Review of Beach Spike (2011) by Andrew L — 01 Sep 2012

There's one big reason to watch Beach Spike, and that's if you want to see some attractive Asian girls in bikinis playing volleyball, often in slow motion. It does that very well: the rest is a mixed bag.

The movie tries to be be a romance/comedy/sports hybrid, a bit like Shaolin Soccer. Unfortunately, it's mediocre in almost all those areas. Especially the action scenes and volleyball matches, which should be the highlights of the movie. The women look great, but it's also obvious that they're not the volleyball experts that their characters are. Most of the matches look extremely staged and choreographed, though the final one is pretty intense. The story, about two girls playing to save their beach from being closed to build a resort, often strives to be sentimental, exciting or amusing, but the writing for the characters is so thin that all that tugging at our emotions just doesn't do much.

Still, Beach Spike is mostly light, fun, and very easy on the eyes. I finally got invested in the characters a bit at the end, and the predictability and slightness of the plot just didn't matter much anymore. Or maybe I was just distracted by how pretty Chrissie Chau, Theresa Fu and Jessica C. were. Take it for what it is, and Beach Spike isn't that bad. If you're not watching for the eye candy, you won't find much to keep your interest.