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MOVIES / ON DVD / BALLS OF FURY
Balls of Fury

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Balls of Fury (2007)

23%
11%
38%
N/A
N/A
N/A
23 %
Reviews Counted: 126 Fresh: 29  Rotten:97 Average Rating: 4.2/10
 
Consensus: Fails to generate enough laughs despite its lowbrow intentions. Tasteless, yet harmless, Balls of Fury nevertheless fails to generate enough laughs despite its lowbrow intentions. more
 
Rated: 12A
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Theatrical Release: 26-12-2007
Synopsis:
It's ping-pong played to the death in this balls-out comedy: Dan Fogler stars as pong child prodigy and Def Leppard-devotee Randy Daytona, whose defeat at the hands of a hissy East German (Thomas Lennon) during the 1988 Olympics forced him leave the world of ping-pong competition in... [More]
It's ping-pong played to the death in this balls-out comedy: Dan Fogler stars as pong child prodigy and Def Leppard-devotee Randy Daytona, whose defeat at the hands of a hissy East German (Thomas Lennon) during the 1988 Olympics forced him leave the world of ping-pong competition in disgrace. Randy's life is a shambles until he gets recruited by CIA agent (Barry Lopez) to infiltrate an ENTER THE DRAGON-style ping-pong tournament (to the death), run by an evil triad leader (Christopher Walken). First Randy needs to get back in shape; enter James Hong (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA) as the blind ping-pong master Wang and Maggie Q as his sexy, kung fu-fighting niece. While FURY is a consistently funny comedy it also manages to sluly infuse some intelligence and compassion into its steady stream of genre spoofery and lowbrow crotch gags (similar in that sense to Mel Brooks' BLAZING SADDLES). Fogler has an engagingly scruffy underdog-style warmth and seems to really connect with the older pros like Walken and Hong; there's the sense everyone had a good time making this film, which carries over to the audience. Director Robert Ben Garant knows when to speed up the action and when to give his actors room to stretch out; the result is a generous spirit where all the cast is allowed to grab their share of the laughs. There's also some awesome Def Lepard tunes on the soundtrack, and Maggie Q is one smokin' hot babe. [Less]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, Maggie Q, George Lopez, Thomas Lennon

Director: Robert Ben Garant
Screenwriter: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant
Producer: Thomas Lennon, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Jonathan Glickman
Composer: Randy Edelman

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 12, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Snap Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French
  • Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Alternate Ending
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette - 1. BALLS OUT: THE MAKING OF BALLS OF FURY
  • 2. UNDER THE BALLS: THE LIFE OF A BALL WRANGLER

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Ratings Image

A horrendously written and acted movie which even Walken can't save.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 09:06 AM
Derek Malcolm
This is London
Ratings Image

A daft, disappointing comedy.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:20 AM
Sun Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

This comedy raises the odd laugh, largely from an absurd appearance by Christopher Walken as a sinister martial-arts kingpin villain.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:07 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image

It’s a hodge-podge of Enter The Dragon and Blades Of Glory, yet infinitely worse than either. In short, a film about bouncing balls with the bounce of an anvil.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:02 AM
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image

Cut a ping-pong ball in half, draw a large black dot in the centre of each then carefully insert around your eye-sockets- you'll raise more laughs than this film manages.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:49 AM
Jim Hall
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Enter The Dragon meets Shaolin Soccer meets Dodgeball – just with infinitely smaller balls. A camp turn from Christopher Walken astounds but it’ll be funnier if you wait for the DVD and lubricate it with a six-pack. Or three.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:36 AM
Jamie Russell
Total Film
Ratings Image

CGI-assisted ping pong and lame gags about dead pandas, simpering homos and ‘Antiques Roadshow’.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:08 AM
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Balls of Fury isn't quite as funny as it thinks it is, but there are some good gags and it's worth seeing for Christopher Walken's performance.

Full Review | Comment
12/27/07 03:15 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

Bad acting, writing and jokes... Apart from a few funny gags that save this from one-star ignominy.

Full Review | Comment
12/26/07 03:15 AM
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

It's good natured enough, but laughs are thin on the ground.

Full Review | Comment
12/25/07 03:15 AM
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Comedians like Will Ferrell, Jack Black and Ben Stiller can get away with lesser material because just looking at them can elicit laughs. Dan Fogler is not in that category.

Full Review | Comment
03/03/08 02:54 PM
Jeff Bayer
Daily Herald (IL)
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
01/18/08 03:15 AM
Drew Toal
Time Out New York
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
01/15/08 03:15 AM
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image

i straight to DVDila poy soy myrize stin proheirotita toy montaz kai tis skinothesias, kapelonei olo to synolo mehri to bareto finale

Full Review | Comment
01/14/08 03:53 AM
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Ratings Image

In perhaps the movie's sole bit of irony, it completely lacks what it boasts so furiously--balls.

Full Review | Comment
12/19/07 04:03 PM
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
Ratings Image

crap

Full Review | Comment
12/04/07 01:37 PM
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
Ratings Image

A good-natured, easy-to-take goof.

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 11:17 AM
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Ratings Image

There are just enough interesting characters, along with dozens of fresh ideas relating to ping-pong, to keep the audience along for the ride.

Full Review | Comment
10/22/07 09:17 PM
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Ratings Image

Ancient Chinese saying: tiny ball with no laugh, make bad movie.

Full Review | Comment
09/23/07 06:59 AM
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
Ratings Image

Thank you. Try again.

Full Review | Comment
09/20/07 01:56 PM
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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