Review: Raging Balls of Steel Justice
Written, directed and voiced by Mike Mort and produced by Rupert Lywood, Mike Mort and Joseph D’Morais, Raging Balls of Steel Justice is an explosive and brilliantly ridiculous animation, on the adventures of maverick-cop, Chuck Steel. Brought to us by Animatrix, Blue Dolphin, and Immortal Pictures, Raging Balls… is an action-packed production, crammed with gun’s, robot sex and you guessed it, balls. Delivered by Mike Mort’s seamless animation and impressive voicing, Raging Balls… is not just laughing matter. There is serious promise here and amongst the outrageous one-liners, old-western clichés and a nod to Wallace and Gromit, Mort may have just created the next big thing.
It’s 1986; Chuck Steel must rescue a captured banker before his balls are kicked out of his nose. A ‘ticking-clock narrative’ see’s Steel and his sex obsessed robot, the appropriately named A55, on a two-man mission to save the banker, protect the Police and prevent the bruising of Mr Steels ego in the process. In such short running time, Mort and his team have achieved where many full-scale producers have faltered and that’s in developing great characters. Although his lines are few, Captain of the Police force Jack Schitt (Lets hope you get that one) proves an amusing contrast to the outlandish Steel. Through his sing-song dialogue and donut-dunking demands, his humorous interactions with Steel are the highlight of the film; throwing lines like “Damn it Steel, you may be the best cop on the force but its not 1985 anymore it’s 1986 and this excessive bullshit force doesn’t cut the mustard with the big cheese”. Think Chief Wiggum meets Cleveland Brown.
Raging Balls of Steel is silly and it’s rude, but it’s never offensive. That’s vital for its success. It’s refreshing to watch a short piece of animated cinema that’s been injected with genuine humour and one that harks back to old-style slapstick; combining it sleekly with a modern brand of quick-fire humour; tapping into the likes of Family Guy and South Park.
Kids will love this, even if they shouldn’t, that’s the point. Mort’s been clever with his direction and I think he knows his target audience. The jokes are crude and at times very funny but it’s that borderline adult-content that will attract the younger viewers. It’s 2014’s Team-America, it’s great to watch as long as you’re parents don’t know. To top it all off, there’s even a reference to Wallace and Gromit, one of ‘Maniacs’ gang members pulls the famous ‘Gromit-Grimace’ a feature that’s sure to be enjoyed by many. Without spoiling anything, I’ll finish on this; “let me hold those for you”.
Raging Balls of Steel Justice is now available to download via the films website – http://www.chucksteelthemovie.com/ and available on DVD. Captain Steel will also return in 2017 with his own feature film; Night of The Trampires.
Verdict: 8.0/10
