Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Dodgeball meets Rollerball in this violent bloodsport flick, but before you go thinking we’re back to the excesses of 80s martial arts films, think again…
You know what I mean, the era when Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven ‘ponytail’ Seagal reined supreme, when titles like Best Of The Best and Bloodsport filled the shelves of our local video store (and we just wished we could find those great Hong Kong films instead). There’s more than a little of those hokey, ‘underdog-to-champion’ themes, as well as the decade penchant for exploitative violence. (Yeah, okay, admittedly inherited from the 70s and fed by the burgeoning video market.)
Perhaps the comparison isn’t overly fair, but one read of the setup does bring to those days to mind. Tai (Preeti Barameeanant, best known as lead singer of Thai rock band Clash) is released early from prison to find his twin brother Tan in a coma after being nearly beaten to death by a rival. He soon finds out Tan was involved in a vicious and often deadly underground sport called fireball, a no-holds barred mash-up of basketball and martial arts where anything goes in order to be the last man standing – even murder.
Seeking revenge for his brother’s condition, Tai pretends to be him joining a team of equally desperate individuals. There’s Muay Thai champion Zing (9 Million Sam, a professional boxing champion), out to prove himself; pretty boy teenager Iq (Kannut Samerjai, a real-life rising star of Thai basketball), exceptionally talented but by no means a fighter; Thai-African Muk (Kumpanat Oungsoongnern, ex-goalkeeper on Thailand’s soccer team and star of films including King Naresuran I) trying hard to support his pregnant wife; K (Anuwat Saejao, an ex-professional basketball player), an old friend of Tan’s rumoured to have thrown Tai’s last game; and their boss Den (Phutharit Prombundarn, Bang Rajan), who has much to prove having only been elevated to a higher mafia position as his boss died.
It’s soon clear that this band of misfits is both extremely talented and doomed not to go far in this contest, thanks to being incapable of playing anywhere near as dirty as their competitors. It’s not so much a question of if they’ll make it to the finale – that’s almost a forgone conclusion – but more just how many of them will survive?
Director Thanakorn Pongsuwan effectively uses digital handheld camera to add to the immediacy of action sequences, creating a pretty slick-looking film as a result. The fight scenes (when we finally get round to them) are tightly choreographed by stunt co-ordinator Pangrech Sangcha, and excel at capturing the chaotic nature of a sport where literally anything goes – sometimes a little too well. When illicit weapons like metal bars or more interesting locations like the docks become part of the equation, the action sequences definitely step up a level, turning this Fireball into a conflagration of swift moves and visceral bone-crunching combat. Sure, it’s a gimmick – muay thai meets basketball – but hell, what a gimmick!
Unsurprisingly Pongsuwan rather labours each of the team’s back-stories, playing up the melodrama to daytime soap levels. But slate it if you will, at least he gives you characters you can care about. Considering that many of his stars are not even professional actors, he doesn’t get bad performances out of them either. 9 Million Sam, Anuwat Saejao and Kannut Samerjai stand out in particular alongside an understated but excellent performance by seasoned professional Phutharit Prombundarn.
Sure, some of the Gladiator style references are vaguely hokey too, and forget the end title sequence sets up the possibility a sequel of sorts – seemingly playing out the circular nature of revenge without the slightest irony. It might not be Ong Bak, but this is a pretty effective fight flick that could surprise, if not necessarily win over, audiences. It’s really much better than you might think…
Fireball is released at selected cinemas around the UK from 8 January 2010, courtesy of Premiere Films, ahead of it’s release on DVD and Blu-ray by E1 Entertainment on 18th January.
DVD details
Distributor: E1 Entertainment (UK)
Fireball comes to Blu-ray and DVD with a whole host of extras, including interviews with cast and crew, deleted scenes, outtakes and trailers – making this an impressive and unusually strong UK release for an Asian title.
