Film / Death Cage

This is Mortal Combat before... Mortal Kombat: The Movie

Death Cage is a 1988 in HK, 1989 all else, Martial Arts film directed by Robert Tai Chi Hsien and produced by Lan Tien Motion Picture Co., Ltd. and Golden Sun Film Co.

Set in Bangkok in the 1980s, the film focuses on two rival gyms: The Wai Chai gym runned by Li Sai (Sang Wook Kim), and the Hunter gym lead by Mr. Kent (Joe Lewis).

The Wai Chai gym's attendees are Li Sai's adopted son and star pupil Lan Si Han (Robin Shou), Li Sai's blood daughter Linda (Angela Tsai) though she tends to ditch Si Han when time comes to taking care of the gym to go do other things, and two students who attend the gym Michael (Chang Kuo Chiang) and Peter (Toby Russell). Later on, Li Sai's brother-in-law Tang Chuan (Mark Long Kuan Wu) and his daughter Tang Tsu Chiu (Vicki Kim) join them after the opening scene.

After Mr. Kent takes the Wai Chai Gym through cheating in a recent fighting match and turns it into the Hunter Gym, Lan Si Han must rise up to help his adopted father Li Sai get the gym back. Though he's unaware that Mr. Kent wants him to come out of retirement to help save Kent's Sports Betting Events as he's losing millions of dollars due to people's lack of interest to bet on future matches. Throughout the film, Lan Si Han trains to get ready for the rematch of a lifetime. Meanwhile, Kent does everything in his power to make Si Han lose to bring his finances back up.

This is the first main protagonist role for Robin Shou before his first American film Debut in Forbidden Nights as Liang, alongside Co-Star Melissa Gilbert as Judith, and his Hollywood Silver Screen debut in Mortal Kombat: The Movie as Liu Kang. This also predates his four main villain roles as Wai Loong in Fatal Termination, Waise Chow in Tiger Cage 2, Paul in In The Line Of Duty Forbidden Arsenal, and Yip Foon in The Most Wanted.

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This film provides examples of the following:

