Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- irreverent
- silly
- campy
- movie night
- comedy marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film's martial-arts spoofing and lowbrow premise more tasteless than funny, with the comedy losing momentum across its short runtime.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The underground tournament, spiritual master, secret mission, and arch-villain Feng parody familiar martial-arts movie patterns.
Former table-tennis prodigy Randy Daytona returns to competition to regain his glory and confront his past.
The story culminates at Feng's mysterious jungle compound and its uniquely staged ping-pong tournaments.
Table tennis is presented as an underground world with deadly stakes, formidable rivals, and action-movie intensity.
Films like Balls of Fury, and why
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
absurd lowbrow comedy, spoof action conventions, and exaggerated sports competition
The Benchwarmers
goofy underdog sports narrative, broad humor, and redemption through competition
Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
martial arts parody, campy villains, and deliberately ridiculous physical comedy
Semi-Pro
eccentric ensemble comedy built around an unlikely competitive quest
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Ben Garant
- Release Date
- 2007-08-29
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 5.3 / 10 (620)
Cast
- Dan Fogler
- Christopher Walken
- George López
- Maggie Q
- James Hong
- Brett DelBuono
- Aisha Tyler
- Terry Crews
- Robert Patrick
- Diedrich Bader
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Balls of Fury about?
- A disgraced table-tennis prodigy joins an FBI mission and assembles an eccentric team to defeat a flamboyant criminal rival in a wildly absurd underground tournament.
- What is Balls of Fury like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Balls of Fury as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Balls of Fury violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Balls of Fury as mild.
- What did critics think of Balls of Fury?
- Critics broadly found the film's martial-arts spoofing and lowbrow premise more tasteless than funny, with the comedy losing momentum across its short runtime.
- Which films are like Balls of Fury?
- Films with a similar feel include DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, The Benchwarmers, Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, and Semi-Pro.
- How long is Balls of Fury?
- Balls of Fury runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch Balls of Fury?
- In United States, Balls of Fury streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
