Real heads know that the truly exciting martial arts movie sequel coming out this week is not Keanu Reeves vehicle John Wick 4, but actress Veronica Ngô’s straight-to-Netflix follow-up to her hit 2019 starrer, Furie. It’s fun to think that Ngô just walked into the Netflix offices and wrote “FURIE” on the whiteboard, and then added an “S.” (or $). With Lê Văn Kiệt (the director of the original film) busy with last year’s English-language The Princess, Ngô herself (billed as Ngô Thanh Vân) takes over as director. She also acts again, this time playing Jacqueline, the head woman in charge of a crew of lost women whom she trains up in the deadly martial arts in order to take down a ring of sex traffickers and drug dealers. Đồng Ánh Quỳnh takes the lead role as Bi, who may be a young version of the character Ngô played in the first film (it’s not really clear, but all the press for Furies calls this a prequel). We meet Bi early on and get a flashback to her horrific childhood: a prostitute mother who is abused by men, rape and murder to follow, leading to years on the streets, committing petty crimes, and fighting off further sexual assaults. Bi joins Jacqueline’s crew, made up of two other young women, Hong and Thanh (Rima Thanh Vy and Tóc Thiên, respectively) with similar backgrounds. They form a makeshift family and take part in a training montage. Then things really get rolling.
Published as part of InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 11.
