Kenji Tanigaki did not make The Furious to be watched politely. In my interview with the director, he talked about screenings that felt less like a normal movie and more like a sports bar during the World Cup, with audiences shouting, reacting, and moving together. That tracks with the film itself, which turns a father-daughter rescue story into a vicious martial arts eruption built to hit a crowd all at once. Lionsgate releases The Furious in U.S. theaters on June 12, 2026.
Kenji Tanigaki Wanted a Crowd Experience, Not Just a Fight Movie
One of the best things Tanigaki said was that the audience response has gone beyond even what he hoped for. He singled out the Toronto International Film Festival as especially memorable because the room did not behave like a room quietly watching a movie.
“It’s not like watching movies. They are watching the World Cup in sports bar.”
- Kenji Tanigaki
That explains why The Furious lands the way it does. The movie is built like a communal jolt. It wants gasps, movement, noise, and that rare kind of theatrical unison where everyone feels the same impact at once. Tanigaki even said he hopes audiences watch it in the theater and shout together, which feels exactly right for a film this physical.
The Story of The Furious Hits Because the Morality Is Immediate
Tanigaki also explained why he chose human trafficking in Southeast Asia as the film’s central evil. He wanted the moral stakes to feel universal and immediate, not culturally distant or morally blurry. In his view, action movies need good people and bad people, and he wanted this one to lock the audience into that conflict fast.
“I want to make them make ourselves as simple as possible because I need all this over the world have the sympathy. That’s why we chose the father daughter story.”
- Kenji Tanigaki
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That simplicity is not laziness. It is precision. Tanigaki wanted viewers everywhere to immediately feel why this father would run through hell for his daughter. The production notes reinforce that same point, describing the film as a story driven by primal parental love and frustration with corrupt systems that fail the vulnerable.
Kenji Uses Violence to Shock, But Also to Make You Laugh Uneasily
What surprised me most was hearing Tanigaki say he is not actually a big fan of pure splatter. He comes from Hong Kong action cinema, so even when the violence gets ugly, he still wants some over-the-top humor in the mix.
“I hope even the violence of hope, it has some humor all over the top. Humor.”
- Kenji Tanigaki
That balance is a huge part of why The Furious works. The movie can be brutal, but it never becomes numb. Tanigaki wants the audience scared and laughing at the same time. That creates a much stranger and more memorable energy than straight gore ever could.
Brian Le Helped Turn the Ending of The Furious Into Something Wilder
Tanigaki also gave Brian Le a lot of love, and for good reason. He said Brian’s charm changed how he saw the ending and pushed him toward something far messier and more exciting than a standard two-on-two showdown.
“I really want Brian coming back to the ending… that’s a five guys fight from the three different parties. That’s interesting, right?”
- Kenji Tanigaki
That instinct says a lot about Tanigaki as a filmmaker. He is not satisfied repeating a structure action fans have already seen thousands of times. He wants shifting allegiances, chaos, and the sense that every fighter changes the equation. The production notes describe the finale in almost the same way, as a five-person melee with constantly shifting targets and no clean good-versus-bad alignment.
The Furious opens in U.S. theaters on June 12, 2026, with Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Yang Enyou, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga, and a cast built from some of the strongest action talent working across Asia today. If Tanigaki gets his way, you will not just watch it. You will feel the whole room react with you.
Are you ready for The Furious to wreck a theater? Do you prefer action movies that hit with moral clarity or more ambiguity? And how much more excited are you for that five-way finale now? Share your thoughts in the comments or @me
KEEP READING: The Furious Review – A Martial Arts Masterclass That Turns Violence Into Story
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