Average Rating: 4.4/10
Reviews Counted: 86
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 67
Though not without its pleasures, Never Back Down faithfully adheres to every imaginable fight movie cliché.
Average Rating: 4.4/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 16
Though not without its pleasures, Never Back Down faithfully adheres to every imaginable fight movie cliché.
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Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 586,526
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An outsider teen acclimating to a new school finds a home in a reclusive teenaged fight club in this drama from Cry_Wolf director Jeff Wadlow. Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) has just moved with his family to Orlando, FL. While Jake isn't exactly comfortable being the new kid in town, his younger brother, Charlie (Wyatt Smith), is an aspiring professional tennis star who might just have what it takes to break big. But Charlie isn't the only talented athlete in the family, because Jake used to be
Mar 4, 2008 Wide
Jul 29, 2008
$24.8M
Summit Entertainment
All Critics (89) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (68) | DVD (5)
Movie is dopey. And with its emphasis on stupid violence, xylophone abs, and getting yourself on YouTube, it's yet another product that makes you feel bad about today's youth culture.
I laughed so much at the litany of clichés that I finally had to admit I was entertained from start to finish by this cheesy knock-off.
It's a little Karate Kid, a smidge of Fight Club...a lot of The O.C. (evil boy Gigandet played an evil boy on that series), and presto: probable hit.
The fights are parceled out at intervals during the last half, all leading to a climactic battle. But it's hard to build suspense when you know it is coming and you know who will win.
This movie isn't bad just because it follows a formula slavishly but because it does so without verve or passion.
Even though it's as predictable as a pro-wrestling match, what it lacks in originality it makes up for in the nervous energy of youth and testosterone.
Bloody fight film has heart, but it's no champion.
A naive and truly obnoxious movie about the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
While the character of Jake isn't an emotionally taxing one, Faris has his moments, especially in a low-key scene in which he attempts to explain why his character is full of rage.
Here's what I hoped for: someone to root for, someone to root against, an inspiring coach, some eye candy and, of course, training montages. I got what I wanted.
A sort of teenage Fight Club, complete with daddy issues, Never Back Down is a slight refinement of the sort of picture that was ascendant in the '80s... [Blu-Ray]
A generic, violent underdog story that pays a lot of lip service to non-violence when its characters aren't busy kicking and punching the tar out of each other.
People that actually think the trailer looks cool will probably like the movie enough and it does have some cool fights, I just couldn't get past the fact that the movie gave you no one to root for.
While both [this movie and "Karate Kid"] are unintentionally hilarious, the difference is no one will remember "Never Back Down" in two weeks, let alone 20 years.
The acting is hammy, Djimon Hounsou shows up to give the flick a corny air of Karate Kid and there's nothing particularly original about the whole premise but somehow it works. It must be those abs. Or the kicks to them.
Come back Mr Miyagi, all is forgiven.
A cliché-ridden guilty pleasure.
It delivers a serious beatdown. It`s The Karate Kid for a new generation of martial arts fans. A wickedly cool and tremendosuly entertaining action-packed movie with a great cast and a great soundtrack. A knockout. Djimon Hounsou gives a powerful and thunderous performance.
March 10, 2008Super Reviewer
Often stiff, dull, and bland, NEVER BACK DOWN is no ROCKY. Sure, it's a sports movie that's pretty much all about getting revenge, but besides the fighting, there's really nothing much to it. Also, the soundtrack has some good songs on it, but then again, for a sports film, music is absolutely irrelevant. The acting
September 7, 2011Super Reviewer
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