THOUGH Sangkar is touted to be a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) film, it turned out to be more of a film about redemption for one of the protagonists.
Adam (Zul) and Johan (Remy) are two MMA fighters who hate each others’ guts in the ring. But when they take their animosity outside the ring, tragedy strikes.
Johan is seriously injured and ends up in a wheelchair. Feeling guilty and wanting to redeem himself, Adam begins to support Johan’s family financially.
To earn more money, he signs up for underground fights where there are no rules to follow and the fights can turn deadly.
The paralysed Johan has his own battles to face. Not only must he fight to get better and to get out of his wheelchair, he must also find it in his heart to forgive Adam. Through forgiveness, Johan believes there could be a better future for both men.
Remy and Zul churned out convincing performances. The transformation from hate and animosity, to love and caring between their two characters was beautifully captured.
There were touching moments between them in the film, as well as scenes that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.
One supporting actor worth mentioning is radio deejay Ray Era who plays Bob, Johan’s best friend, adding some humour to the story.
The MMA matches were intense. You could feel an aura of danger. But unfortunately, there were far too many ‘redemption’ scenes for Adam. The fight scenes get diluted and sidelined.
This is supposed to be an MMA film. You are supposed to remember the fight scenes more than any others in the film. But that did not happen.
Despite these weaknesses, I still enjoyed watching the film.
