Fantastic Fest 09: FIREBALL Review
From time to time a film comes along that is simply far, far better than it has any right to be - a film that somehow rises above a ludicrous premise to become something far more than the sum of its parts. In 2009 one of those films is Thai combat-basketball film Fireball. Did I just say combat basketball? Why yes, I did. Fireball revolves around an underground, to-the-death variant of basketball, a game played five on five with the first team to score - or, should a team fail to score, the team with the last man standing - declared the winner. It's preposterous, yes, but firm direction and a sharp eye from helmer Thankorn Pongsuwan (Opapatika), a surprisingly strong script that treats its characters with respect and a winning cast that give said characters a believe edge make Fireball a winning guilty pleasure.
Tai is a young man freshly released from prison, sprung early thanks to funds spread liberally in the right places by his brother Tan. But when Tai goes to express his thanks he discovers all is not well at home. Tan is hospitalized with a coma, the result of serious head wounds suffered in mysterious circumstances. Tan was clearly involved in something illegal to generate the funds for his brother's release but what that is is not exactly clear and Tai is determined to find out and exact revenge on whoever is responsible. All that he knows is that Tan was coming home bruised from playing basketball in the weeks prior to his hospitalization. And so off Tai goes to the courts where his brother played, assuming Tan's identity to learn what he can.
And it doesn't take Tai long to find out what he wants to know. He is quickly recruited by a gang boss to play on his fireball team, the local crime lords buying into to this hyper-violent variant of basketball for fun, for profit, and as a way of establishing dominance within the underworld. Tai quickly learns that his brother was beaten down in a fireball match earlier and he even learns who is responsible, but the only way Tai will ever be able to take his revenge is to fight his way through the fireball league, winning the right to face his enemy in the final match. Game on.
Pongsuwan's Opapatika was a fascinating but flawed film and all signs are that he learned enough lessons from that picture to vault him into the upper level of current Thai genre directors. His sense of character is spot on, his eye continues to develop and he draws shockingly good performances from his cast of largely unknown stuntmen - all of whom could act circles around a certain other Thai mega-star. Most importantly, however, is that Pongsuwan knows exactly what kind of film he is making here and he dives in to his chosen world with such gusto and such full dedication that the required suspension of disbelief becomes effortless.
But enough about character and creating a world, people want to know about the action, yes? In short, it is brutal in the extreme and there is lots of it. Every fireball match is a full on, no holds barred contest of bare knuckle brutality. Muay thai is an obvious influence and there is a strong parkour element as well but this is mostly full on street brawling. The film shows definitely that the stunt and action talent pool in Thailand runs much deeper than just the current Sahamongkol stable with a pair of performers in this film ready, I think, to join Tony Jaa and Dan Chupong in the top tier. The one complaint that I have heard about the action sequences is that it tends to be shot tight and edited quickly and while I do understand that sentiment - there was more than one moment where I wished I had a clearer view of what was happening - I think it is ultimately misplaced, the decision to shoot this way to emphasize brutality and blunt force over skill or technique. This is not a martial arts film in the sense that there are elaborate, highly choreographed movements taking place - and, honestly, trying to incorporate any sort of disciplined fighting into this world would have quickly broken the illusion - and, with that being the case, there really isn't any need to shoot wide out to give a clear view. Pongsuwan wants us to feel the impact more than see or appreciate it and on that level he absolutely succeeds.
Hugely entertaining and surprisingly well made, Fireball is a pure, unrepentant b-film that takes its premise and pushes it as far as it can possibly go. And all I can say is bring on the sequel.
