Cage (1989)

A GI in Vietnam saves his buddy's life, but in the process is shot in the head. The injury results in brain damage to the point where he basically has a child's brain in a (very large) ... See full summary »

Director:

Lang Elliott

Writer:

Hugh Kelley

Stars:

Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Michael Dante

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lou Ferrigno	...	Billy Thomas
Reb Brown	...	Scott Monroe
Michael Dante	...	Tony Baccola
Mike Moroff	...	Mario
Marilyn Tokuda	...	Morgan Garrett
Al Leong	...	Tiger Joe
James Shigeta	...	Tin Lum Yin
Branscombe Richmond	...	Diablo
Tiger Chung Lee	...	Chang
Al Ruscio	...	Costello
Daniel Martine	...	Mono
Rion Hunter	...	Chao Tung
Dana Lee	...	Pang
Maggie Mae Miller	...	Meme
Paul Sorensen	...	Matt

Storyline

A GI in Vietnam saves his buddy's life, but in the process is shot in the head. The injury results in brain damage to the point where he basically has a child's brain in a (very large) man's body. When they get out of the Marine Corps, the two open up a bar together, but some local gangsters make things tough for them after they refuse to take part in brutal "cage" matches where fighters battle to the point of serious injury and/or death.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war | beefcake | beefcake martial arts | musclemen | gi | 

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Taglines:

Only the winner gets out alive

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

When cast, Lou Ferrigno did extensive research on underground cage match style fighting, soldier life after injuries, and P.T.S.D., but Reb Brown did not.

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Quotes

Mario: Hey Tony, he's not such a bad sort.
Tony Baccola: Would you shut the shit up! A lot you know.

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Connections

Followed by Cage II (1994)

User Reviews

Revenge of the 80's: Lame "buddy" action flicks.

Cage (1989) was another one of those low budget "buddy" action flicks that were produced during the 80's thanks in large part due to the films such as 48hrs. and Lethal Weapon. This one stars Reb Brown and Lou Ferrigno as to former Vietnam Vets who happen to run a local dive bar. Reb takes care of Lou because he saved his life in 'Nam. But Lou was shot in the head and is now pretty soft. Although he's huge, Lou has the brain of a child. One day some ruffians throw their wait around in the bar and Lou and Rebb beat the tar out of them. But payback's a mother. They crash the bar leaving Lou and Reb with nothing. That is until these two thugs come into the picture (one of them's a real nice guy) who have a plan in mind.

The film's a waste of time. Maybe if they went all they way and made a hard core action flick instead of trying to tone down the gruesomeness of the situation perhaps it could have worked. Alas, it doesn't and the audience is left holding the bag. Oh well. It's too bad because you have all the elements for a great B-movie. Better luck next time, I guess.

Not recommended.

xxx

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Arena da Morte

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$618,178

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$618,178

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cage Productions, Lang Elliott Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color