SYNOPSIS: Set against the action-packed world of Mixed Martial Arts, NEVER BACK DOWN is the story of Jake Tyler, a tough kid who leads with his fists, and, often, with his heart. Jake Tyler, played by Sean Faris, is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He has recently moved to Orlando , Florida with his family who has relocated to support his younger brother’s shot at a professional tennis career. Jake was a star athlete on the football team at home, but in this new city he is an outsider with a reputation for being a quick tempered brawler.

REVIEW: Welcome to the next generation Karate Kid movie, only not as good. So many similarities between the two movies but with a different fighting style, mixed martial arts. And of course the story, characters, situations, and dialogue are modernized along with the violence, and this picture is a lot more violent. It was almost disturbing to see high school kids involved in this “sport”. It just didn’t match. But violence aside, the movie was as corny, cliché, and predictable as you would expect. For this kind of movie, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the standard good boy is the new boy in school and the bad boy of school picks on him so the good boy wants to get back at the bad boy cause the bad boy is a jerk. Yeah, this film gets an “A” for originality. But hey, everyone loves to root for the underdog so if Karate Kid did so well in its time, why not this one? Even though Karate Kid was an all around better quality film, Never Back Down will appeal to the current generation for its visual stimuli and in this day and age that’s what it’s all about thanks to shorter attention spans. The appeal was evident to me as per the reaction of the audience, the younger audience, during certain moments of six-pack abs exposure, guy-girl interactions, and the deafening cheers throughout, especially during the fight scenes. I will admit the fight scenes were incredible.

As I mentioned, the characters and dialogue were modernized but they were also very cliché. This weakened the movie. The actors’ performances were okay but just as cliché as well. Considering, however, that the majority of the cast is composed of relatively unknowns, I wasn’t disappointed. The only recognizable face is that of Djimon Hounsou playing the role of Jean Roqua, the Mr. Miyagi counterpart for this film. He does a decent job. Speaking of recognizable, you are going to think I’m crazy but the lead actor, Sean Faris, playing the role of Jake Tyler, looked, spoke, and acted like a young Tom Cruise. Even down to the boyish grin, it was just freaky. The lead actress, Amber Heard, playing the role of Baja Miller (not a typo) reminded me of Anna Kournikova. I think it’s time to upgrade my glasses.

Director Jeff Wadlow was pretty good at laying out the story, however standard it may be, and especially presenting the impressive fight sequences. He does touch on some serious issues such as drunk driving and death, single parenting, moving, choosing between family and yourself, and the frustration of trying to be the better man when it comes to defending family and friends. Unfortunately they never develop properly except for maybe the last one. This movie poses the question, when is it right to fight and not back down? If this sounds good to you and you like this type of film, you’ll enjoy it.

Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

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