tough one. The kid can be enduring or annoying. She is much more enduring, fortunately. She is plucky and although she can be a bit of a brat in relating to her father, she shines in her interactions with other characters and she manages to walk the kid line gracefully. She was cute when she needed to be and sassy when she had to be. Shout out to the “boss” characters- they were fun and hateable for sure.
The plot is pretty straight-forward. This one is really about the action. The filmmakers know this. They really aren’t trying to full anybody.That said, this one sneaks in a few moments of actual heart which are appreciated. For the most part, I wouldn’t say the violence was gratuitous, but they also weren’t afraid to snap a neck or bust someone upside the head with a hammer. Until the last third or so of the movie. There is a shocking moment which shifts the movie almost into horror/slasher mode and definitely ratchets up the blood and gore. For me, it’s almost TOO much. For a lot of people, it probably IS a bit beyond. I spoke to some ladies after the movie briefly and I will say they were not fans.
Overall, I had a lot of fun with this one. The action was top notch, next level. The story was simple with few frills and I was fine with that. Would I rewatch? Sure. The choreography is worth studying for sure. I do wish it didn’t get soooooo bloody at the end though. It took a little away from the the overall enjoyment and almost felt like the film that I had been watching morphed into something else. That something else was fine too, but defintely jarring. However, not so much to completely derail my enjoyment of the film. My score: 81.
Are you furious? Sound off in the comments. And until next time…
