It is impossible to deny the swiftly rising popularity of so-called “mixed martial arts” competitions. It seems only natural that Hollywood quickly latched onto this trend and is trying to make some money off of it. Thus, we get the movie “Never Back Down.”
The story revolves around Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), a football player born and raised in Iowa, with a troubled past, and rage issues. Having recently lost his father in a drunk-driving accident, Jake seems ambivalent about his family’s relocation to Miami so that his little brother may attend an exclusive tennis academy.
A quick montage of moving footage puts Jake and his family in Miami. Jake seems to be having trouble fitting in at his new school. Nevertheless, he catches the eye of a hot blonde named Baja (Amber Heard), who invites him to a party. Unfortunately, things are not quite what they seem. The invite was a trap. Baja’s actual intention was to get Jake close to her popular, rich boyfriend, Ryan (Cam Gigandet), so that he might challenge Jake in an underground mixed martial arts fight.
Things go poorly for Jake, as he gets soundly thrashed. He seeks training at a local dojo, run by the legendary fighter Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou). So begin the many, many training montages that eventually forge Jake into a fighter that can give Ryan a run for his money.
“Never Back Down” is your standard high-school “unlikely sports hero overcomes the odds” type of story. Honestly, it ends up being a pretty forgettable one.
The story is recycled from virtually every other high school sports movie ever produced. The characters, with a few exceptions, are cardboard cutout stereotypes. The dialogue could have been written by a twelve-year-old with access to a copy of The Iliad. Plus, the concept of an entire school obsessed with the outcome of underground mixed martial arts tournaments seems like a bit of a stretch.
Another issue that crops up is director Jeff Wadlow’s fondness for montages. Preliminary estimates place the movie as being 70 percent composed of montages. Jake needs training as a fighter, so it is only natural that it be expressed as a montage. The move from Iowa to Miami certainly calls for a montage. Then there are montages for events that arguably do not call for them. There is even a montage in which Jake’s mom simply does the dishes. The abundance of montages give the movie a sense of being artificially extended.
The action sequences are decent, but nothing to write home about. It should be noted that while the movie claims to be about mixed martial arts fighting, there are many in the MMA community that decry it as inaccurate. This is true, in a sense. Perhaps the greatest departure the movie makes from MMA form is toward the middle of the movie.
There’s an entire subplot devoted to Roqua’s philosophy of nonviolence that actually comes pretty close to what one might learn studying actual martial arts. It gives Hounsou, who proved he could act in “Blood Diamond” a chance to show his chops, and it lets relative newcomer Faris present Jake Tyler as a sympathetic character, tortured by the loss of his father and a lack of control over his own life. By the end, all of this is washed away by the desire for glorious combat, but it is nice sentiment to have for awhile.
In conclusion, “Never Back Down” is not a martial arts epic. It is strictly a high-school sports movie, with the twist of dudes punching each other. It might be worth the cost of a movie ticket if you really love watching sweaty boys grapple.
Ration: 2 1/2 Denver Boones
