In the five-episode French series The Cage, now streaming on Netflix – don’t get it twisted with the streamer’s Kuwaiti couples dramedy The Cage – a young man with designs on MMA glory doesn’t sleep when he sees an opportunity to make that happen. But the question becomes how much he’ll have to sacrifice, both of his own blood and in his relationships with those closest to him. The Cage was co-created by Franck Gastambide (Restless, The Wages of Fear), who also stars as the mixed martial arts mentor to the talented up-and-comer played by Melvin Boomer; Edwige Ahonto, Antoine Simony, and French rapper and actor Bosh also appear.
THE CAGE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: The Octagon. Spotlights up, and cheering UFC fans all around. An announcer doesn’t hide his excitement as two fighters prepare to enter. “This is a very special fight…a young man nobody believed in…”
The Gist: Before it shows you more of where it’s going, The Cage flashes back to eight months before, and where it all began. For Taylor Keita (Boomer), training for his amateur fights at the MMA gym operated by Boss (Gastambide) is all that drives him. His dad was never in the picture and his mom only asks for money. But no matter how great Tyler is at kicking and punching and sweeping the leg, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s highest tiers are largely unattainable. That is until Ibrahim (Bosh), a professional fighter nicknamed “The Destroyer,” barges into Boss’s gym looking for a new sparring partner. When Tyler goes against everyone’s advice to face him, the impromptu matchup unlocks a path to the UFC through ever-bigger fights and a heap of hard-to-control viral celebrity.
The Cage definitely leaves it all on the mat. The camera is always most comfortable inside the octagon, and it moves fluidly as the gate is locked and the fighters square off. And actually, the series can’t help itself, kind of overdoing it on the sound editing for all the punches landing. It also features a lot of UFC official branding, alongside other professional leagues like the KSW, based in Poland, as well as cameos from pro MMA’ers like Georges St-Pierre, Cyril Gane, Taylor Lapilus, and Ramzan Jembiev.
An unknown like Taylor Keita getting all the way inside the head of a swaggering professional like Ibrahim is big news in the UFC community, and before long, footage of their matchup at Boss’s gym is a sensation online. ”The kid did well for himself. I’ll allow it. He got a little flame,” Ibrahim says at his press conference before an upcoming fight. But it wasn’t a fluke, at least not all of it. There’s no doubt Taylor is an unproven outsider. But he really does have a ton of talent. As he continues to challenge Ibrahim, the kid will count on Boss’s insight in his corner, meet his MMA heroes, and compete at the highest levels of the sport. It’s not about how bad he wants it. It’s about what kind of punches he’ll absorb along the way.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Melvin Boomer also starred in Reign Supreme, Netflix’s story of French hip-hop’s earliest beginnings. And in The Cage, creator/star Franck Gastambide continues to perfect the Jason Statham-like demeanor that he’s been getting pretty good at in recent outings.
Our Take: The Cage begins as another version of that classic story. You know, the kid with mad skills and big dreams, who just needs a chance to show the world what he can do. And the limited series would likely work if it remained in that lane, centered on the relationship between a trainee and trainer – the chemistry between Melvin Boomer and Franck Gastambide could easily sell that kind of story, as it punched its way out of the Creed universe.
But we think it’s cool how Cage has bigger dreams of its own. Early on, as Boomer plays up Taylor’s humble eagerness, those same character traits are met with social media scorn as his burgeoning fighting career goes viral. The series isn’t willing to rest on a story simply about adversity and inspiration. It challenges its young fighter to not only be the best he says he can be – and the fight sequences throughout continue to be a highlight – but to back that up in the pressure cooker of the UFC’s media environment. And as the kid finds himself fighting in more ways than one, The Cage also uses that conflict to further the relationship between Taylor and Boss in a way that never feels like a cliche out of the sports drama playbook.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: “The trainer I’m working with is someone you all know. So follow my socials if you want to find out who I’m talking about.” It’s a live on camera mic drop from Taylor Keita, and somewhere Ibrahim “The Destroyer” is even more mad about this upstart.
Sleeper Star: He isn’t the only fighter from the professional ranks to appear in The Cage. But former MMA champion Georges St. Pierre, who here plays a version of himself, will also be known to Marvel fans as Georges Batroc, the “Red Notice” merc who faces off with Cap in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Most Pilot-y Line: In an early moment with Taylor, Boss doesn’t sugarcoat how he sees it. “You think I’m ignoring you, but I see everything that happens in the club. I’m not gonna lie and say you’re ready to move from amateur to pro.”
Our Call: Stream It. The Cage will be of significant interest to UFC/MMA fans – lots of up-close fighting action, plus numerous appearances by professional fighters. But it’s also not a series willing to just hang out in the usual arc of sports drama storytelling. The Cage has a few jabs you won’t see coming.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
