Search - Maximum Cage Fighting on DVD

Craig S. (InnerMacro) from WAUSAU, WI
Reviewed on 5/8/2013...

It had to happen - somebody had to put out an 80s style "Rocky" based upon UFC. The main Tae Kwon Do dude in this flick manages to learn both Ju Jitsu and some Capoeira in just a few weeks in order to fight a criminal who also happens to be the MCF champ in the cage. Not only that, he manages to pick up a girlfriend while his daughter is held hostage forcing him to train . . . and date . . . apparently. Yeah the plot is THAT absurd - his daughter is held captive which forces him out of retirement. Lots of cliches abound, particularly the end where he saves his daughter, gets the girl, AND KILLS the guy in the ring. Sorry I ruined it, but it's so funny how nobody seems to care that the man lies dead in the center of the ring after the battle is over. Sadly, Renzo Gracie is the best actor in the film.

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PREETY GOOD + IT HAS RENZO GRACIE

fmwaalex | Austin, TX USA | 02/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"MAXIMUM CAGE FIGHTING

I love mixed martial arts and everything about it, so naturally ant thing about it I will buy with out a doubt. Much like I bought "Red Belt" for Randy Couture I bought this film for Renzo Gracie. So I was looking forward to this movie since it had Renzo in it I figured it had to be good, so I watched it along side my girl and my brother. Turns out that while the movie is not horrible it is not that great either. It has a good story line kinda and decent to bad performances but that has never stopped me from liking a movie before, still I could not bring myself to love this film aside from Renzo. After viewing this I can say that this is much better some movies but as far as MMA movies "Red Belt" beats this one hands down, maybe it was the budget, I don't know.

The movie is about Jimmy Garren a Tae Kwon Do instructor for kids and a former world champion is moving on with his life after his wife died and he is left rearing a daughter alone. Life is good for them aside from the death but still they are well off enough to be happy. Until a former rival from back in the day kidnaps his daughter in order to force Jimmy to give him a rematch. Of course now it is not a tournament for one style, Nick is a cage fighter who wants revenge for his one loss. Seeking guidance from his former mentor Master Chong he heads off to Brazil to learn the ground game [Ju jitsu] from world renowned fighter Renzo Gracie. As time is ticking down until fight night Jimmy must learn all he can in order to become a more well rounded fighter to win and get his daughter back.

Director Gerson Sanginitto and writer Joanna Chong obviously wanted to make a good film judging off of the story line, but it falls a little short. Like I said this may be because of the budget or the performances of most of the cast, still it fell short. The direction is on point for the most part as the film moves along nicely still it is uneven. Chong's script while flat at times is good enough for a low budget action flick. I think the biggest problem with the film is the acting and the fights, the acting more so then the fighting. Jason Field is decent in the lead role but he seems to strain at times during the more emotionally demanding scenes, same can be said for Richard Alonzo as the villain. The two people they stay with are as such, the guy who is jealous did not do such a great job but the women who played his wife was good. And the lead henchman for Nick needs some more acting classes it seems but at times he is actually good. Still there are some good performances amongst this cast such as executive producer Jun Chong as Master Chong; some might know him from some other low budget action films. And of course Renzo Gracie is great playing himself as he seems just as nice here as he does in real life.

The other thing about this movie is the fight scenes which are take or leave so to speak, some are decent while others are bad. Still the scenes with Jimmy learning from Renzo are great and show a little ju jitsu technique, so that was good. Still the fights are nothing special and much better ones can be found else where. But to be honest they are not horrendous and you can tell work went into them, the last one in particular.

This is not a bad film and is worthy of a rental in my opinion but if you are not into MMA I would say pass on this one. As a fan of mixed martial arts I liked it and can see the potential in the film. The DVD comes with the trailer and a behind the scenes feature; rent it if you are into this kind of thing.
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