‘The Furious’ Reveals How Its Brutal Final Fight Took 18 Days to Film

The Furious is built around a very simple story, but the action is anything but simple. According to information from the film’s director Kenji Tanigaki in an interview, the movie follows a father named Wang Wei, played by Xie Miao, who is forced into a violent search after his daughter is kidnapped by a child trafficking group. That basic setup quickly turns into a long chain of intense fight scenes that drive the entire film.

Tanigaki, who has spent around three decades working in action choreography and stunt coordination, explained that the heart of the film is the mix of different martial arts styles. The action is not random. It is designed around who the fighters are and how they naturally move.

He said, “I’m so lucky to have a good choreographer and stunt team. 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.”

The film brings together performers with different combat training. Xie Miao is trained in Chinese Wushu, while Joe Taslim has a strong Judo background. Tanigaki built many of the fight sequences around that contrast. He explained that the difference in style becomes part of the storytelling. One fighter tries to close distance and grab, while the other tries to stay out of reach and strike quickly.

He described it like this, “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.”

To make the action feel real on screen, Tanigaki also changed how the camera team worked. Instead of adding cameras after the choreography was finished, the production brought the cinematographer into rehearsals early. Actors and crew trained together for weeks before filming started. This helped the fight scenes feel smoother and more controlled when shooting began.

Tanigaki said, “We asked our actors to join rehearsals a month and a half before shooting. At the same time, I asked our DP to come into our rehearsal room one month before the shooting. They can talk to each other.”

The biggest moment in the film is a long final fight that takes place in a police station. According to Tanigaki, this sequence alone took 18 days to film. It is a continuous, high-energy battle that lasts around 20 minutes on screen. He admitted the process was exhausting but also important for getting the right result.

He said, “I spent 18 days on that police station set piece.”

Originally, the final fight was meant to be a smaller confrontation between two sides. But during production, Tanigaki changed the plan. He brought back another character to expand the chaos and turn it into a multi-way battle involving several fighters with different motivations.

He explained, “It was originally two guys versus two guys. It was very normal. But I really love the character played by Brian Le. He’s a villain. He’s a bad guy, but he’s such a lovely character. So I really wanted him to come back.”

The Furious is now opening in U.S. theaters through Lionsgate Films, according to the film’s release information. Tanigaki has also expressed hope that strong audience response will lead to a sequel, but he says that depends entirely on how the first film performs.

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