The Furious Just Got a 99% Rotten Tomatoes Score — And It Might Be the Best Action Movie of the Decade

The Action Movie of 2026 That Has Everyone Losing Their Minds

If you've been scrolling through your feed lately and wondering why everyone suddenly won't stop talking about The Furious, here's your answer: the movie just scored a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes from 90 critic reviews, along with a 96% audience score. Not a typo. Not a fluke. This is the kind of critical consensus that action movies literally dream about.

Directed by Kenji Tanigaki — a veteran stunt coordinator who previously worked alongside Donnie Yen on films like Raging Fire and Sakra — The Furious is now playing in theaters everywhere, distributed by Lionsgate. And critics are calling it the best action film not just of 2026, but possibly of the entire decade.

What Is The Furious About?

At its core, The Furious (Chinese: 火遮眼) is a deceptively simple story: an ordinary man goes to war against a ruthless criminal empire to rescue his abducted daughter, played by Yang Enyou. The father is portrayed by Xie Miao, who delivers a performance that's equal parts emotional weight and bone-crushing physicality.

But don't let the straightforward plot fool you. Joe Taslim (fresh off his standout roles in The Raid 2 and Netflix's Warrior) plays journalist Navin, who becomes an unlikely ally in the fight. He's joined by martial arts heavyweights Yayan Ruhian — yes, that Yayan Ruhian, the Mad Dog from The Raid — and Jeeja Yanin from Chocolate and The Protector. This is essentially an Avengers-level assembly of Asia's greatest on-screen fighters.

Why Critics Are Calling It a Game-Changer

The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes describes the film as a "relentless, blood-soaked spectacle" with inventive martial arts choreography that redefines what modern action cinema can look like. The New York Times' Robert Daniels praised the film as an "Asian action extravaganza" where Xie Miao and Joe Taslim "kick butt and take names." Meanwhile, the LA Times compared the fight scenes to "combat choreographed by ants" — swarms of elbows, knees, and legs creating a chaotic ballet that feels entirely new.

What makes The Furious stand out from other action films — and yes, that includes John Wick, The Raid, and even Everything Everywhere All at Once — is how Tanigaki blends raw, practical stunt work with a visual style that doesn't rely on shaky-cam or rapid-cut editing. Every punch lands. Every sequence is readable. And the final thirty minutes? Multiple reviewers reported literally sitting with their jaws on the floor.

Should You See It?

Short answer: absolutely. The Furious premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2025 to massive buzz, and now it's finally getting its wide theatrical release. At 113 minutes, it's tight, focused, and doesn't waste a single frame.

In an era where superhero franchises dominate the multiplex and streaming originals blur into each other, The Furious is a reminder of why we go to theaters in the first place: pure, unfiltered, body-breaking action crafted by people who actually know what they're doing. Lionsgate took a gamble on an English-language Hong Kong action film, and it's paying off in spades.

So grab your friends, skip the next Marvel rehash, and see what a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score actually looks like on the big screen. You won't regret it.