Imagine if you will that you’ve been charged with the task of making a film composed entirely of fight movie clichés. Training montages. A love interest encouraging you to turn away. Wise coaches. Some past tragedy spurring the protagonist onward. Yes, all these things are crucial for a fighting movie to live up to your expectations and go no further.
Never Back Down does this flawlessly (that’s…not a good thing). Relying entirely on teen sex appeal and (admittedly) a few well-shot and choreographed fight scenes, Never Back Down debuts in early March because it knows it has no hope of contending with the heavyweight lineup of the summer.
Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), a teenager who shows a knack for fighting during a football game brawl, finds himself uprooted and transplanted in Orlando so his family can start a new life. His mother (Leslie Hope), widowed after her husband wrapped his car around a tree, does her best to raise Jake and his younger brother Charlie, a tennis prodigy. Unfortunately for Jake, his attempts to leave football and fighting in his past are for naught as the fabled football game brawl has become an online video sensation. Before you know it he’s drawn in to the all-to-common world of High School Street Fighting only to find himself brutalized before all his peers by local fighting legend Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet).
Well wouldn’t you know it, but that fight wasn’t the end for ol’ Jake. No sir. Jake tasted blood (mostly his own) and wants revenge. His clumsy, good-for-nothing friend Max (Evan Peters) encourages him to train at a local gym with trainer Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou). Can you guess where this all goes? Think Karate Kid and BLAM-O! You’ve nailed the plot.
Here’s the formula:
Jean Roqua = Mr. Miyagi
Jake = Daniel-san
Max = the friend Daniel-san never had
Ryan = Johnny “Get him a Body Bag, Johnny, Yeah!” Lawrence
I wish I was joking, but the formula couldn’t be more identical. Main character gets his ass kicked. Main character wants to learn to fight, wise instructor tells him not to do so for the wrong reasons. Movie climaxes with the two nemeses fighting at the Big Ol’ Annual Fightfest, or as Never Back Down calls it “The Beatdown”.
Wow, how badass right?
In the movie’s favor it has this: the fight scenes are quite beautifully vicious. Honestly, Never Back Down had some of the sheer brutality and intensity that I hope to see in that upcoming Street Fighter film. Here’s hoping.
However, just as I complimented Never Back Down for its nicely planned fight scenes – I ought to point out a crushing oversight. Injuries. After Jake’s preliminary fight with Ryan – where his ass gets handed to him in a neat little package – Jake wakes up the next morning with nothing to show for it except a single swollen eye. Has anyone here ever watched kick boxing? Those fighters don’t look pretty for weeks after a fight. That’s why kick-boxing is so badass. But I guess you can’t have your stars reducing their sex appeal for the sake of realism.
As far as acting goes – who are we kidding? The people going to see this movie aren’t looking for thespians. But even so – Sean Faris finds himself easily outdone by his co-stars Cam, Djimon and Evan. As Ryan McCarthy, Cam performs quite well – too well considering the genre and expectations of its audience. Djimon Hounsou has convinced me that he doesn’t know how to do anything but act magnificently. Unfortunately, the best acting in the world couldn’t save a movie derived from this horribly written script. It’s just that bad. Clichéd plot begets clichéd dialogue. Evan Peters as Jake’s best/only friend Max is likable but ultimately an idiot. Watching Max climb into Cam’s car makes the entire audience roll their eyes and dismiss the character as nothing but a foolish child. All Sean Faris has in his favor is his resemblance to Tom Cruise – I’m not even sure if that counts as a positive thing anymore.
Soundtrack-wise: when Kanye’s Daft Punk hybrid starts spewing over the speakers – it’s hard not to laugh hysterically. The timing of it all just reeks of crappy teenage filmmaking.
In closing, if you’ve been planning on seeing this film since that magical day when you first saw the trailer – nothing I can write here will convince you to do otherwise (either because you’re raging with hormones or illiterate). If you’re on the fence, I’d recommend you hold off and wait for some of the bigger flash-bang features coming up soon. Never Back Down serves as nothing more than Saturday Afternoon Popcorn Accompaniment. As crappy summer movies go – you could easily do worse – but not too much worse.
But the fight scenes are kinda cool……..
"Never Back Down" opens March 14, 2008 and is rated PG13. Action. Directed by Jeff Wadlow. Written by Chris Hauty. Starring Cam Gigandet, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Evan Peters.
