Movie Review: Never Back Down (2008)
Never Back Down, directed by Jeff Wadlow, is a teen fight movie that I recently caught on Starz (a movie channel). Although it is formulaic and makes predictable stops at every single conceivable fight movie cliche, the movie is a somewhat decent and entertaining film thanks to some well-shot MMA fight scenes. Mix a premise from The Karate Kid, a pinch of Fight Club and a bit of The O.C. and you get Never Back Down.
Sean Faris plays rebellious and short-tempered teen Jake Tyler who is lured into a mixed martial art club after getting his butt kicked by the local martial arts champion Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet), a rich and egomaniac bully who sees Jake as his new toy. Trained by the black version of Mr. Miyagi– Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou), Jake works his way toward the inevitable rematch. Of course, the movie would not be complete without a lackluster romance that plays out between Jake and Ryan’s vaguely unhappy girlfriend, Baja Miller (Amber Heard). So refreshing and unheard of! Are you on the edge of your seat as I am?
Let’s face it, anyone who watches this movie knows exactly what to expect and can predict what’s going to happen before it even starts. Hero gets crap beaten out of him, hero trains and eventually vanquishes bully and gets the girl. The end. Never Back Down never attempts to stray from this formula for one moment. The dialogue is intermittently lame, most of the characters are one-dimensional and you even get the cringe-worthy X-ray image of Jake’s ribs when he takes a shot there. Where the movie shines the most are the visually satisfying fight scenes which are realistic-looking and well-edited. The soundtrack is full of catchy pop-trash song about being manly and “never backing down” while the cinematography by Lukas Ettlin is highly competent and gives the movie a sunny and O.C.-like atmosphere.
The film is semi-competently acted with Tom Cruise-look alike Sean Faris doing a fairly solid job as the angry and explosive teenager. Cam Gigandet is menacing as the one-dimensional d-bag but manages to shine in the fight scenes. Evan Peters provide some welcome comic relief as Jake’s nerdy friend. On the other hand, Amber Heard is barely adequate as Jake’s love interest as her line delivery fall consistently flat. Finally, two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou is charismatic as Jake’s no-nonsense trainer. It is terribly painful to see an actor of his caliber having to spew out horrendous lines like “no matter what happens, control the outcome.”
Not a bad movie at all as long as you keep your expectations low, Never Back Down is a cliched and brainless fight movie that was more enjoyable than I expected.
C+
(5.5/10)
Lesson of the Day: (None)
Notes: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving intense sequences of fighting/violence, some sexuality, partying and language – all involving teens. 110 min.
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16 Comments
Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed this… to a certain extent. I was in the mood for something cheesy and cliche and I found it in “Never Back Down”. The fight scenes were nicely done, and that’s all I ever wanted out of this.
I’m actually happy they kept the romance thing on the most basic, one-dimensional level because otherwise it might have turned into a pathetic teen love drama. This way, it’s a mildly entertaining, shallow fighting flick.
Nice write-up! Never Back Down was way too cliché for my liking. Like most movies, I felt like it would of been more beneficial for the story to bring it up a notch and make it an R. Who knows though, maybe if it was an R, it wouldn’t have made any difference (flip-flopping I know).
I always enjoy Djimon Hounsou (even in his lesser films), but I could never muster up the care to even dare watch this. It sounds about as exciting as a posh Karate Kid musical. I’m sure the fight scenes are cool, but then again so are the ones on youtube. I can watch those in 3 minutes. Victory: Youtube. Also you have the downside of Amber Heard. Not that she’s bad, but that she was featured prominently (to put it nice) in The Informers last year, a movie I spent months trying to forget.
By the way, who is Mr. Fujita? I feel like I’m missing some cultural references here, which is something I do not allow (…..too much, I need to keep it within reason).
AHAHAAH oh man you just made me realize my mistake and I couldn’t stop laughing for 3 minutes. I have no idea who Mr. Fujita is, I meant Mr. Miyagi. Where did I find that name LOL
HAHA! I had an odd feeling that was it, but if I typed Mr. Fujita? Did you mean Mr. Miyagi I was convinced you’d end up writing a paragraph explaining to me who Mr. Fujita is, and how shocked you are I’ve never heard of him. So, I took the safe road
I agree, Djimon Hounsou can make pretty much any film better…except this:(
Oh and I liked this movie the first time…when it was called The Karate Kid. Did enough people already make that distinction, or can I still climb on board:P
I never even saw that comparison but it is so spot on… minus a trademark move like the Crane Kick!
Ugh. My sister insisted I watch this, so maybe I was under duress at the time, but god, did I despise this movie. Normally I don’t actively despise Heard as other people seem to, but she was awful. Everyone else, eh, but what did you expect? Good review, anyway.
I’ve never seen this – nor have I even heard of it. Classy.
Yeah, I hated this movie the way I hate few other movies. The performances are awful, the relationship between the kid and the teacher is shallow, the romance is stupid dialogue is horrible: “This is a nice house.” “Dude, this is only the guest house.” And I find it laughably stupid that this kid almost beats some dudes to death in pure daylight out of road rage and not only is he not charged but he becomes a school hero as people watch the video on Youtube while walking by him in the hall. Not to mention the plot is exactly the same as Step Up 2: The Streets. You must have been having a pretty silly day to find anything of worth in this film but good review regardless.
I wouldn’t see it again and it’s nowhere near a good movie but relatively speaking, it could have been much worse. Thanks for the heads up on Step Up 2. Killed two birds with one stone
Or maybe, it’s because I watched Obsessed a few hours before this movie… lol
The funny thing is I liked Step Up 2, maybe it was just me having one of those silly nights but it was sweet and dumb and had some great dancing, something that I like because I have no skill in it whatsoever. Step Up worked for all the reasons NBD didn’t.
You watch Never Back Down for the same reasons you watch Step Up… the cool choreopraphed end sequence… and it was all right, I suppose. I just kept saying, that dude from Twilight is ripped!
You know, if you really want to watch Never Back Down with great… and I really mean GREAT fighting, you should really look forward to the release of the Ip Man dvd in America. I think Ip Man 2 is going to be playing at the NY Asian film fest.
Well, Ip Man is less Never Back Down… but Ip Man 2 is like Never Back Down with Rocky, and despite all of that, it’s highly entertaining.
Thanks for the recommendation!
While the movie was very cliche and several areas of the movie were severely lacking, I didn’t hate this movie as much as most people. I would probably give it the same letter grade as Castor. If it didn’t have Hounsou, I’m sure I would probably despise the movie.
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