• Absurdly High-Stakes Game: In order to enrich the Wai Chai gym, Li Sai bets the gym on Si Han's victory in winning against the Mongolian fighter. Said Mongolian fighter cheats using Brass Knuckles hidden under the mats and injures both Si Han and Li Sai. In the aftermath, the Wai Chai gym is closed down and turned into the Hunter gym.
• Action Girl: Si Han's cousin, through his adopted father, Tang Tsu Chiu and Mr. Kent's two henchwomen, Barbara and Jennifer, fit this.
• Ambiguous Situation:
  • Si Han and Linda's relationship is a weird mess. When she runs off with Bikin, it's difficult to say if Si Han is upset with her due to being frustrated with her skirting responsibilities, caring for her like a brother protects his sister, or if he's in loved with her and that's why he puts up with her demanding him to chauffeur her around town. If the latter, it could lead up to Brother–Sister Incest, even if they aren't blood related. Though, it appears that Li Sai seems to be interested in shipping Si Han with Tsu Chiu, his cousin which would also lead to a Kissing Cousins situation regardless of blood relations.
  • Because Kent failed to see the drawback of the Wai Chai gym closing down, his futurr Sports Betting Events are now in danger of folding. Because he bets millions on his fixed matches to enrich himself, the audience doesn't know how much he's going to owe for the failed venture. Either he will lose his fancy house and his cars or he'll be trapped in debt for years on end. This is still up for debate after he dies in the final battle.
• All or Nothing: In exchange of getting Si Han out of retirement, Li Sai decides to try this to get the gym back. If they win, the Wai Chai gym can be reopened. If they lose, they go back to working in Li Sai's garage.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Lan Si Han comes off like this at the beginning of the film. Being the star pupil, it's understandable. Also doubles as being Hotblooded.
• Bad Boss: Kent mistreats those close to him if things don't go his way. When Bikin loses to Si Han after the Mongolian fighter is defeated, Kent proceeds to beat the crap out of him at his mansion even though he is clearly injured. He also berates him for his failure to find Si Han's weaknesses as well as prioritizing "porking" Linda.
• Badass in a Nice Suit:
  • Kent wears a sweet suit in the opening during the match between the Wai Chai gym and the Hunter gym.
  • Bikin when he arrives to Li Sai's Garage. He manages to charm Linda with this and his old school vehicle into going on a date with him to the Club. This pisses off Si Han, though it's ambiguous as to why he is upset with Linda.
• Bag of Kidnapping: After Tang Chuan's death, Li Sai sends Si Han up north to a Temple to hide from Kent. Kent, realizing that his plan will go to bust if Si Han doesn't show up, resorts to this by sending Barbara and Jennifer to kidnap Li Sai while asleep in his bed by wrapping him in a bag and throw him out the window. It eventually leads up to the Designated Girl Fight between Kent's henchwomen and Tsu Chiu.
• Big Bad: Mr. Kent. He's the head of Hunter Gym and the main head of the betting events for matches.
• Big Fancy House: Holy Crap! Kent's mansion is so big that it houses his two henchwomen, some of his lackies, as well as his best fighters, Bikin and the Mongolian fighter. It also shows how rich he's become by fixing the matches. Unfortunately, he losses it all after he dies in the Death Cage match between him and Si Han.
• Blatant Lies: When Linda is kidnapped, Tang Chuan tries to hide the fact that she's in danger by telling Li Sai and his daughter Tsu Chiu that he's going to meet a friend instead. Lan Si Han is the only one who sees through this when he comes home from the hospital. Unfortunately, Si Han is too late to save him as he succumbs to his injuries before he is found.
• Bodyguard Babes: Barbara and Jennifer are this to Kent.
• Bound and Gagged: This is how Linda appears to Tang Chuan when Kent's men kidnap her.
• Briefcase Full of Money: Mr. Kent received this at the beginning of the film. Though it is given to him with bad news.
• Break the Cutie: Linda and Tang Tsu Chiu meets this point when Tang Chuan is killed by Kent's two henchwomen.
• Casting Gag: Robin Shou in the final battle fights for his life in a battle that means life or death... this would not be the last time he is placed in Mortal Combat.
• Clothing Damage: Oh boy! Lan Si Han's clothes end up ripped up midway through the film. The first is when he gets jumped by Kent's goons with knives at his Adopted Father's Garage. The last time occurs in the final battle against Mr. Kent in the titular Death Cage. Both scenes are treated as Fan Disservice, as the scenes in question show off Si Han's body but are accompanied with Si Han being covered in blood and almost on the brink of death.
• Conveniently an Orphan: Si Han lost his blood father during the Vietnam War. Said father was in Li Sai's Platoon and a good friend of Li Sai. It's why Si Han is living with Li Sai in Bangkok.
• Covers Always Lie: The Movie Poster makes it look like Joe Lewis is the main hero even though Robin Shou's name is at the top of the cover. As it turns out, Joe is the main villain in the film.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The first few seconds of the film shows these in spades. Some of them end in death.
• Damsel Scrappy: Linda is a brat that, despite being Li Sai's blood daughter, never bothered to learn Martial Arts to protect herself. This leads to her getting kidnapped by Kent's Goons and it gets her Uncle killed by Kent's two henchwomen.
• Designated Girl Fight: Between Si Han's cousin and Kent's two henchwomen Barbara and Jennifer. It happens after Kent sends his goons to kidnap Li Sai. She kills both henchwomen to avenge her murdered father.
• Dies Wide Shut: Many of the fighters in the beginning of the film die like this. Tang Chuan, Bikin, and Mr. Kent die like this as well.
• Easily Forgiven: Linda, hands down, gets away with drugging Si Han before his rematch against the Mongolian fighter. She should have been kicked to the curb for the crap she pulled. Instead, her father and Si Han forgive her even though she betrayed them and dogged them for Bikin, Kent's star pupil.
• The '80s: The story takes place in Bangkok between the mid to late 80s.
