YMMV / Death Cage

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Si Han upset with Linda for running off with Bikin because he doesn't want his adopted sister to associate herself with anyone from the Hunter gym? Or is he in love with her and is jealous that she's running off with another man? Si Han and Linda aren't blood related so the relationship between them is questionable.
  • Did Peter, the only American at the Wai Chai gym, abandon the gym because the gym was closing down? Or did he leave because he viewed the Wai Chai gym as being a gym of losers?
  • The situation involving Tang Chuan and Tang Tsu Chiu to go live with Li Sai and his family is ambiguous. Was Chuan's intentions as honest as he said to Li Sai? Did Chuan bring Tsu Chiu to Bangkok to have her married off to Si Han? Or did they go to live with the family because something happened back at their old home? Tsu Chiu's mother is nowhere to be seen, so something must have happened to her.
  • Did Linda run off with Bikin to see if there was a way for her father to get his gym back? Did she act in such a way to force Si Han out of Retirement? Or did she intentionally run off to make Si Han jealous as a way to injure his claim as a man?
  • Did Linda drug Si Han to help him in the fight because she believed the powder would aid him? Or did she use the powder to get payback at Si Han for refusing to be there when she wants him to?
  • Did Kent punish Bikin for hooking up with Linda because he sees Bikin sleeping with Linda as sexual coercion? Or is he a racist that doesn't approve of Interracial relationships?
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • The whole sanding scene, which leads to Si Han's Training Montage is a one and done event that is never brought up ever again.
  • Linda and Bikin having sex is awkward to watch because it appears that neither actors can get into the mood to make it convincing.
  • The training scene at the Temple between Si Han and the "Monkey Fighter".
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Tsu Chiu hands down. She shines when she brings her A-game against Kent's henchwomen and wins the fight.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Even though Kent and everyone from the Hunter gym are scum, critics agree that Linda's presence is a major turn off in the film that she deserves a Hate Sink. Even fans of the film hate that Si Han forgives her after she drugs him and NEVER EXPLAINS HERSELF FOR IT!
• Moral Event Horizon: Kent's Bodyguard Babes Barbara and Jennifer cross this when they murder Tang Chuan.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The opening with fighters getting sent to the Hospital, getting their neck snapped, and Si Han and Li Sai injuries from the Mongolian fighter sets the mood of the film.
  • Linda spiking Si Han's drink before the Rematch begins could trigger anyone who was a victim to Date Rape.
  • Tang Chuan being killed and later having his body found by the student who idolized him is enough to disturb anyone who lost a family member to murder.
  • The whole Death Cage sequence is not for the faint of heart, especially when Kent gets impaled through his back.
• Retroactive Recognition: Lan Si Han is portrayed by Robin Shou, a.k.a Liu Kang
• The Scrappy: Oh God Linda. She's a spoiled brat who ditches out on her responsibility in taking care of the gym, she hooks up with Bikin knowing he's from Kent's gym, drugs Si Han and never explains herself for it, and never grows to protect herself after she gets kidnapped by Kent's goons.
• So Bad, It's Good: Despite its B-Movie status, some fans enjoyed the film for all of its flaws. For Robin Shou's first lead role, Death Cage is considered a Cult Classic.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: For a film where people get beaten to a pulp or worse killed, there are upbeat tunes to be had for Si Han. Examples of this trope occur during his Training Montage and then the ending after Kent dies. For a disturbing death to have gone down, one would think that the music that would follow would be a victorious but somber tune. Nope! It's cheerful all through the credits.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Michael, Si Han's training buddy, shows that he's capable of fighting on his own, but he gets very little character development as well as very little screen time.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The film takes place in 1980s Bangkok. It's quite a sight to behold.
• Values Dissonance:
  • Linda drugs Si Han, believing that it'll make him stronger. It almost gets him killed. In changing times, she should have been kicked out and Excommunicated for that crap, as she was essentially giving Si Han a Date Rape Drug.
  • Kent's two henchwomen have no qualms in showing their Fantastic Racism towards Asians. Jennifer even pulls both her eyes back to insult Tsu Chiu after murdering Tang Chuan. These kind of gestures would not be accepted in changing times.
• Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: A female version with Linda. She mistreats her own family (Her biggest offense is flat out dogging Si Han, her adopted brother and the best fighter in the Wai Chai gym, to chauffeur her around town), she's irresponsible in helping out at the gym, she hooks up with Bikin knowing that he's from the Hunter gym, she drugs Si Han before the rematch, and she gets herself kidnapped by Kent's goons rather than grow a spine and get payback against Kent and the Hunter gym for all the grief her family went through. She doesn't even bother to learn how to fight like Tsu Chiu, her blood cousin. Oh! The Irony of all of this? She's Li Sai's blood daughter. You know? Li Sai? THE HEAD OF THE WAI CHAI GYM?! She should have been kicked out a long time ago, but she gets away with too much crap for her own good. Even Si Han forgiving her and letting her back in is undeserved.