Interview with The Furious Director Kenji Tanigaki

With The Furious coming to theaters June 12th, we got a chance to sit down with the new marital arts mayhem director Kenji Tanigaki. Hot off his most recent Stunt Coordinator work in Twilight of the Warrior: Walled In (an excellent hidden action gem you should also check out) The Furious is a non stop, action adrenaline fuel ride! I got a chance to see the film at the world premiere at TIFF and it blew the roof off of the rabid Midnight Madness crowd. Not since The Raid have I seen a film that pushes martial arts action cinema forward like The Furious does, and audiences are just not ready for what Kenji has in store for you. I asked about how he was able to bring so many different styles together and make The Furious something we haven’t seen before:

“Now looking back I was lucky to have many kinds of people help with this movie…just lucky and Bill Kong our producer [said to me] me let’s make the ultimate action movie. So I called Xie Miao, Joe Talsim…and Yayan Ruhian and Joey Iwanaga and asked our assistant action choreographer Naohiro Kawamoto because we come from the same action school and we know each other, so we are using the same stunt team, same action team to make The Furious.

It certainly paid off, having so many people not just sign up for the project but be action stars and choreographers that Kenji is familiar with. The way bodies move in The Furious is truly astounding, and it certainly takes a lot of trust, timing, and a whole lot of bumps and bruises to pull off. That familiarity shows, as it allows everyone to really express themselves through their selected styles. One thing Kenji talked about was how important the story was because Miao (who plays the lead) is mute, so it was important to have each person have their own style so they could convey everything through action and not always through dialogue. I asked how he was able to bring together so many different fighting styles and how that contributed to the success of The Furious:

“I’m a filmmaker, but at the same time, I’m a fanboy. So I know the matchmaking, and that’s my favorite. It’s like Stallone scouting and casting for The Expendables, it’s the same kind of thing. So I say, ok, Xie Miao he’s a wu shu guy so if I call Joe Talsim he’s a judo guy and have them fight together, fight each other, oh that’s great!”

It’s definitely one aspect that really makes The Furious exist in a league of its own. Watching so many different styles collide adds a totally different layer to every fight. This really comes to a head in the final action sequence, a climax that feels endless in the best of ways and goes so hard I think I was out of breath just watching it. It’s exhilirating to experience, and I truly have never seen anything like it. The way the bodies move and how precise and chaotic everything is, only a master of the craft could pull it off. I asked Kenji about how that scene came together:

“I forgot how we shot that scene! It was so complicated! We spent 18 days and nights for that scene, they were exhausted and I realized that human beings must go to bed at night! It’s a very unique situation because originally in 3999 movies it’s 2 guys vs 2 guys, so for The Furious I thought maybe 5 guys from 3 different parties, that’s really exciting because I have never watched this kind of [fighting] situation.”

We talked a little more in depth about his process, what he set out to do and some of the influences that inspired The Furious. The film is can’t miss martial arts cinema, and when The Furious comes to theaters – RUN, don’t walk to check it out! You can also see our full interview below!