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Balls of Fury (2007)

Director: Robert Ben Garant

1

Time Out rating

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27 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Making dumb comedies is harder than it looks: for every ‘Dodgeball’ there are dozens of excruciating failures. This ping pong parody of Bruce Lee’s ‘Enter the Dragon’, is a case in point. Nineteen years after a humiliating exit from the 1988 Olympics, washed-up table tennis prodigy Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) is a cheesy casino novelty act. Then FBI agent Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez) asks him to infiltrate the lair of arms dealer and ping pong enthusiast Feng (Christopher Walken). So, with the help of blind mentor Mr Wong (James Hong) and his fit young niece, Maggie (Maggie Q, the villainess from ‘Live Free or Die Hard’), Randy enters a secret ‘sudden death’ contest and takes on sundry racial stereotypes. These include his blond Aryan nemesis Karl Wolfschtagg (Tom Lennon). More paunchy than raunchy, Fogler’s Def Leppard fan is a feeble riff on Jack Black’s metal-loving meathead roles. The rest is CGI-assisted ping pong and lame gags about dead pandas, simpering homos and ‘Antiques Roadshow’. Director Robert Ben Garant (‘Reno 911!: Miami’) inflicted this Chinese water torture.

Author: Nigel Floyd 2007-12-17 16:43:16

Time Out London Issue 1948: December 19 2007-January 1 2008


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User reviews of this film

  • Jed said...
    Posted on Apr 29 2009 21:09 amazing
    Report as inappropriate
  • MunkiDuck said...
    Posted on Aug 20 2008 18:59 Munki...munki munki.....munkimunkimunki MuuuuNNNKKKiiiiiiIIIIIIiiiiiiii. Duck.
    Report as inappropriate
  • fenner said...
    Posted on Jul 24 2008 16:15 hihihihhihihihihihi
    Report as inappropriate
  • hi said...
    Posted on Jul 24 2008 16:13 great laugh yeah
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  • hi said...
    Posted on Jul 24 2008 16:11 fun fun fun
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  • sexy guy said...
    Posted on Jul 24 2008 16:09 very good
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  • everyone said...
    Posted on Jul 24 2008 16:06 great funny film. da german dude rocks!@?
    Report as inappropriate
  • origen01 said...
    Posted on Apr 24 2008 18:21 I don't know if it was done on purpose but everything there is to know about the movie is in its trailer. That said, don't waste your money.
    Report as inappropriate
  • fgddfgd said...
    Posted on Jan 31 2008 14:38 this film is stupid and the guy who wrote before me is the gay not me
    Report as inappropriate
  • qdawd said said...
    Posted on Jan 31 2008 14:38 blow me u gay
    Report as inappropriate
  • shut up qdawd said...
    Posted on Jan 31 2008 14:37 your the chav
    Report as inappropriate
  • qdawd said...
    Posted on Jan 31 2008 14:35 your all chavs
    Report as inappropriate
  • bradley said...
    Posted on Jan 24 2008 17:06 this was hilarious the old chinese man made me lagh for hours wen the old guy sleeps with the man in the dark and comes out thinking its a woman lmao
    Report as inappropriate
  • jskfdhg said...
    Posted on Jan 17 2008 20:39 Awesome
    Report as inappropriate
  • Elizabeth said...
    Posted on Jan 16 2008 16:50 I had hoped to find a real gem when going to see 'Balls of Fury', I had hoped it would be similar to movies such as Superbad and dodgeball - I was exceedingly disappointed however. The film seemed desperate to sell itself to the Chinese and Japanese Market, which I felt became the main priority of the film, rather than being a comedy. I found the film purile and poorly written.
    Report as inappropriate
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