Furies: the French action series that looks John Wick in the eye (review)

A perfect, relentless killer serving the Parisian underworld, Marina Foïs leads this eclectic and excessive action thriller.

Of course, there is not the same overflowing frenzy, nor the same murderous madness or the madness of Keanu Reeves who takes the Arc de Triomphe roundabout hostage for 20 minutes. But undeniably, there is something John Wick In Furiesthe brand new French action series from Netflix, which arrives this Friday on the platform.

An impressive supercharged thriller, which takes us to discover the underbelly of the Parisian underworld, its code, its families, its vigilante. We are told that for decades, the Fury ensures a certain balance between the various families who share the crime market in the capital. There are those who traffic drugs, others who manage prostitution, and others who organize robberies. Everyone has their own domain and the cows are well looked after. No one has been killing each other for ages among the mafiosi. But now, the main accountant in the area is brutally murdered in the middle of Sunday lunch. At the forefront, his darling daughter will discover who her father really was and will seek to take justice into her own hands. In her quest for revenge, she will cross paths with the famous “Furie”, guardian of order in the criminal world…

What is first striking is the meticulousness with which the mythology of Furyby the duo Jean-Yves Arnaud and Yoann Legave (who made the schizo thriller Kepler(s) of France 2). From episode to episode, we learn a little more about the functioning of this sordid underground institution, about the sophisticated history of this bloody universe, populated by fun and well-drawn cartoon characters. In the middle of the game, a Marina Fois in a role of unsuitable killer that fits her like a glove. Alongside the young Lina El Arabi and always very charismatic Mathieu Kassovitzhis mutinous facial expressions and his so characteristic cynical pout, inherited from Robin Hoodwork wonders as she shoots at all costs in this world of brutes.

Because the bullets are flying at a hellish pace in Furies. Fueled by pure adrenaline, the series fully embraces the excesses of its 100% action style, a genre that we are not really used to doing in France. In a joyful electric atmosphere, we don't shy away from our little guilty pleasure. A series of castagne which does not quite reach the excess of John Wickbut who at least dares to compare.

Furies, season 1 in 8 episodes, to watch on Netflix from March 1, 2024.