As a kid, I used to watch a lot of boxing. In those days, the 1950s-60s, boxing was still a popular sport on television, and I used to watch a lot of different fighters. Middleweights and welterweights were my favorites, from Emile Griffith to Luis Rodriguez, Willie Pastrano to Dick Tiger.

In recent years, I've taken to watching MMA. Yeah, the idea of fighting in an octagon is a bit cheesy. But the skills that the best of these athletes possess are as varied and versatile as anything the classic boxers had to offer.

In the octagon, even Muhammad Ali wouldn't last a round with Anderson Silva.

That's a loooong introduction to the film that I am now watching on Showtime called "Cyborg Soldier." The link? The film stars Rich Franklin, one of the best of the big boys of MMA -- and perfectly cast as a guy who has the emotion of, oh, a Klingon?

Editor's note: Did I actually type Klingon? Seriously? Of course, steeped in full ironic mode, I meant to type Vulcan.

BTW, the films opening this weekend:

At the Magic Lantern, along with the holdovers "Nowhere Boy" and "The Secret in Their Eyes," we have the French gangsgter flick "Mesrine: Killer Instinct."

At the mainstream theaters, "Morning Glory," "Unstoppable," Conviction" and Skyline U."

Other than "Mesrine," though, I doubt any will be as enjoyably bad as "Cyborg Soldier."

Below: The trailer for "Cyborg Soldier."