Well-done fight scenes make film worthwhile
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Arts & Culture
Never Back Down
Grade: B
Full of well-orchestrated fight scenes and violently choreographed confrontations, Never Back Down delivers a strong punch-kick combo in visuals and subject matter.
Taking its cue from both YouTube.com and a growing infatuation with mixed-martial arts, Never Back Down taps into an area of American culture that is often overlooked, even if it over generalizes and marginalizes the high school setting.
The films opens with attention focused on a talented football player named Jake (newcomer Sean Faris) on his way to winning what is revealed as his last football game at this school because he has to move.
As his team attempts to hold on to the lead, one of the opposing team members starts a ruckus. This ruckus ends with the instigator being brutally knocked unconscious. The whole ordeal captured on a camera phone.
Once the game is over, it becomes apparent that Jake has a violent streak that apparently has developed following the sudden loss of his father, and this move, done for the benefit of his little brother, will inadvertently help him as well.
A week later the film shifts from rural Ohio to sunny and beautiful Orlando, where Jake is placed in a school filled with its own social order. Oddly, Jake quickly becomes a well-known newcomer once he attempts to break up a fight happening at school.
The instant fame comes courtesy of a YouTube video featuring his apparently infamous brawl during his last football game. Once he learns of how his fame has been created, he meets a girl and a friend and tries out the social scene. Things then start to unravel.
At a party with some of his new 'friends,' Jake is pressured into a fight with an affluent ringleader (Max Cooperman) and loses. After suffering his own brutal beating, Jake vows to learn how to do more than just swing violently.
By enrolling in an always-open mixed-martial arts school run by fight trainer Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou), Jake finds a place to learn peace and how to fight. The film that follows dazzles viewers with fight scenes that are visually appealing and realistically damaging. There are no fights without physical consequences and this dose of reality makes the film convincing.
Special attention is given to technique and any fan of mixed-martial arts fighting will enjoy how the fights are handled. Film buffs will also enjoy the art direction and cinematography here as well. The shots are beautiful and the hue saturation is a dead-giveaway to what is coming next.
The only drawback is that this film takes place in high school but the level of freedom and adult activity these kids live in is a bit absurd. Sure these kinds of lifestyles exist somewhere but for an activity that is supposedly underground, no adults are paying attention anyway.
Bottom Line: This film is an action packed fight film that is made for the boys, but girls might like it too. It's richly violent but stylish and interesting. It's definitely worth a shot.
Gregory Brand, Jr.•
Grade: B
Full of well-orchestrated fight scenes and violently choreographed confrontations, Never Back Down delivers a strong punch-kick combo in visuals and subject matter.
Taking its cue from both YouTube.com and a growing infatuation with mixed-martial arts, Never Back Down taps into an area of American culture that is often overlooked, even if it over generalizes and marginalizes the high school setting.
The films opens with attention focused on a talented football player named Jake (newcomer Sean Faris) on his way to winning what is revealed as his last football game at this school because he has to move.
As his team attempts to hold on to the lead, one of the opposing team members starts a ruckus. This ruckus ends with the instigator being brutally knocked unconscious. The whole ordeal captured on a camera phone.
Once the game is over, it becomes apparent that Jake has a violent streak that apparently has developed following the sudden loss of his father, and this move, done for the benefit of his little brother, will inadvertently help him as well.
A week later the film shifts from rural Ohio to sunny and beautiful Orlando, where Jake is placed in a school filled with its own social order. Oddly, Jake quickly becomes a well-known newcomer once he attempts to break up a fight happening at school.
The instant fame comes courtesy of a YouTube video featuring his apparently infamous brawl during his last football game. Once he learns of how his fame has been created, he meets a girl and a friend and tries out the social scene. Things then start to unravel.
At a party with some of his new 'friends,' Jake is pressured into a fight with an affluent ringleader (Max Cooperman) and loses. After suffering his own brutal beating, Jake vows to learn how to do more than just swing violently.
By enrolling in an always-open mixed-martial arts school run by fight trainer Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou), Jake finds a place to learn peace and how to fight. The film that follows dazzles viewers with fight scenes that are visually appealing and realistically damaging. There are no fights without physical consequences and this dose of reality makes the film convincing.
Special attention is given to technique and any fan of mixed-martial arts fighting will enjoy how the fights are handled. Film buffs will also enjoy the art direction and cinematography here as well. The shots are beautiful and the hue saturation is a dead-giveaway to what is coming next.
The only drawback is that this film takes place in high school but the level of freedom and adult activity these kids live in is a bit absurd. Sure these kinds of lifestyles exist somewhere but for an activity that is supposedly underground, no adults are paying attention anyway.
Bottom Line: This film is an action packed fight film that is made for the boys, but girls might like it too. It's richly violent but stylish and interesting. It's definitely worth a shot.
Gregory Brand, Jr.•
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