Maximum Cage Fighting (2006)

MAXIMUM CAGE FIGHTING (MCF) is a slick little independent feature that combines the mixed martial arts (MMA) action made popular by the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a mainstream-friendly plot and above average production values for a low budget movie. As a martial arts movie, its appeal may be somewhat limited to MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fans, but it does offer a refreshing alternative in its real-world perspective from the never-ending deluge of martial arts-fighting superheroes, swordsmen and spies.

The movie is in part the product of Grandmaster Jun Chong, a Los Angeles-based Tae Kwon Do instructor who has been associated with Chuck Norris and Philip Rhee among other American martial arts luminaries. Chong’s direct involvement with Hollywood has been limited to roles in a handful of B-movies but Bruceploitation cinema fans may know him for starring in the Korea cult exploitation movie BRUCE LEE FIGHTS BACK FROM THE GRAVE in 1976.

In MCF Chong co-stars as instructor and close friend to Jimmy Garren (Jason Field), a retired two-time national Tae Kwon Do champion whose life is turned upside down when his adolescent daughter is kidnapped by an old competitive rival. Nick “The Nasty” Harper (Chris Torres) has been the reigning MCF champion for four years and now wants payback in the ring for losing to Jimmy years prior in a Tae Kwon Do match. With his daughter’s life in jeopardy, Jimmy has no choice but to accept the challenge. Unfortunately, he has no MMA experience so he travels to Brazil with Chong to get a crash course in MMA fighting from none other than real-life MMA pioneer and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master Renzo Gracie. While training and desperately waiting for periodic phone calls from his distraught daughter, Jimmy falls in love with the unhappy wife of an old Tao Kwon Do associate before returning to the States for the fateful match.

First-time writer Joanna Chong pulls together a serviceable, yet routine story that’s begging for more dialogue in what should be a deeper, more dramatic film than it is. Jason Field, Jun Chong’s real-life student and a martial arts instructor himself is a likable hero with good looks and good acting potential, but doesn’t have a lot to work with. His daughter is played by Kellsi Chischilly who acts very well for her age. Jun Chong lacks expression, but that could have worked in his favor had the filmmakers worked in a little more humor to play off his seriousness.

A problem this film seems to have is a lack of experience across the board. This is also a first-time effort for director Gerson Sanginitte and DP Carina Sanginitto. Art director Michael Barton only has a short film credit to his name. They don’t do a bad job. On the contrary, they show considerable potential, especially with the look of the movie. But there isn’t quite enough overall polish, mostly in the limited acting and scripting department to sell the film the way it tries hard to appear.

I don’t know if it was actually the intention of the filmmakers, but in execution MCF aspires to be THE KARATE KID or BLOODSPORT of this generation with MMA in place of karate and the Kumite. The film makes good strides in places. A preface to the movie provides an intriguing visual history of MMA fighting as a way to ease the viewer into the culture. The classic training for competition and overcoming adversity angle is there. Martial morality plays a vital role for the hero and victory are defined by the constant struggle to remain honorable, while the villains take the low road and consistently lose as a result. Terrific location shooting is displayed, particularly in Brazil. Trendy pop-rock music used throughout the film would compete well with any mainstream feature.

As for the action, this is perhaps the best use of realistic MMA fighting and an MMA celebrity in a feature film yet. It’s clear that the people involved in the movie understand martial arts culture and community in America and Brazil as well. Some nice subtleties appear as when Jimmy has to earn the respect of his Jiu Jitsu sparring partner, which is only evidenced by a willingness to shake hands. I’m no expert on MMA fighting and there are few fight scenes in film that rely heavily on ground fighting for comparison. But the choreography is fairly well done and makes competitive ground fighting about as exciting as it’s going to be for the time being. The big challenge is to get the viewer into the strategies involved in this type of fighting since it’s not always apparent to laymen by simply looking at the fighters grapple in close quarter. There is room for improvement in this area, but this is still new territory, even for seasoned action filmmakers.

The limited action choreography outside of training and competition is not as impressive. It’s clunky and poorly edited for the most part. In this case it appears that the issue is related to real martial arts skills not matching movie martial arts skills. Although related, they can be as different as night and day. As comparison one only need look to the excellent MMA-inspired screen fighting in UNDISPUTED II and see how it’s presented.

Chong gets to display his screen fighting skills in a fun, if slightly out of step match up towards the end with stunt coordinator Chul Jin M. Kim. They have this onscreen rivalry going on throughout the second half of the movie, although I feel it should have been played up more prior to their duel. This provides one of the few non-competitive action scenes in the movie and comes with a gimmick as Kim uses long finger nails to scratch at Chong. The whole exchange is average at best, but Chong finishes strong with a super slick arm break maneuver.

The best martial arts-related scenes simply show the actors in the natural setting of a martial arts school doing their thing without a lot of contrivance. It may not be as exciting as Jackie Chan hanging from a speeding double-decker bus with an umbrella, but it’s plausible and undervalued for its potential to explore a more realistic and intriguing expression of who real martial artists and MMA competitors are, what they really do and how their martial philosophy helps in making life decisions.

Of course, it takes a true master scribe to make the real world interesting on film, even among martial artists. Most writers settle for contrivance and that’s where this movie, like so many, stumbles. I don’t fully blame veteran stunt actor Chris Torres, but his character is a joke. He’s a flat, one-dimensional caricature whose motivations are highly suspect. It’s far too much of a stretch to expect the viewer to buy that this guy who has millions and has achieved every success in the ring would go to the trouble of kidnapping a young girl simply to satisfy his desire to beat some guy he lost to 10 years ago. It could have worked better had it been developed more, particularly with the brief flashback sequences.

I like the direction that MCF has headed with a martial arts-themed movie that taps into more reality than fantasy. Martial arts movies and culture are not just a niche. They can be when the action and attitudes are taken to extremes. Yet it’s a major part of many people’s lives and even outsiders are gaining new understanding and appreciation for competitive and lifestyle martial arts through increased exposure in the media. To at least see new filmmakers attempt to focus on the real martial arts community and develop characters therein is heartening. Watching martial arts heroes fight drug smugglers or avenge a fallen master can be fun, but isn’t something most of us can relate to. But seeing them fight to protect a child or struggle to adapt to new physical and mental challenges is relatable.