Opening

45% The Great Gatsby May 10
45% Peeples May 10
95% Stories We Tell May 10
100% The Painting May 10
—— Assault On Wall Street May 10
50% Aftershock May 10
85% Sightseers May 10
33% No One Lives May 10
More...

Top Box Office

78% Iron Man 3 $174.1M
46% Pain & Gain $7.5M
77% 42 $6.1M
56% Oblivion $5.6M
69% The Croods $4.2M
8% The Big Wedding $3.9M
98% Mud $2.2M
60% Oz the Great and Powerful $2.1M
4% Scary Movie 5 $1.4M
81% The Place Beyond The Pines $1.3M
More...

Coming Soon

88% Star Trek Into Darkness May 16
29% Erased May 17
100% Frances Ha May 17
—— The English Teacher May 17
More...
Won't Back Down Play Trailer

Won't Back Down (2012)

tomatometer

32

Average Rating: 5/10
Reviews Counted: 96
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 65

Despite the best efforts of its talented leads, Won't Back Down fails to lend sufficient dramatic heft or sophistication to the hot-button issue of education reform.

17

Average Rating: 5/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 24

Despite the best efforts of its talented leads, Won't Back Down fails to lend sufficient dramatic heft or sophistication to the hot-button issue of education reform.

audience

62

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 16,744

My Rating

Movie Info

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis play two determined mothers, one a teacher, who will stop at nothing to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children. This powerful story of parenthood, friendship and courage mirrors events that are making headlines daily. -- (C) 20th Century Fox

PG,

Drama

Jan 15, 2013

$5.3M

20th Century Fox - Official Site External Icon

Watch It Now

Cast

ADVERTISEMENT

Won't Back Down Trailer & Photos

Critic Reviews for Won't Back Down

All Critics (102) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (65) | DVD (1)

Social-issue movies can have real societal impact. That's why Won't Back Down, which presses a lot of hot buttons, deserves to be taken seriously, and criticized seriously, on its own terms.

September 28, 2012 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comments (4)
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Won't Back Down doesn't wholly make the grade.

September 28, 2012 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Bruce Demara
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Americans desperately need to have some difficult conversations about the state of public education, but Won't Back Down goes about the task too awkwardly to be helpful or interesting.

September 28, 2012 Full Review Source: Miami Herald
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"Won't Back Down" details a bureaucratic process, and yet it plays more like an intense, emotional movie about parents and children.

September 28, 2012 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment (1)
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

So didactic that viewers are likely to feel less uplifted than lectured.

September 28, 2012 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film makes a serious effort to present the other side's points.

September 28, 2012 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comments (6)
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

'Dumbing down' a film about educational reform defeats any point; while proficiently made, Won't Back Down's glib feel-good message deserves to fall on deaf ears.

January 29, 2013 Full Review Source: The List
Eddie Harrison
The List

As terrible as it sounds.

January 28, 2013 Full Review Source: Scotsman
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

An altogether crude, melodramatic and unhelpful picture.

January 27, 2013 Full Review Source: Observer [UK]
Philip French
Observer [UK]

More anti-union propaganda masquerading as entertainment.

January 25, 2013 Full Review Source: This is London
This is London

All efforts to add zest to a serious subject fail.

January 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Sun Online
Grant Rollings
Sun Online

A straight-talking, partisan account about the failings of a broken system and a band of women who argued for better for their children.

January 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Little White Lies
Joe Walsh
Little White Lies

It is well meant, undoubtedly about something that matters, and it bends over backwards not to trash the teachers' unions gratuitously, but amid the attempts at gritty reality, I found the happy-ending imperative unconvincing.

January 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

The forces of unionism are mainly pilloried as lazy sell-outs, which is a pity, because a lot of other tangy issues come into play here.

January 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

Emotionally engaging drama that compensates for its predictability with a pair of terrific performances by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis, though it's also a little fuzzy on the actual details.

January 24, 2013 Full Review Source: ViewLondon
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Shamelessly manipulative, this propagandist drama purports to champion the democratisation of parents' choice yet is little more than a big, cinematic union bashing stick.

