Never Back Down movie review
When I was a kid, karate or kung fu was the “in” thing and the movies people love at that time were Karate Kid (for the kids) or Van Damme movies (for adults). This generation, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is what’s “in” and Never Back Down took advantage. The movie is like Karate Kid with its mentor and underdog theme given a cheesy title (No Retreat No Surrender anyone?) then crossed with Fight Club.
Never Back Down is headed by some D-list actors, Sean Faris as the more mature Ralph Macchio reference and Amber Heard as his love interest who’s also the girl of the antagonist. The Mr. Miyagi would be played by Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) who did considerably well as his MMA teacher.
The plot is so simple. New kid who’s a brawler exposed to the world of MMA thought he got what it takes. MMA Champ pummeled him in front of everybody including the girl that he liked. He started training with a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher (Hounsou) so he could get his revenge at the final tournament.
Acting is ok, some characters are forgettable but the fight scenes were really good. Better than Karate Kid anyway. Reference to YouTube and all the people ogling at the uploaded fight video is kinda lame. But as one who’s really interested in MMA, you can really enjoy this movie.
Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars (Go wait for it on TV)
You might also be interested in:
- Taken movie review
- Street Kings movie review
- Fast & Furious movie review
- Bangkok Dangerous movie review
Filed under: Movies and TV