Lionsgate’s ‘The Furious’ Was Last Night’s Secret Screening and It Absolutely Rips
Last night’s secret screening at theaters across the country turned out to be Lionsgate‘s brand new The Furious, a blistering, action-packed, ultra-violent revenge thriller that sits somewhere between John Wick and The Raid.
The movie opened with Lionsgate’s iconic red gears logo, which felt like a statement. It was a reminder of the studio’s long history of delivering hard R-rated action, over-the-top violence, and crowd-pleasing genre entertainment. When that logo hit the screen, you knew exactly what kind of ride you were in for.
The Furious has spent the past year building momentum on the festival circuit after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness program, where it quickly became one of the breakout action titles of the season. Lionsgate later acquired worldwide distribution rights following its festival run.
Heading into next week’s release, theaters are packed. Between Backrooms, Obsession, Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, Scary Movie, and Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, there are many different audiences being served right now. That’s what makes The Furious feel like such an interesting piece of counter-programming.
You’ve got Gen Z horror. You’ve got romantic horror. You’ve got nostalgia. You’ve got big franchise filmmaking. Then you’ve got The Furious, this sneaky black sheep of the summer movie season that comes out of nowhere and punches everyone in the face.
The action choreography is next-level; it has some of the best action filmmaking I’ve seen in years, right up there with John Wick: Chapter 4. Director Kenji Tanigaki, one of the most respected action choreographers working today, fills every frame with movement. There are multiple fights happening simultaneously, bodies flying through the air, hammers smashing heads, knives being thrown, and an endless stream of villains getting exactly what they deserve.
What really impressed me was how crowded every sequence feels. The camera isn’t focused on just one fight happening in a corner. Every frame is packed with people punching, kicking, flipping, crashing through walls, and trying to kill each other. It creates this sense of controlled chaos that makes the action feel bigger and more dangerous than most modern action movies.
The story couldn’t be simpler. A man’s daughter is kidnapped. He’s furious. He goes looking for her. Anyone standing in his way gets demolished.
That’s really all you need.
What makes the movie work isn’t the plot. It’s the execution. The villains are memorable, the hero is instantly likable, and every action sequence somehow manages to top the one before it. The film knows exactly what audiences are showing up for and delivers on that promise from beginning to end.
Our full review is forthcoming (Matt Konopka raves), but this one’s a five out of fiver. More importantly, The Furious feels like a reminder of what made Lionsgate such an exciting studio in the first place. For years, that red gears logo meant you were about to see something a little meaner, a little bloodier, and a lot more fun than what everyone else was putting out. Tonight felt like a return to that. If The Furious is the start of a new chapter, action fans are in very good hands.
The film is rated R for “strong bloody violence and language,” and believe me when I say the film delivers everything it promises.
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