Furioza

Furioza, a Polish Netflix action-thriller, is not just a higher form of the comparatively childish Fast and Furious; it feels like the real thing, as if the spirit of every serious gangster film were put on steroids and made into a brutal cop story pitting a gang of skinhead, immoral thugs banned together and fighting like a nightmare of Fight Club.

Three friends from the same gang: Dawid (Mateusz Banasiuk), Kaszub (Wojciech Zielinski) and Dzika (Weronika Ksiazkiewicz), his former girlfriend. Each takes a different life that converges again--this time Dawid is a doctor, Kaszb, his brother, stays in a gang, and Dzika (reminding me physically of Guy Pearce) joins the police. Dzika asks Dawid to infiltrate Furiosa for information and thus save his brother from being prison.

Bad boy gang leader Antman (Marcin Mrowezynski) is the object of their arrangement because his gang is not only responsible for drug trafficking, but it also mercilessly beats on gangs and civilians alike. For auds who like seeing realistic fisticuffs, Furioza is ground zero. For those who like to see brotherhood and romance play out thematically while accompanied by rough-housing, this adventure is nectar.

It's enjoyable and culturally instructive to see a gangster flick from a European country like Poland with enough eurotrash to make us feel good about our own tough-guy trash. Furiozo is fast and furious with enough evil and love to make it a cut above our common mobster actioner.

As "Furioza" (2021 release from Poland; 139 min.) opens, a gang of thugs is causing mayhem on a train. We then go to the XOXO dance club, where we are introduced to a female undercover cop who is investigation a drug ring. Along the way she gets a gash wound on her head... At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: let me state upfront that I had never heard of this film, and only found out about it when Netflix "suggested" it to me (based on my viewing habits). When I realized that this was a foreign film, I did not hesitate. As it turned out, this film was quite the mixed bag for me. The plot is frankly confusing and I found it challenging to keep track as to who is who, with a no-names large cast to boot. Then there is the strange mix of "Fight Club" reminding themes vs. A typical drug crime type film. In the end, it's more a film about Polish macho types eager and needing to release a lot of pent-up anger and feelings. But with a running time of 2 hrs and 20 minutes, the movie is too long for its own good. Last but not least, please note that the movie's title "Furioza" refers to the name of the fight club which the cops are tracking, and should not be confused with/is not related to the Charlize Theron character Furiosa in the "Mad Max: Fury Road" movie.

"Furioza" recently started streaming on Netflix. If you liked the classic 1999 film "Fight Club" (yes, almost a quarter century ago!), I'd readily suggest you check this out, keeping expectations modest, and draw your own conclusion.

If you have liked UTRAS, two years ago, more or less a cousin topic and atmosphere, you will like this Polish. Unfortunately, you don't avoid clichés and the main lead is too predictable. It is brutal, bloody but the undercover scheme among hooligans is not new. I usually avoid this material but made an exception for this one. This is an efficient feature but not for sissies. A hooligan and crime film in the same time. Maybe it is accurate and close to reality in Poland. It is usually the British movie industry which speaks of hooligans and gangsters, because in UK, both go together; there are batches of such films in England. This feature remains however one of the best ever for me about this topic. Only the ending is a deception to me.

The story is a little fragmented and confusing. Still it is a good watch. Well filmed with good acting and great fight scenes. The dubbing is not bad and the selected voices work well. Not an easy flow movie, still a solid watch.

As other reviewers have said the story can be confusing at times, and there wasn't as much action as I expected for this kind of film, felt like more of a drama for the most part. The actors do a good job but the film could probably have been cut shorter, but an ok watch nonetheless.