Never Back Down
Never Back Down
PG-13 | 04 March 2008 (USA)
Never Back Down Trailers

Jake, full of anger after his father's death, is just starting to find a place for himself at his new Orlando high school - until Ryan, head of an underground MMA fight club, picks Jake out as a prime opponent. After being trounced by Ryan in front of the entire school, Jake begins training under the firm, moral guidance of a MMA master, where he learns how to fight... and how to avoid a fight. But it becomes obvious that a rematch will be inevitable if Jake wants to stop Ryan and his bullying, once and for all.

Reviews
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
jontyfleming Music was on point! Movie really shows to never give up
Mihai Toma Jack Taylor, a guy with a really bad temper who picks up fights very easily moves with his family to Orlando to start a new life. After making sensation on the internet and of course at his school with his latest fight, Jack gets invited to a party where he gets provoked to a fight by local champion Ryan. Unable to resist temptation he accepts but unfortunately for him, a great humiliation is about to begin. Eager to redeem himself in front of everybody and especially Baja (his wannabe girlfriend), he seeks help from a mixed martial arts veteran (trainer at a local gym), hoping to defeat his opponent in an important competition called Beatdown.It's all about never backing down (as the title suggests), struggling to reach your goal, learning to control your temper, your nerves and your thirst for revenge in critical situations, which can represent the difference between life and death. The story isn't as put together as I hoped, even predictable most of the time, the producers being more concentrated on the fights rather than on the actual plot. It leaves you with the feeling that it could have been better if all the aspects of the movie had received equal attention. It's quite a good movie but it hasn't got anything that can make it stand up from the crowd.
rajatdahiyax Jake Tyler is a tough kid who leads with his fists, and often, with his heart. He is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He has recently moved to Orlando, Fla., 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. Making an attempt to fit in, at the invitation of a flirtatious classmate, Baja, Jake goes to a party where he is unwittingly pulled into a fight with a bully named Ryan McDonald. While he is defeated and humiliated in the fight, a classmate introduces himself to Jake and tells him about the sport known as Mixed Marshall Arts (MMA). He sees a star in Jake and asks that he meet with his mentor, Jean Roqua,. It is immediately apparent to Jake that MMA is not street fighting, but rather an art form he wants to master. Roqua will take Jake under his wing, but it is up to Jake to find the patience, discipline, willingness and reason within him to succeed. For Jake, there is much more at stake than mere victory. His decision will not just settle a score; it will define who he is.
Lee Jay As a big fan of the early 90's martial arts movies featuring such greats as Jean Claude Van Damme, Jeff Wincott, and Michael Worth etc, there doesn't seem to many great martial arts movies out there at the moment that really gets the blood pumping. There seems to be more focus on CGI, wire work and speed manipulation than some good old fight choreography - (with exception of the Undisputed series, and Blood and Bone - both of which were awesome).That brings us to this movie. This gave me the same feeling I had as a child when I watched Karate Kid, and No Retreat No Surrender. The script is quite formulaic but everyone plays there parts exceptionally well. Sean Faris is a great lead, and plays off well against Cam Gigandet, both come in great shape for this film with Gigandet looking like he may have focused strongly on calisthenics (looks strong and functional).The fight scenes are awesome, the acting is spot on, and the soundtrack does nothing to harm the film.Overall if you like martial art films, then you should really check this out. Great film. One of only a few films that I can happily watch many times. 10/10.