Never Back Down (2008) Movie Review

Played out much like The Karate Kid for the current teen generation, Never Back Down inhabits ever cliché in the book, but not as bad film as one would first expect.

The film follows troubled teen Jake (Sean Faris) as he, his younger brother Max (Evan Peters), and mom (Leslie Hope) move from Iowa to Orlando, FL due to Max receiving a prestigious tennis scholarship. Known for his aggressive nature, which is fueled from the anger of his father’s death, Jake is introduced to the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) at a high school party. Jake was invited to the party by the beautiful Baja (Amber Heard), shortly after his arrival, he is pressed to engage in a match with the high school’s best MMA fighter and bully Ryan (Cam Gigandet). After Ryan beats him to a pulp, a quirky wanna-be fighter named Max (Evan Peters) introduces him to the local training gym of a once prized martial artist named Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou). Jean Roqua allows him to train at his gym under one condition of no fighting outside the gym. Jake agrees and begins learn the techniques and tactics of MMA, while also maturing under the watchful eye of his new mentor/father figure. Of course, transgressions are made, relationships are broken and reconnected throughout which leads to a final match showdown between the protagonist and antagonist.

Director Jeff Wadlow (Cry Wolf) borrows everything in the book for a film of this genre, but nonetheless the Never Back Down still energy that the audience feed off of. The fight sequences are fashionably done, but Wadlow could have left out his choice to use X-ray vision when a fighter breaks a bone. Though the fighting is stage for this film, it is nice to see that Wadlow stuck with the Jean Roqua-Jake, aka Daniel and Mr. Miyagi relationship as the centrality of the film.

The script from Chris Hauty itself is a jumble of characters and scenes done previously better in other films. The dialogue is horrendous and there are absolutely no surprises in the outcome of the story or each character. The script is just the same old blueprint for a coming of age martial arts film, and Wadlow just adds a bit of life to it.

Outside of the great Djimon Hounsou as Jean Roqua, the cast is full of typical actors that you would see every week night on the CW. Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet play to two rival fighters, and are equally match in acting as they are in the ripped bodies for the roles. Amber Heard, who had a juicier role in a little horror film that hardly anyone saw called All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, is really just there to look pretty and rout her man in the fight sequences. Evan Peters adds a little bit of comic relief with his one liners as Jake’s sidekick Max.

Never Back Down is kind of like the martial arts version of Step Up or Fast and the Furious for the teen crowd. It is violent, but no over the top with blood that it would merit an R rating. The soundtrack adds to the teen atmosphere as well. Though it is still pretty much a rehash of so many other films of its nature, Never Back Down is not a total dud due to the presence of Hounsou and more so the energy brought to it by director Jeff Wadlow.