Review:
The show is set in Beijing, China whereby three middle school teenagers who are passionate about basketball begin their journey of self-discovery. They struggle to overcome bullies and more importantly themselves. The male lead, "Mouth" (played by Lin Xiao Fan) is a reserved boy who lives and breathes basketball but grapples with problems at home, in school and within his own mind. He has the hugest crush on the prettiest girl in his class, "Xiao Xiao" (played by Zhao Wen Qi) but finds it hard to speak his mind.
His best friend, "Monkey" (played by Zhang Yi Shan) is a hyperactive and jovial character but is always made fun of because of his height, or rather lack thereof. "Monkey" has a foreign cousin, "Jason" (played by Andrew Chou) who was raised in the west and coincidentally became their teammate when he came to visit "Monkey" in Beijing.
The actors displayed satisfactory performances despite their young age although most of in-game sequences were poorly scripted, with the changing of the tide particularly unrealistic.
Filming techniques could be described as unconventional, with many unfocused to focused transitions, not to mention extremely shaky action sequences during fight scenes and arguments. Aesthetically, the emotion of chaos and violence was appreciated, but the unstable shot were a little too much of a headache to look at for my taste.
All in all, SLAM was not the typical sports film that most people would expect to watch. The movie had a few unexpected twists and the ending especially took me by surprise. If you fancy an inspirational movie, I think this is the right film to catch.
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A special surprise for all students out there!
There is a special student offer ongoing at all GV outlets for students. Simply flash your student pass at any one of the following outlets and you can watch SLAM for just $6.
GV Outlets showing SLAM are:
- GV Vivocity
- GV Plaza
- GV Tampines
- GV Yishun
- GV Tiong Bahru
- GV Bishan
This offer is only valid from Monday to Friday before 5pm.
