In The Cage, creators Sylvain Caron and Franck Gastambide follow a young MMA fighter, Taylor (Melvin Boomer), who wants to transition from being an amateur to being a pro. Taylor, burning brightly with passion, wants to quickly move up the ladder. He wants people to notice him and appreciate his talent. This major character flaw keeps us at a distance from this fighter. Taylor might be physically prepared for combat, but he is mentally incompetent. Outside the titular arena, he fails to identify his opponents. His mother, Isabelle (Camille de Sablet), exploits him for her financial benefit, and his friend, Niko (Antoine Simony), attempts to steal his thunder and his spotlight through showboating. Nico will also end up backstabbing Taylor, which becomes evident as soon as we learn that he has a crush on Elena (Edwige Ahonto), who actually likes Taylor. Also, Isabelle and Niko really look like villains. The word "Betrayer" seems to be tattooed on their foreheads. In this case, the book should be judged by its cover.
Taylor, though, lacks the power of perception. He is nothing more than a wild beast fit for just a single purpose: Fighting in competitions. The coach, going by the name of Boss (Gastambide), could very well be aware of Taylor's mental limitations, which is why he probably rejects training him for a long time (I say "probably" because The Cage leaves things unclear). When some well-respected coaches analyze Ibrahim's (Bosh) movements, Taylor dozes off. The Cage constantly indicates that Taylor is not very serious about his work. He is in this field for superficial attractions like glory and fans. After all, it's the hunger for attention that mainly drives him to accept Ibrahim's challenge. Taylor is egotistical. He has an inflated opinion of himself, which is why he is hurt when he is turned into a joke by two people in a podcast. And when he receives hateful comments, he stops focusing on a "masterclass." Taylor is too concerned about his image, so Ibrahim is right when he says that the amateur fighter is using his name to find fame.
But Taylor also has real talent. You know he is a good fighter because he is able to take punches, be it physical (in competitions) or verbal (in that podcast). The problem with him is that he makes decisions that are not entirely his own. For instance, Taylor participates in an intense KSW tournament not to improve himself but to alleviate his mother's financial burden. If Taylor had been a good judge of character, he would have understood that Boss was looking out for his career and he wouldn't have entered the KSW tournament. The Cage puts us near a dumb, unlikable character, so we mostly watch the show disgruntled. We look at Taylor and scream, "Wake up!" This annoyance curiously keeps us engaged with the show. We react to it with all our senses. Anyway, Taylor's arc in The Cage is that he goes from being a dumb and unlikable character to a likable and responsible fighter. Even in the end, he fails to grasp Niko's intentions, so he still has a lot of waking up to do (he, however, sees through his mother).
The physical confrontations are well-executed. The male hormones explode on the screen when the characters fight with each other. The rage is so intense it turns the matches into a brutal dance. The Cage might have very well been made to display these sequences. So much effort has been put into their execution, and it made me wish that only some of this effort had been directed toward other characters. Besides Taylor, no one else in the series appears to have a life outside of the gym or MMA competitions; most characters are either there to attack or support Taylor. The Cage takes an interesting turn when it addresses PTSD in one episode, but this topic is quickly overshadowed by themes of vengeance as if the creators are reluctant to explore something more complex. Overall, The Cage is made with some competence, but it means what it means, and there is no room for imagination. Its substance is thin, and it's stretched over five episodes. The series is okayish; you can watch it if you are tired of visiting the Rocky franchise. Just don't go in with great expectations.
Final Score- [5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times