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Thailand 2009
Director: Thanakorn Pongsuwan
Cast: Preeti Barameeanat, 9 Million Sam, Khanutra Chuchuaysuwan, Kumpanat Oungsoongnern, Phutharit Prombandal, Arucha Tosawat
Rating: R
Language: Thai
Release Date: 29 January 2009 (Thailand)
Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
The Movie Review
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FIREBALL:
MUAY THAI DUNK |
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Gory! Brutal! Intense! And absolutely satisfying! For action lovers, this Thai action film is Surefire worth a buy! That sentence actually already enough to describe the overall entertainment quality of Fireball: Muay Thai Dunk. But since, this is a review, then I will try to give you much further insight to what Fireball has to offer...
The story of Fireball revolves around several young men coming from low-economy society who have to earn money in a very very harsh way. They have to play basketball! Whoa, what's so harsh about that right? Well, the thing is, it's not ordinary basketball, it's basketball mixed with Thai's world-famous martial arts, Muay Thai. So the rules in playing this basketball are... There are no rules!! (I love saying that lolz). All players could freely punch, strike, ram, kick, knee, shin, head butt and whatever means of violence they have in mind, even killing is legit in the court.
Our protagonist is Tai (Preeti Barameeanat), a young man who has just been recently released from prison only to find his twin brother, Tan lying in a comma in a hospital accompanied only by Tan's girlfriend, Pang (Khanutra Chuchuaysuwan). Tan was severely beaten while playing Fireball and the reason he joins this tournament is to earn money to pay Tai's ransom. Not very long, fuelled by his anger over Tan's critical condition, Tai joins this Muay Thai Dunk team for the purpose of finding the people who hospitalized Tan. In his team, Tai befriends Zing (9 Million Sam) the most skillful player, IQ (Kannut Samerjai) a boy who tries to earn money to help his poor mom paying the rent, Muk (Kumpanat Oungsoongnern) an African-Thai player who struggles to earn money for his pregnant wife, and K (Anuwat Saejao) a mysterious and calm member of the team. Even though Tai's team is choked-full of highly-skilled players, but to get to the person who hurt Tan isn't going to be smooth, they have to deal with other teams that no-less savage and no-less skilled. Could Tai eventually avenge his brother and earn money to pay for Tan's surgery?
Gory! and Intense! This movie is absolutely more brutal than any other average Thai action flick. Like the real fighting scenes are not intense enough, the filmmakers even amp up the intensity several notches. We got slit throat, stabbed person and even cut fingers, and we're still watching an action movie here guys, not horror. If you ask me if the scenes are bloody, then I'll answer that Blood and Bruises are the main ingredient of Fireball. If you're already familiar with Thai action film, you know that most actors are not faking (as in hitting the wind), even though they don't use full strength in kicking-and-hitting each other, still, those strikes hit other actors' bodies for real. And this is what makes action film from Thailand has different intensity vibe than other movies. There are 3 main attractions (brawls) in this film, and one chasing (friendly-competition) scene resembles the one in Banlieue 13 (2004) and Les Fils Du Vent (2004). In overall the scenes in Fireball is engaging, brutal, realistic and intense. Did I say intense too much? Heck! They are intense!
Too bad... just too darn bad that a single flaw could pretty much ruin your experience in watching those brawls. It's none other than the over-stylized camerawork. Sigh...if only it hadn't been that shaky, we would have enjoyed the match just like the spectators in the movie did..., those lucky supporting actors and extras! I envy them. Interesting enough, at several scenes the camerawork suddenly becomes very artistic and steady just like in the water splashing-fighting scene. And I suggest that you don't watch this with your little ones, it's very violent and rather dark in nature, being banned in New Zealand is also a sign.
Nevertheless, if you are a true action lover and not the squeamish one, I don't see any reason not to see this movie. Fireball: Muay Thai Dunk stays true to the action genre and it does excellent in that field.
© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
Twitter: @movielogy
posted: Friday, 12 Aug 2011 06:44 pm
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