REVIEW: Fireball (2009)

You liked ONG BAK? You liked WARRIOR KING? You really like Thai action cinema and you love the fresh approach to martial arts that their industry is taking? YOU ALSO FUCKING LOVE BASKETBALL? Wow, you’re in luck, FIREBALL is the film for you.

Or at least it should be. As on paper, FIREBALL is what martial arts (particularly Muay Thai) fans want to see – a no-holds-barred action thriller with a central concept that exists solely as an excuse for as many exhilarating and brutal fight sequences as possible. And funnily enough, that’s what actually happens on screen. So why is FIREBALL a misfire?

Well it reminds me of the time I took a portable DVD player on a roller coaster – everyone said I was being an idiot and that I wouldn’t be able to see what was going on, but I really wanted to see MARLEY AND ME. Sure enough I didn’t have the faintest clue what was going on because the screen was all over the place. The same thing happens in FIREBALL, as every time there’s an action sequence, director Thanakorn Pongsuwan goes completely insane with his camera, zooming in, cutting shots like nobody’s business and generally just flailing his camera about with a reckless over-energy that ruins the potential for any impressive action. As with the roller coaster incident, I ended up puking all over myself.

In some sequences it’s so hard to work out what’s going on you can’t even tell who the good and bad guys are and it really frustrates. It’s even more infuriating because if you look closely, there’s some fantastic choreography and screen fighting on display, particularly from 9 Million Sam, a real life Thai boxer. Also, during the climactic action sequence, there’s some pretty slick camerawork that actually captures some nifty moves in gloriously sharp detail – but this just serves to emphasize the lack of comprehension attributed to the rest of the action.

So unfortunately, as a martial arts film FIREBALL is more a double dribble than a 3-pointer. Saying that, there is a plus side, because as an action film taken on its own (away from any Muay Thai/ONG BAK expectations), it’s actually rather good. All the other required action movie elements are present: the engaging antihero, the interesting and diverse supporting players, an appealing central concept that although derivative of previous films (ROLLERBALL, FUTURESPORT) is still worth exploring, and action sequences that are still exciting, albeit just a little bit over-frenetic.

Regarding the actors, it’s relieving to see that they all play their parts with enough conviction to make them worth caring about (admittedly some more than others), especially when considering a lot of them aren’t professional actors. he lead – Preeti Barameeanant – is the lead singer of one of Thailand’s leading rock bands – Clash (never heard of them) – and is surprisingly enigmatic and proficient as an actor. The producers clearly put enough faith in him to hinge the entire film around his character, and they certainly scored a slam-dunk (sorry) with that decision. The other central non-actors: 9 Million Sam, Kumpanat Oungsoongnern, Anuwat Saejao and Kannut Samerjai (who all have varying experience within the industry), are all totally suited to their roles and evoke enough empathy and familiarity as to make them worthy supporting characters.

Back to the essential model then – the game of Fireball and the reasons for each character playing it. Essentially, the central plot follows a tough street youth called Tai entering the titular competition to raise money for an operation for his brother Tan, who is in hospital. Of course, this familiar story has been done a million times before, but fundamentally, it gives the viewer a worthwhile excuse to root for the central protagonist. In addition, the other characters also have similar reasons – mostly surrounding a need for money in desperate times.

The game of Fireball itself is like normal basketball, only you’re allowed to smack your opponent round the head with a metal pole if you think he’s getting a little bit too cocky with his dribbling skills. The winning team either scores the first basket, or has the last man standing (the second outcome being the most interesting). From an aesthetic viewpoint, aside from the aforementioned ‘Let’s strap the camera to a vibrator while standing on a pogo stick and throw it round our head’ style of filmmaking, the Fireball matches are pretty frantic, thrilling and pulse-pounding affairs. Someone not expecting martial arts would probably find much to enjoy here as even though it’s rather taxing to decipher what exactly is going on, there’s a frenzied enthusiasm and an unabashed disregard for subtlety that lends them a heady and furious feel that is genuinely exciting.

So overall, FIREBALL just misses the basket as a martial arts film, but as an action film with a suitably vicious, fierce and exhilarating theme, it scores quite highly due to its brazen enthusiasm and surprisingly enthralling central performances.

***FREE BONUS QUOTES FOR USE ON THE POSTER/DVD COVER***

“FIREBALL scores with a swish!”

“Goodness gracious great basketballs of fire!”

“It’s Ong Bak meets Space Jam! Except without Michael Jordan! Or a giant rabbit! And with shit fight scenes!”

“Makes the Chicago Bulls look like fucking cow pats!”

“I liked the bit with the tits in it!”

FIREBALL is now available on DVD in the U.K. from E1 Entertainment.

REVIEW: Fireball (2009), 8.5 out of 10 based on 4 ratings

by Gazz Ogden

Related Topics:
Fireball (2009)  •  Muay Thai