Cage Fight is a modestly budgeted indie action/mixed martial arts flick from writer/director Enrique Murillo centering around Guerrero (Guillermo "Willy" Ramos), an illegal from Mexico who crosses the border into the U.S. in search of his family. After arriving in San Diego, Guerrero meets King Pin Gino Santoro (John Solis). Santoro offers him lodging, a job and help finding his family - on one condition. Guerrero must agree to compete in an underground Cage Fight tournament where only the strong survive.

Coming on the heels of having just seen the Kevin James laffer Here Comes the Boom, Cage Fight was a return to what one usually expects from a mixed martial arts themed film - lots of action.

Action is about all you're going to get out of this 95-minute film, just picked up and released on home video by Celebrity Home Entertainment. The 2011 film is far from a disaster, but it's formulaic and predictable storyline can't survive performances that never quite convince and production values that don't quite measure up to the film's reported half-million dollar budget. Guillermo Ramos does fairly well as Guerrero, but he's saddled with dialogue that even for this non-Spanish speaking film critic never quite feels authentic (English subtitles do exist!).

While the film didn't work for this film critic, fans of low-budget action flicks may very well find more to enjoy. Cage Fight felt like the kind of film you'd find on late night cable television and for those who enjoy that sort of thing, and there are many of you, this may very well be worth your time.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic