Review of Never Back Down (2008) by Matthew H — 10 Apr 2010

I had my reservations about "Never Back Down" and for 2 years I didn't care enough to give it it's chance but when I saw it was on Sky Movies I thought I'd give it a shot.

In many ways, this movie reminded me of a martial arts version of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, another movie that I had low expectations for. That movie massively impressed me and whilst not as much, "Never Back Down" did the same. I found myself entertained and enjoyed every minute of this film.

The main draw here is in the action. The script is nothing special and the plot is pulled from any nummber of movies of it's genre, in which a teenager is beaten up by a school martial arts bully and through dedicated coaching by a mixed martial arts master and a lot of heart, he inevitably wins through in the end and of course, gets the girl.

Sean Faris does well as Jake Tyler, the teenager who, known for his fighting at a previous school is dragged into a fight with school bully Ryan McCarthy following a setup by the gorgeous Baja Miller. Faris looks almost identical to a young Tom Cruise and whilst he doesn't command the screen with the same confidence as Cruise did in his early days, he certainly does a great job and looks on the money for most of the film. Also worthy of a mention is Cam Gigandet (The OC) who is great as the villain of the story, mixed martial arts champion Ryan McCarthy. He plays the part as a very skilled fighter who relishes hurting people in front of big crowds and he certainly provides a more than adequate opponent for Faris's character. Djimon Hounsou is solid as Jean Rocqua, the mixed martial arts trainer who teaches Faris how to fight properly and Amber Heard is eye candy for the audience as the gorgeous girl that Faris and Gigandet both lust after. Leslie Hope is also present as Jake's mother and she's not too bad either (and happily nowhere near as annoying as she was as Teri Bauer in 24!).

As long as you don't expect anything special and enjoy action movies you should have a good time watching "Never Back Down." The plot is routine but the actors do well and it's a fun diversion while it lasts even if you do forget about it as soon as it's over.