January 23, 2013 Full Review Source: Sky Movies
Sky Movies

You might find the political tub-thumping behind this cockle-warming drama a tad disconcerting.

January 23, 2013 Full Review Source: Daily Star
Andy Lea
Daily Star Source: Daily Star
View all critic reviews (102)

Audience Reviews for Won't Back Down

View All
"Won't Back Down" is a movie about two mothers(Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) who are fed up with their children's failing school. They decide to risk everything to make a difference by going against the teacher unions and set out to do a school take over with the other parents and change things for the better for the kids. It's an inspirational movie, even though it runs a tad long and some of the background plot doesn't really go anywhere and just bogs the movie down some. Gyllenhaal does ok, but Viola Davis is fantastic. She is one of the best actresses today without a doubt. Whether your for or against unions it doesn't matter, because this movie is about making a difference for children. Emily liked and it made it all the way through, so if that happens I can almost guarantee all women will like it. Guys, probably not, but it's okay for a one time watch.
January 26, 2013
Everett Johnson
Everett Johnson

Super Reviewer

Won't Back Down is a prime example of a movie that suffers from a weak script and average direction, but is saved by excellent and noteworthy performances. Having grand aspirations regarding the failing education system in urban public schools, it ultimately gives no solid solutions and overgeneralizes the myriad problems regarding said topic. Quite obviously, the movie leans heavily toward the right politically. (Damn those corrupt Teacher's Unions! If only everything ran like a business! That would fix urban blight!) Nevertheless, the performances given by Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal and the supporting cast keep the whole venture afloat. And it holds together better than "white savior" schlock like The Help. But when compared to other movies in its particular sub-genre such as Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me, or when its message is seriously analyzed, it doesn't quite make the grade.
February 27, 2013
Joshua Sheetz
Joshua Sheetz

Super Reviewer

Won't Back Down Quotes

View All
    1. Nona Alberts: Dare to think!
    – Submitted by Emmet S (3 months ago)
    1. Malia Fitzpatrick: Hope.
    – Submitted by Eushilia C (7 months ago)
    1. Jamie Fitzpatrick: You know those mothers that can lift 1-ton trucks? They're nothing compared to me.
    – Submitted by Chubby M (7 months ago)
    1. Jamie Fitzpatrick: I can tell you being poor sucks, and my kid can't read!
    – Submitted by Chris P (7 months ago)
    1. Nona Alberts: What are you gonna do with your one and only life?
    – Submitted by Chris P (7 months ago)

Discussion Forum

View All

There are no discussion threads for Won't Back Down yet.

Latest News on Won't Back Down

January 17, 2013:
Parental Guidance: Taken 2 and Won't Back Down
It's been a rough month for family-friendly theatrical releases, so once again we look to the DVD...

September 27, 2012:
Critics Consensus: Looper Is Certified Fresh
This week at the multiplex, we've got a futuristic hitman ("Looper," starring Bruce Willis and...

View all news

What's Hot On RT

Total Recall
Total Recall

Movies Directed by Tyler Perry

Summer Movie Guide
Summer Movie Guide

Blockbuster news and reviews

The East Trailer
The East Trailer

Ellen Page in an intriguing new thriller

24 Frames
24 Frames

A gallery of classic books on film

Movie News

View All

Featured on RT

Comments

Top Headlines

Fresh Links

10 Best Movie Trilogies
10 Best Movie Trilogies External Link
 Pretty self-explanatory here; HitFix offers up their favorite trilogies of all time.
10 Jilted Movie Grooms
10 Jilted Movie Grooms External Link
 Feeling a little sappy? Here are 10 movie grooms who were left at the altar.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
Weirdest Movie Siblings External Link
 From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
50 Youth-Gone-Wild Movies
50 Youth-Gone-Wild Movies External Link
 TimeOut lists the best movies about youth and rebellion.
30 Greatest Rock & Roll Movie Moments
30 Greatest Rock & Roll Movie Moments External Link
 Rolling Stone boldly proclaims the rockin'-est moments in cinema.
Follow RT on Twitter!
Follow RT on Twitter! External Link
 Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!

Foreign Titles

  • Won't Back Down (DE)
  • Won't Back Down (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile
Copyright © Flixster, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices