Never Back Down (Blu Ray) (2008)

"A modest surprise: better acted than needed, better made than expected.  Jim Ridley, The Village Voice
"...sufficiently well made to work as both teen-angst melodrama and bone-rattling brawl picture.  Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide
"It's a little "Karate Kid," a smidge of "Fight Club"...a lot of "The O.C."...and presto: probable hit.  Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
""The Karate Kid" meets "Fight Club"...  Nick De Semlyen, Empire
"...set in the hot new arena of mixed martial arts...energetic and warm-hearted...  Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter

Editor's Note There's no eye-gouging, no biting, and no crotch shots allowed, but everything else goes in NEVER BACK DOWN, an invigorating high school sports/ultimate backyard fighting hybrid. Sean Faris plays Jake, the new kid (with a troubled past) who butts heads with rich alpha-male bully Ryan (Cam Gigandet, channeling Brad Pitt in FIGHT CLUB) at Miami High. Amber Heard plays Baja, the hot blonde who tricks Jake into attending a combination pool party/fight club held at Ryan's MTV cribs-style mansion. Jake doesn't want to fight at first but gets goaded into a blind rage and then gets his butt kicked. Enter Djimon Hounsou as the local fighting instructor who teaches Jake some self-discipline (and how to throw a cement block at the camera from 30 paces). Director Jeff Wadlow clearly harbors nostalgia for the halcyon days of TOP GUN and FLASHDANCE; the emo-rock-scored training montages flow as free as Baja's blonde hair during her frequent slow-motion walks down the hall. Jake even has a wisecracking slacker cameraman sidekick (Evan Peters) who uploads all the fights to the internet. Concerned parents will be glad to know there's not much drinking or kissing, and no matter how hard the punches and roundhouse kicks may be, everybody gets to keep their teeth. Special acting shout-out to Wyatt Smith as Jake's tennis-prodigy kid brother and Leslie Hope as their stressed-out single mom.

	Wyatt Smith
	Djimon Hounsou
	Cam Gigandet
	Leslie Hope
	Sean Faris
	Amber Heard
	Evan Peters
	Chris Hauty - Screenwriter
	Patrick Wachsberger - Producer
	Lukas Ettlin - Director of Photography
	Michael Wandmacher - Composer
	David A. Zelon - Producer
	Erik Feig - Producer
	Craig Baumgarten - Producer
	Jeff Wadlow - Director

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t happily wears its influences like a badge of honour....With bruising hand-to-hand fights..." 05/01/2008 p.44

Reel.com 5 of 10
As Jake has an emotional breakdown and reveals his inner demons, his mentor listens with an attentive ear... as he browses the shelves for lettuce. That's right, the pivotal scene of Never Back Down takes place in the produce aisle of a grocery store...The list of awkward scenes could continue. In fact, Never Back Down is awkward and clueless throughout. It's loud, flashy, brawny, and fast-paced, but it doesn't have a brain behind its assets...Never Back Down delivers cliche after cliche. Jake (Sean Faris) is a tough kid from the Midwest with a troubled past. After his younger brother is offered an opportunity in Orlando, he leaves high school football fame in Iowa and relocates with his family. All the while, Jake's mother (Leslie Hope) desperately tries to hold the family together as they mourn the recent loss of the man of the house...Yet, despite its never-ending list of flaws, Never Back Down is visually and audibly stimulating, complete with a catchy soundtrack, creative camera zooms and angles, ultra-loud sound effects, and CGI-enhanced hardbodies. In fact, the film might be worth a look if you're in the mood for a brainless, numbing, recycled heap that will assault your senses, and there is an audience who loves this kind of movie. Imagine if Fight Club impregnated Step Up. Their bastard child would be Never Back Down. - Blake French

San Francisco Chronicle 5 of 10
"Never Back Down" is a junior version of "Fight Club," only with no movie stars and different moves. The killer sport practiced by a group of Orlando teens is called mixed martial arts - or MMA, as insiders say. It's a combination of wrestling, karate, judo, sambo and other exotic disciplines...Jeff Wadlow, who won a contest paying $1 million to make his first film, "Cry Wolf," directs "Never Back Down" at a frenzied pace as if building up anticipation for Jake and Ryan's first rumble. Jake's flashbacks to his father's death appear in fast motion...Faris is movie-star handsome but rather stiff in scenes calling for him to be emotional. You don't buy his attachment to Baja. Heard is more energetic during the romantic parts, but the costume department isn't doing her any favors by dressing her so scantily. Most of the men in the audience will have their attention diverted from whatever she has to say. Gigandet, the best known of the trio from his starring role on "The OC," shamelessly overacts, flaring his nostrils to show Ryan's contempt for Jake..."Never Back Down" pretty much goes by the book for this kind of movie. But one scene sticks out. In a classic literature course, the teacher asks about the significance of Achilles' shield. From the students' interest, you wonder if they're thinking it could come in handy at the next MMA meet. - Ruthe Stein