Review: Fire In Babylon

Fire In Babylon focuses on the emergence of the great West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s and the impact they had not only on the game of Cricket itself, revolutionising the game fielding a fearsome quartet of fast bowlers - but the impact the team had on society itself in a period of tense racial relations.

A mixture of talking heads and archive footage, this documentary excels thanks to the charisma of those involved - the likes of Viv Richards and Michael Holding having a way with words that always holds your attention throughout. Those without a interest in the sport or younger fans will also be surprised at just how brutal the archive footage can be - Brian Close getting a going over by the short pitched stuff is particularity eye watering at times.

Cricket buffs might've have hoped the film would cast its net wider to cover the other legends of West Indies cricket such as Sobers and Headley that came before and the likes Lara, Walsh and Ambrose that followed on from them - but like the bowlers themselves, Fire In Babylon hits the right marks more often than not to make the film a success