During his 15 years in Hollywood, Chris Tonick has seen plenty of action.
As an assistant editor on franchises including Guardians of the Galaxy and John Wick, and while working for directors such as Quentin Tarantino and J.J. Abrams, Tonick has played a significant role in shaping the story and ramping up the excitement for several box-office blockbusters.
Those high-profile experiences led the Dallas native to opportunities as a lead editor, most notably on The Furious, an ultraviolent martial-arts action saga in theaters this summer.
John Wick creator Chad Stahelski recommended Tonick as an addition to the all-Asian crew. Japanese director Kenji Tanigaki wanted someone with a Western perspective to help tailor the project for a wider global audience.
That gave Tonick added responsibility in cutting a film that was shot in Thailand in spring 2024, with about two-thirds of the dialogue in English despite the setting. The vigilante thriller tells a working-class story of a tradesman and a journalist who team up to infiltrate a crime syndicate to rescue abducted family members.
“There are things that have roots in Western films. In John Wick, the inciting incident was a dog dying. Here, it’s a whole bunch of (missing) kids,” Tonick said following the film’s local premiere at the Dallas International Film Festival. “Prior to John Wick, I was told you can’t murder a dog on screen to start your action movie. But sometimes if you make the ride worth it, people will go with you.”
After earning his film degree from SMU, Tonick moved from Dallas to Los Angeles in 2011. His career kept growing before he landed his first feature opportunity as a lead editor on the 2021 horror-comedy Black Friday.
Assembling the relentless fight sequences highlighting various martial-arts disciplines in The Furious was some of the most challenging work he’s ever done. The climactic confrontation alone included compiled footage from 18 days of filming.
“Kenji worked with these guys for weeks and weeks before they ever shot the film,” Tonick said. “Action is where he’s at home — telling stories through movement and his characters’ martial-arts abilities. It’s as much of a conversation as the dialogue.”
Tonick spent six months polishing the film in post-production. It premiered last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival to critical and audience acclaim.
“Every actor was also a martial artist, so it was an embarrassment of riches,” he said. “Clarity was our guiding principle. We didn’t want you to be confused about where you were in the action. With the action choreography, it was a matter of finding what made it look the best.”
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