In his feature debut, Damian Marcano has crafted a sharply written gritty urban drama that has the potential to put Trinidadian and Tobagonian cinema on the map. The bleak story of a repressed underclass certainly draws parallels with City of God, both films share a stylised yet grounded vision, however, God Loves a Fighter, albeit narrowly, trumps City of God as the more compelling narrative. Shot with a lurid contrast and deep blacks, Marcano’s city is one of oppression and an unavoidable inevitability of ones resting place with in it. The series of inhabitants that populate it share a delicious moral ambiguity that adds an authenticity to the world. Although sometimes heavy handed, the small, character moments that punctuate the grander ones are where the film shines, and could only come from someone who has grown up in the area. The performances are almost all perfect, with a couple of exceptions, however, none that diminishes the impact of the story.