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Movies / On DVD / Balls of Fury
Balls of Fury

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Balls of Fury (2007)

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Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:1

Rotten:9

Average Rating:4.1/10

Consensus: Tasteless, yet harmless, Balls of Fury nevertheless fails to generate enough laughs despite its lowbrow intentions.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for crude and sex-related humor, and for language.

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Comedies

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... 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. [More]

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

Starring: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, Maggie Q, George Lopez, Thomas Lennon, James Hong, Robert Patrick

Director: Robert Ben Garant

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

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Reviews for Balls of Fury

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1 - 10 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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This comedy raises the odd laugh, largely from an absurd appearance by Christopher Walken as a sinister martial-arts kingpin villain.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/28/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
12/28/07
Jim Hall
Jim Hall
Channel 4 Film
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CGI-assisted ping pong and lame gags about dead pandas, simpering homos and ‘Antiques Roadshow’.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
12/28/07
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
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Bad acting, writing and jokes... Apart from a few funny gags that save this from one-star ignominy.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/26/07
Empire Magazine
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It's good natured enough, but laughs are thin on the ground.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/25/07
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC
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Don’t expect me to explain the rules and purposes of the tournament, if it has any. I was preoccupied with observing the sheer absurdity of everything on the screen...

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
08/29/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Goodness, gracious, there's no greatness in Balls of Fury, a lifeless pingpong comedy that ricochets from one flat gag to the next. The only novelty it can boast of is that it's a sports spoof without Will Ferrell.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/29/07
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Balls of Fury is raunchier and somewhat more imaginative than Hot Rod, and it will be must viewing for Christopher Walken completists.

comment Comment
08/29/07
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Relentlessly silly in spoofing martial-arts movie conventions, Balls of Fury has roughly enough laughs for a first-class trailer but wheezes, gasps and finally goes flat through much of its 90 minutes.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/24/07
Brian Lowry
Brian Lowry
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's the killer pingpong action that ultimately keeps Balls afloat.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
08/23/07
Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
Hollywood Reporter
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