This film is about the life of socially deprived people who lives in caged housing in Hong Kong. Given the very tough topic of social deprivation, extreme poverty and shockingly appalling living conditions, I expected "Cageman" to be very tough to watch. This turns out not to be the case. Instead, "Cageman" is a warm, positive and loving film about friendship. People in the caged housing live as harmonious as possible, supporting each other by their limited means.
Developer Tsang Siu-Chi and his agent have bought two of a group of four properties. Rival developer, Boss Hung has secured the other two properties. Both aim to buy all four so they can knock them down and build hotels.
Kui (Wong Ka Kui), Keung (Steve Wong), Chung (Paul Wogn) and Wing (Wing Yip) are four buddies who are all very enthusiastic about music. Together they form a band called Beyond. In order to fulfill his family's emigration dream, Kui works round the clock to earn money and exhausts himself to sickness. Keung wants to build a successful career, but only finds himself being framed by his boss. Chung's childhood dream was to become a police officer, but he is rejected due to his weak body. Wing wants to study music at Hong Kong University, but his girlfriend (Faye Wong) and her parents pressure him into medicine. Can they find their ways again through friendship and music?
A group of college kids discovers the remains of an evil warlord from an old cave and brings it to their dormitory, which ultimately awakens the warlord's ghost. It is seeking to avenge his killer, who has since reincarnated as Mr. Hong's snobby girlfriend Annie. With Hong and Annie endangered, Hong's reincarnated spirit takes over to save him and Annie, and defeat the demon.
Lam Bo Sun, the richest man in Hong Kong, is expected to marry the ditziest of socialites in a matter of weeks. On a whim, he leaves everything behind and gets a job as a lowly busboy at a noodle restaurant, and finds the girl of his dreams.
When two acrobats are fired for fighting with punks in the audience, they go to live with an aunt who's being pressured to sell her house for a real estate development. The developer's nasty son, Lee Fu, decides to muscle the sale, and soon he's at war with the acrobats, plus their unlikely ally, an American named John who used to be Lee Fu's friend. The acrobats open a kung fu school, the scene of several battles with Lee Fu's thugs. A fight to the death, jail time, auntie's surprise decision, a budding acting career, a possessive girlfriend, a debilitating injury, a friendship that needs recalibrating, and Lee Fu's avenger are all in the mix before the end.
