Never Back Down (2008)

Not Worth Watching

I don't think I'll ever understand movies like this. I've never seen the point of boxing or fighting except for one man to prove dominance over another. And honestly, nobody cares who's more masculine. You don't have to be at the top of the masculinity food chain to have a good life, and that's the message this movie doesn't send.

"Never Back Down" entices a wide female audience with lots of buff shirtless guys beating each other up. "Never Back down" also entices a large male audience with a story of the underdog rising to the top by beating the life out of people. And unfortunately neither draw makes for a good film. The entire point of this movie is that the underdog cannot and will not have a happy, peaceful life until he can beat the resident school bully. This is not the kind of message that needs to be sent to teenagers. While I may have only just left my teenage years, I do not believe that violence is the answer to all our problems and therefore think this movie was a horrible idea from start to finish. I've never wanted to throw the remote at my television set any more than when I watched this film.

If you're big on boxing and men being each other up, yes you'll like this movie. And I know there's a big enough audience out there that will appreciate this film. But I honestly don't see the point in anything the main character does in this film, and therefore cannot recommend it to anyone else. September 22, 2008

Homage to the montage

Get a blender, mix Karate Kid, Rocky 3&4, add a touch of Indiana Jones and Best of the Best, the sport of MMA, and this is what you'll get.
This movie is exactly what it was intended to be, an updated guy movie cashing in on the UFC's popularity. Much of this film (lines, scenes, plot) is directly derived from the movies I mentioned above, almost like the director is paying tribute to the training montage. Sure it's formulaic & predictable & cliche', it's well done for what you should expect.
I had to laugh when the student beats the teacher in a footrace at the beach, kinda like when Rocky beat Apollo in the Rocky 3 montage. That's one example of the many times you'll recognize the other movies' influence. It's fun just for that. September 16, 2008

Kickboxing: "All the Rage"

Seldom do students get more excited than when a fight breaks out at school. Add to that the list of extreme sports and, especially, the addition of kickboxing to mainstream audiences, and you've got a sure-fire way to capture and keep the shortest attention spans for a movie.

It is on this premise that I felt an inclination to dock 'Never Back Down'. The sense of pervasive violence with a sport I don't particularly like led to this belief, but I don't like to do that. A movie should be judged by its cinematic merits rather than its subject matter. Don't get me wrong; I like contact sports. It's just that I enjoy the finesse of hockey, football, and boxing far better. Throw in the kicking element, and I honestly thought this movie a was bloodthirsty medium for voyeuristic violence.

I decided to back up and look at the merits and demerits of the feature and let others' decide if they like the venue. As a film, the kickboxing seems just about the only new thing going for it. There's Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), the protagonist, a kid who moves from Iowa to Orlando. (One kid calls him "Kurt Cobain" for his inclination to wear flannel in Florida.) As the new kid in town, he faces a kickboxing bully, Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet) who enjoys testing any newcomers setting foot on his turf. Between both figures is Ryan's girlfriend, Baja Miller (Amber Heard) who has the good sense to dislike her boyfriend's sadistic past time.

Ryan has a hard time leaving his baggage behind him. His father recently passed away, and we get some fuzzy flashbacks about an accident we learn more about later on. His mother (Leslie Hope) is severe with him, but it's not hard to understand why with her son's frequent brawls out on the football field. Because of the pervasiveness of "You Tube," his past feisty football seasons are soon scrutinized by a new student body.

Neatly, an infatuated Baja invites him to the same party that Ryan attends. All bikini clad girls greet the boys by the Jacuzzi until they all find something they all admit they find more exciting: a gladiator adventure in kickboxing. Egged on by the perpetually smirky and smiling Ryan, we get a nasty fight with one participant all but unfamiliar with the methods or madness of this martial arts-boxing hybrid.

To ensure a level of decency, Ryan's new best friend, Max (Evan Peters) introduces him to the studio of famous Confucius teacher master, Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou), the karate kid of kickboxing who warns Ryan that if he gets in a fight outside the gym, he's out for good. There has to be some honor in the proceedings, or the film won't work properly.

And, I'll bet you can guess whether or not he keeps his promise. Besides some predictability, Chris Hautz's screenplay makes all the participants sound like kids, but does little else. Not every teen movie has to be `Juno (Single-Disc Edition),' but the dialogue has too much small talk and too little to inspire. There's more than a few clichés found here.

The very best thing about `Never Back Down' is former Oscar nominee, Djimon Hounsou, whom we must laud for taking this film out of the gutter, while regretting his departure from movies like `Blood Diamond (Full Screen Edition)'. The second best aspect of the movie, unfortunately, is the fighting scenes. Well shot with expert lighting and angles, director Jeff Wadlan captures all the blood, sweat, and tears of every encounter. Don't expect this to be the `Rocky' or `Raging Bull' of kickboxing, but at least it has more energy than the more decent, but lackluster recent effort `Redbelt'. It doesn't help that the characters aren't often likable. We can appreciate Jake Tyler's lot in life without finding much charisma in his character. Don't kids deserve better than this?

At the beginning of the movie, Wadlan touts his new movie version features "more bone crushing" sounds. Now if that's his heralded achievement for this feature DVD, count me as one heading toward the exit.

A J.P.'s Pan 2*'s = Mediocre September 16, 2008

'Would like to give it four stars

I really liked this movie. There are so many reasons that I wanted to give it more than three stars.

Though it's derivative of other similarly-themed movies - new kid in school, while battling personal demons, must prove himself against the established bully - "Never Back Down" has an appealing hero in the form of Sean Faris as Jake Tyler, a villain that brings out the hisses (Cam Gigandet), a comely love interest (Amber Heard), an encouraging sidekick (Evan Peters), and a wise sage/trainer that also has a "cross to bear" (Djimon Hounsou).

The fight scenes - of which there are two major ones - are well-done and, remarkably, not very graphic in their "blood splatter." Both Faris and Gigandet obviously spent some time in the gym and had some mixed martial arts training to pull off the convincing battles.

The unrated film also features mild profanity, in comparison to other youth-oriented films. One would think that a film with so much testosterone would have its characters spouting obscenities in every sentence, but "Never Back Down" is refreshingly absent of many.

Like I said, I'd like to give it four stars but it's just an average popcorn movie with a simple plot, adequate performances, and a satisfying conclusion.

One major criticism that I have is that the producers try to pass off Orlando - the film's setting - as being similar to its neighbor to the south, Miami. Though a major metropolis in its own right, Orlando is NOT "Northern Miami Beach," and should not be compared as such.

Also, Faris's character seems to have enrolled in one of the most affluent schools in America where the kids have major social lives. The party, where Faris and Gigandet have their first physical encounter, must be attended by well over two hundred kids, in various stages of "development", resulting in some suggestive situations, especially in a scene between two girls in a bubble-laden bathtub.

The latter is probably a teenaged boy's fantasy but serves to present an image that is pure fiction. September 12, 2008

Good If you are in the target audience

Ok, first off, people need to see this movie for what it is; a fast paced action flick full of girls, cars and fighting. This film is aimed squarely at a younger audience (like myself, 18) who enjoy some good action, even if it doesn't have the best plot, which, I will admit, is very thin. And to all the old farts giving their snobish reviews, go watch romantic comedies or some independent film and talk about how sophisticated it is and how clever you are for watching it. This movie is about adrenaline and thats about it. If your too old to remember what that is, then avoid this movie. September 8, 2008

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