• Excuse Plot: After taking the gym from Li Sai, Mr. Kent decides to goad the old owners to come fight and take the gym back. Why? Because after becoming number one in Bangkok, Kent's betting events suffered a financial loss in revenue. So now, he's got to rebuild his finances by driving Lan Si Han to come and get the gym back. No surprise, it works.
• Fashion Dissonance: Si Han's outfits throughout the film scream the 1980s. It's a wonder that Robin Shou wasn't a Fashion Victim, to say the least.
• First Blood: When Kent's goons are sent to Li Sai's garage again, this time they bring knives. Si Han manages to fight them off long enough for Tang Chuan and Tsu Chiu to return, but not before the gang cuts Si Han until he passes out from blood loss.
• Fixing the Game: This is how Kent is able to enrich himself in matches. It turns into Sour Grapes later though.
• The Gambling Addict: Addicts in this case. They're Kent's primary targets in enriching himself in matches.
• Get-Rich-Quick Scheme: Kent's matches run on this via cheating. However, he loses it all after he dies against Si Han.
• Gorn: The first few minutes of the opening is an over the top violent match with fighters killing each other.
• Greed: Kent's motivation for why he fixes the matches. Unfortunately, he dies against Si Han in the final battle.
• Heroic Build: Lan Si Han is got it all going on.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Linda falls for Bikin, one of Kent's students, because she sees Si Han as a weakling. This ends up leading her to drug her adoptive brother and almost gets him killed in the rematch against the Mongolian Fighter.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Bikin gets this for losing the fight in the Death Cage by Mr. Kent's hands... and then Lan Si Han impales Mr. Kent in the final battle.
• Karma Houdini: Linda gets away with drugging Si Han, as no one questions why he was feeling dizzy during the Rematch against the Mongolian fighter.
• Karmic Death: Kent's two henchwomen die at Tsu Chiu's hands. Kent dies by Si Han after being done with Bikin.
• Large Ham: Joe Lewis chews up the scene whenever Kent is present. Even the dubs increase the Ham to 10 and beyond. It's hilarious to watch.
• Missing Mom: Mainly the characters that tend to Wai Chai gym:
  • Si Han's father died during the Vietnam War. There is no mention on if Si Han's mother is alive or not.
  • Linda's mom died giving birth to her, which is why she is not in the picture.
  • There is no mention on if Tsu Chiu's mom is alive or not, as she gets zero mention from Tang Chuan and her own daughter.
• Mr. Fanservice: Lan Si Han, portrayed by Robin Shou, has some shirtless scenes in the film.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Linda has this realization after drugging Si Han. Whether it was by accident or intentional is never addressed and never brought up again.
• No Name Given: The audience never learns what the Mongolian fighter's real name is. Also, the fighter that Si Han trains with at the Temple is credited in the ending credits as "Monkey Fighter".
• Parental Substitute: Si Han sees Li Sai as this. Li Sai also becomes this to Tsu Chiu when Tang Chuan is murdered.
• Precision F-Strike: Kent yells this to Si Han in the final battle. It's pretty hilarious as it appears in all dubs untouched.
• Rated M for Manly: The fights throughout the film, with an exception being the Designated Girl Fight, reek of Testosterone.
• Revenge: Tsu Chiu goes into this when her father dies by killing the henchwomen who murdered him.
• Riches to Rags: This fear is what drives the Excuse Plot due to Kent not understanding how Sour Grapes work. Not wanting to go broke, Kent intimates Li Sai's family to force Si Han out of retirement. That way, Kent's Sport Betting Events won't go belly up.
• Scenery Porn: Get ready for alot of shots of 1980s Thailand.
• Sexy Discretion Shot: Linda receives a supposed strength powder from Bikin to give to Si Han. Before getting the powder, she has to pay him back. This is the shot Bikin chooses for the payment. It gets him in trouble with Kent later on though, as he was suppose to be finding out Si Han's weaknesses, not "porking his sister" as Kent puts it.
• Shirtless Scene: Happens in Si Han's training Montage.
• Sour Grapes: Kent wanted his gym to be number one in Bangkok and always placed millions of dollars in bets on his gym winning. So he pushed the rival Wai Chai gym out and took control. Because he's also in charge of the sport betting events at the matches, he receives news that by pushing out the rival gym wasn't a good idea. This is due to installing fear into other gyms to not want to challenge the Hunter gym. Because of this, interest to bet on future matches goes on a great decline, as the outcomes are always in favor of the Hunter Gym.
• Spoiled Brat: Linda ditches out at helping her father whenever she can. Even worse, she demands Si Han to chauffeur her to the Club. This ends up getting her in trouble with Kent's goons when she gets kidnapped to lure Tang Chuan to his death.
• Spoiler Title: The Titular Death Cage doesn't appear until the last 10 to 20 minutes of the film.
• Standard Bleeding Spots: When fighters get hurt pretty badly, tons of blood comes from the mouth instantly.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: By cheating in matches and taking away Wai Chai gym, no other gym wanted to challenge the Hunter gym due to not wanting their fighters to go into a Curb-Stomp Battle. Because of this, there was a decline of people betting on matches to where it affected Kent's profit that he makes on the matches.
• Training Montage: Three characters have this trope: Si Han after Linda runs off to be with Bikin, Tsu Chiu After her father's death, and Bikin after his failure to defeat Si Han after Si Han defeats the Mongolian Fighter.
• Undisclosed Funds: Happens after the Brief Case Full Of Money is given to Kent. Doubles as an Ambiguous Situation and Sour Grapes, as the viewer doesn't know how much Kent is going to owe if his Sport Betting Events dry up.
• Victory by Endurance: Lan Si Han in the rematch fight between him and the Mongolian Fighter and in the final battle again Bikin and Mr. Kent himself. He's badly hurt, but he holds out to the end.
• Workout Fanservice: Si Han, portrayed by a pretty cut Robin Shou, in the training montage. The camera makes sure that viewers see his sweaty shirtless chest, arms, and back, and his glutes.
• Would Hit a Girl: Kent's goons serve this to Linda after they kidnap her. Though this happens offscreen, the fact that she is dirty when Tang Chuang finds her makes it clear that something must have happened.