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A scene from the Vietnamese action drama Foggy Mountain. Courtesy of Well Go USA

Regular readers will know I’ve praised a slew of East Asian martial arts and action flicks in the past few years. South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, among others have followed the path of the prolific Hong Kong studios, often providing splashier fight and stunt sequences, whether the setting is historical or contemporary. Revenge is the most common classic driver of these plots, so when I saw this arrival from Vietnam, I was hoping for more of the same from Foggy Mountain (originally Din Mu Suong). That’s not what I got, but it’s not all bad news.

Phi (Peter Pham) is a superb Mma fighter, reluctantly competing in underground matches to raise money, hoping to afford a cure for his wife’s blindness. Ba Rau (Kim Long Thach) is the local crime boss who...

"Vendettas are always personal." Hi-yah has revealed an official US trailer for a Vietnamese action thriller titled Foggy Mountain, going streaming in the US after first opening in Vietnam back in 2020. Phi, a free fighter, discovers a series of terrifying secrets in Mu Suong village. Well Go's action streaming service Hi-yah! is now showing this, if anyone wants to watch it's available already. After the unexpected death of his wife, Phi decides to return to Vietnam to demand a debt of blood. In Mu Suong village, he not only confronts Ba Rau, but also discovers a series of terrifying secrets. Ba Rau is also the long-term fear of the people. Fate once again places Phi in the middle of a choice: vengeance on Ba Rau or protect the people of Mu Suong? And will he find the antidote for a poison known as "hatred" that exists within him? The film stars Peter Pham as Phi,...

Considering the impact “Furie” and “Furies” had worldwide, it was expected that more martials arts films from Vietnam would also surface at some point. Low-budget “Foggy Mountain” is one of those movies.

Watch Foggy Mountain

on Hi-Yah!

In order to raise money for his wife's eye treatment, professional martial artist Phi competes in an underground tournament, run by the crime lord Ba Rau. However, after his win in his last match causes the organizer to lose a lot of money, he decides to retaliate against Phi's wife, after his goons leave the man unconscious. Phi swears revenge and begins searching for Ba Rau all over Vietnam, with his search eventually leading him to the remote Mist Village in the forests, where he is involved in human trafficking. Furthermore, he has hired the most powerful local fighter, Vong Akork, to be his main henchman, along with his other goons who are terrorizing the area.

Stars: Lê Bình, Pham Anh Khoa, Veronica Ngo, Thanh Nhien Phan, Kim Long Thach, Hoa Tran, Cat Vy | Written by Le-Van Kiet, Nguyen Truong Nhan | Directed by Le-Van Kiet

Furie (Hai Phượng) is directed by Lê Văn Kiệt and stars Veronica Ngo as ex-gangster and debt collector Hai Phuong, whose daughter is suddenly kidnapped on the street by a group of criminals who are selling body parts on the black market. In order to find and save her daughter before she is lost forever, Hai Phuong falls back into the volatile and violent life she tried to leave behind. Resulting in a warpath of violence stopping at nothing to kill everyone who stands in her way.

The comparisons to John Wick for western audiences are going to come thick and fast, however, this isn’t just a “Vietnamese John Wick” it’s a distinctive different palette of filmmaking and performance.