Cagefighter: Worlds Collide is the latest MMA Blockbuster to reach the big screen. Reiss is the greatest champion to ever fight in a LEGENDS cage. But when promoter Max Black pits him against wrestling superstar Randy Stone, Reiss finds himself in the toughest fight of his life. You may have read the premise before, and yes it owes a lot to the Rocky series, in particular Rocky III. But does that really matter when Cagefighter: Worlds Collide presents us with so much fun?
The best films have the simpliest premise, especially genre films like this one. Probably the best MMA fight sequences committed to screen. Previous title holder, Warrior, were over stylised compared to this tour de force, probably due to the actual fact that Alex Montagnani is a active MMA fighter and Jon Moxley is a pro wrestler (AEW former WWE Wrestler Dean Ambrose), pulls off the villain role effortlessly. In particular the press conference scenes alone show off Moxley’s prowess and it’s a joy to behold, and if you look closely enough you may just catch the co-stars corpsing.
No one is expecting any Oscar nominations anytime soon for the leads, however the prescence of Gina Gershon is a major boon for the film, which papers the cracks of the two main leads relative inexperience, however you are not interested in that. You’re here for the fight sequences, training montages and the battles. And the team behind Cagefighter: Worlds Collide more than make up for that as there are simply some of the best and most realistic fight scenes you will see in the MMA movie genre. You simply feel the films knockout power in all it’s gritty power in every punch, kick, transitiona nd submission attempt.
Director Jesse Quinones knows his way around MMA and Pro Wrestling as a sport and it shows, he’s not just directing a film, he lives and breathes the sport and the blood, sweat and tears is there for all to see. Plus, there are enough Easter eggs and wry nods to both sports that will keep pretty much fans of both MMA and Pro Wrestling fans happy.
Added to all of this, the revelation that the *Spoiler* torn groin in the final fight was actually genuine injury that Montagnani sustained during filming and not some plot point, that is incorporated into proceedings makes this film doubly tough, the mere fact that not only did Quinones keep the cameras rolling but Montagnani (Who also choreogrpahed the fights) battled through regardless to give the film some real authenticity, you don’t see many Hollywood stars going that far for thier craft… Well maybe Jackie Chan, but we digress. The fight sequences are so good that other weaker elements of the film can not only be forgiven but outright forgotten. Quite simply one of the best genre fight films (MMA) around. Cagefighter: Worlds Collide simply taps out all the opposition. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did.
Cagefighter: Worlds Collide in cinemas and via streaming stores on October 9th
One thought on “Review: Cagefighter Worlds Collide”