FIREBALL
Year: 2009
USA: Grindstone Entertainment Group
UK: Premiere Films
UK DVD: E1 Entertainment
Cast: Preeti Barameeanat, Khanutra Chuchuaysuwan, Kumpanat Oungsoongnern, Phutharit Prombandal, 9 Million Sam, Arucha Tosawat
Director: Thanakorn Pongsuwan
Country: Thailand
Country: Thai (English subtitles)
USA & UK: 92 mins
USA Rated: R for strong bloody brutal martial arts violence throughout, and brief sexuality
UK Certificate: 18 contains frequent strong violence
USA DVD Release Date: 26 January 2010
UK Release Date: 8 January 2010 (Limited Release)
UK DVD Release Date: 18 January 2010
Synopsis
In 2005, ONG-BAK introduced a whole new level of martial arts mayhem to unsuspecting action movie fans around the world and raised the bar as far as on-screen, in-your-face fight and action choreography was concerned. Now, producer Adirek Watleela (BANGKOK DANGEROUS) and director Thanakorn Pongsuwan (OPAPATIKA; THE STORY OF X-CIRCLE) take things in a new direction with the electrifying and relentlessly violent FIREBALL, starring popular Thai rock star Preeti "Bank" Barameeanant in the dual roles of twin brothers who become dangerously involved in Thailand's ultimate underground bloodsport.
Eschewing plot complexities in favour of all-out action sequences, FIREBALL combines the breakneck paced sport of basketball with the bone crushing brutality of Muay Thai fighting and mixed martial arts for an action movie experience quite unlike any other.
Recently released from prison, Tai (Preeti Barameeanat) discovers that his twin brother Tan (Preeti Barameeanat) is in a coma after being beaten to near-death by a rival. Further investigation reveals that in order to raise money to secure Tai's early release, Tan had become involved in an illegal and deadly but highly lucrative underground sport known as Fireball, a no-holds-barred combination of basketball and martial arts in which ruthless murder is simply part of the game.
Seeking revenge on the man responsible for his brother's condition, Tai poses as Tan and infiltrates the gangster-run world of Fireball by joining a team consisting of equally desperate individuals, including a Thai boxing champion out to prove himself, a Thai-African in need of money to support his impoverished family, and an old friend of Tan's with a mysterious past.
After entering the latest Fireball tournament, Tai and his teammates are forced to risk everything, including their lives, by fighting their way to the final round of the championships in an arena from which several of them may not return. Along the way, Tai determines to identify his brother's attacker and exact his revenge no matter what the cost to himself or those around him.
Breathtakingly paced from start to finish and featuring numerous extended scenes of stunning sports and explosive martial arts choreography, FIREBALL is a truly exhilarating action movie guaranteed to bludgeon viewers into submission and leave them as exhausted as its protagonists by the time the final credits begin to roll.
FIREBALL is released on DVD & Blu-ray by E1 Entertainment.
