The late great Bruce Lee stated in the film Enter the Dragon that he knows "the art of fighting without fighting". Reno 911! writers Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have created the "kung fu movie with no kung fu". Well, there is some kung fu, but mainly replace "kung fu" with the Chinese-born sport of "ping pong".
Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) is a former table tennis champion who has been suffering since a humiliating defeat at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Resorting to work as a nightclub entertainer, he is hired by FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez) to help him track down Feng, a crime lord who is responsible for the death of Randy's father. As Feng readys himself for his upcoming ping pong tournament in a undisclosed location, Randy learns he must perfect his once powerful ping pong skills. To achieve perfection, he must train under the blind Master Wong (James Hong) and his niece, Maggie (Maggie Q). Will Randy be able to get revenge for the death of his father?
This is a hilarious sendup of Enter the Dragon or as we like to call it, Enter the Ping Pong. Why is the film hilarious??? Sure, ping pong may be the last thing to focus on a movie, but there was the successful Japanese film Ping Pong (2002). However, the reasons that this film is deemed hilarious come in the form of the hysterical performances by James Hong as Master Wong, Jason Scott Lee as Chinatown enforcer Siu-Foo, or Eddie (who sports some crimped up hair and a moustache), and the always unforgettable Christopher Walken, who plays the villain Feng, hair and all!!!
Hawaiian-born Hong Kong actress Maggie Q (Naked Weapon) is clearly following in the steps of Lucy Liu as Hollywood's new "Dragon Lady". She plays the stereotypical Asian lady with the kung fu skills. In fact, she gets the most kung fu action in the film (courtesy of Matrix stunt double extraordinaire Chad Stahelski), unless you count George Lopez putting his foot to the face of Heroes star Masi Oka, who appears in a funny cameo as a bathroom attendant.
The ping pong sequences themselves are worth seeing, much like that of the Japanese film Ping Pong. Parts of the action use CGI to enhance the action (such as Maggie Q taking on four opponents at once), and at other times they are the real thing. However, thanks to training from 1996 Olympic Bronze medalist Wei Wang and Diego Schaaf, the cast actually look great when they play table tennis, or ping pong.
Balls of Fury is the funniest kung fu movie that doesn't have kung fu as its main art, but the performances of the cast is truly unforgettable for this brand of comedy. This is clearly a funny look at one man's shot at redemption in the kung fu...err...ping pong arena.
Directed by Robert Ben Garant
Produced by Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Jonathan Glickman, and Thomas Lennon
Written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant
Cinematography by Thomas E. Ackerman
Editing by John Refoua
Action Choreography by Chad Stahelski
Cast: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon, James Hong, Robert Patrick, Jason Scott Lee, La Na Shi, Masi Oka, Terry Crews
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
-Albert Valentin
2007, Rogue Pictures/Intrepid Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment