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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.”
While the action is fast-paced, Tanigaki and his DP Meteor Cheung worked to make sure it would look fluid for audiences. Their secret? Incorporate the cameras into fight training early on.
“We asked our actors to join rehearsals a month and a half before shooting,” he says. “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. Many times nowadays, it’s a bit unfair to the camera team because they are the department that joins at the last minute. So many times they don’t know the choreography.”
For the film’s climactic fight — an epic, 20-minute battle — Tanigaki managed an impressively long shoot.
“I spent 18 days on that police station set piece,” he says, looking surprised that he actually survived the process.
In fact, the epic scope of that fight grew as a result of some last-minute ingenuity from Tanigaki. Originally, it was a brawl between the good guys (Miao and Taslim) and the bad guys (Yayan Ruhian and Joey Iwanaga) — until Tanigaki decided to revive an enormous bruiser (Brian Le) to throw the melee into total chaos.
“In the ending fight, it was originally two guys versus two guys,” he says. “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. That’s how our five guys fight from three different parties came about.”
“The Furious” is opening during a crowded box office, but Tanigaki hopes audiences show up — so he can continue exploring this universe with a second film.
“I want to do a sequel, but first of all, the first one must be very successful,” he says. “So I really need audience support. It’s on the audience’s shoulders, and then let me shoot a sequel.”
Watch the trailer for “The Furious” below.
