Wikipedia

Never Back Down

Not to be confused withNever Back Down Inc..

Never Back Downis a 2008 Americanmartial arts filmdirected byJeff Wadlowand starringSean FarisandCam Gigandet.It tells the story of a frustrated and conflicted teenager who arrives at a new high school and discovers an underground fight club there.

Never Back Down
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJeff Wadlow
Written byChris Hauty
Produced byCraig Baumgarten
David Zelon
Starring
CinematographyLukas Ettlin
Edited byVictor Du Bois
Debra Weinfeld
Music byMichael Wandmacher
Production
company
Distributed bySummit Entertainment
Release date
  • March 14, 2008(2008-03-14)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]
Box office$41.6 million[1]

The film was theatrically released on March 14, 2008. It received generally negative reviews from critics, though it successfully grossed $41.6 million worldwide against a budget of $20 million. It was followed by atitular film series,which included three sequels.

Plot

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Jake Tyler has recently moved fromIowatoOrlando, Floridawith his mother Margot and younger brother Charlie. The move furthers Charlie's budding tennis career.

Jake's father died in a drunk-drivingcar crash,which classmates have taunted him about. An internet video of Jake fighting with an opponent football player in Iowa who mocks him is shared at his new school, giving him a reputation.

Initially, Jake has trouble fitting in. While walking, he sees Max Cooperman seemingly being beaten up by bullies. When he tries to intervene, Max and his friends tell him off, as the "bullying" was actually a consensual mixed martial arts fight.

Later, Jake is invited by classmate Baja Miller (whom he's interested in) to a party. There, he is unwillingly pulled into a fight with Ryan McCarthy, the school'sMMAchampion and also Baja's boyfriend. Initially refusing to fight, Jake snaps when Ryan jokes about his father's death. Ryan easily defeats him, and he is humiliated by a video of it circulating in the school.

Max befriends Jake, introduces him to MMA, and connects him with instructor Jean Roqua. After passing Roqua's physical tests and impressing him with his willpower, he is accepted as his student. Roqua forewarns Jake that he mustn't fight outside the gym for any reason while under his instruction. If he does, he will be thrown out of his gym. While Jake trains under Roqua, he initially has difficulty quelling his anger towards Ryan.

Baja apologizes to Jake for coercing him into a fight with Ryan, but he refuses to forgive her. When Ryan shows no remorse for the fight or his sadistic tendencies, Baja breaks up with him, to which he responds by aggressively grabbing her. Jake intervenes to protect her, so Ryan again insults him about his father and leaves.

At practice, still furious over what happened, Roqua tells him to leave until he cools off. In Max's car, Jake gets into a road rage brawl, which Max films. The video circulates the school and raises Jake's social status, agitating Ryan enough to confront him.

After roughing Jake up privately, Ryan challenges him to compete in the Beatdown, an underground fighting tournament in which Ryan is the reigning champion. When Roqua discovers that Jake has fought outside the gym, he kicks him out and tells him not to return. Jake convinces him a short while later to take him back. Roqua puts him through more rigorous training, which he uses as preparation for the Beatdown.

After a workout, Roqua confides in Jake that he is in self-imposed exile from Brazil. His brother was a skilled MMA fighter and had handily beaten a local troublemaker. The man later returned with a gun and murdered him. Their father blames him for the death.

Later, Jake apologizes to Baja for not forgiving her. They playfully forgive each other in Jake's room but are interrupted by Charlie when Baja and Jake want to have sex, and they begin a relationship. He is not interested in competing in the Beatdown like Ryan wants. However, he changes his mind after Ryan severely injures Max, leaving him on Jake's doorstep. After taking Max to the hospital, Jake talks to Roqua about participating in the Beatdown. They initially argue, but he eventually relents and reminds Jake to "control the outcome."

Jake arrives at the tournament, and he and Ryan make their way through each round, each emerging victorious. Jake makes it to the semifinals despite an injury he received in the previous match. Baja arrives to support him and tell him she understands why he insists on fighting so that he would never have to fight again. After learning that Ryan was disqualified in his semifinal match due to an illegal eye gouge, Jake forfeits, seeing no reason to continue.

As Jake and Baja attempt to leave, Ryan confronts him, and they finally fight outside in the parking lot. Jake's injuries limit him, so Ryan, at first, gains the upper hand and applies a choke on Jake. However, he escapes and knocks him out using a Roqua combination. Eventually, Jake wins the respect of his fellow students, including Ryan, and Roqua returns to Brazil to reconcile with his father.

Cast

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  • Sean Farisas Jake "The Gridiron" Tyler, a trouble-prone teenager and the main protagonist.
  • Amber Heardas Baja Miller, Jake's love interest.
  • Cam Gigandetas Ryan "The Terror" McCarthy, Jake's rival, bully, and the main antagonist.
  • Djimon Hounsouas Jean Roqua, Max's mentor who agrees to train Jake.
  • Evan Petersas Max Cooperman, a classmate who introduces Jake to MMA and befriends him.
  • Wyatt Smith as Charlie Tyler, Jake's younger brother
  • Leslie Hopeas Margot Tyler, Jake's mother
  • Chele Andre as Tiffany West, Baja's friend who likes Max.
  • Tilky Jonesas Eric
  • Neil Brown Jr.as Aaron, Ryan's best friend.
  • Lauren Leech as Jenny, Baja's friend who becomes Ryan's new girlfriend.
  • Anthony Matos as Yellow Hummer Crew #1
  • Daniel Hernandez as Yellow Hummer Crew #2
  • Justin A. Williams as Yellow Hummer Crew #3

Production

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The fighter actors went through three months of MMA training before filming began inOrlando,Florida.[2]: 0:39–1:03 

Additionally, an Orlando high school was used when filming:Cypress Creek High School.

Reception

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Box office

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Never Back Downdebuted in 2,729 theaters at #3 with $8,603,195 in the opening weekend. After 2 weeks in cinemas, it garnered $18,890,093; and after one month the film earned $37,676,991 worldwide.[1]

The film closed on June 5, 2008, after 84 days at the North American box office with $41,627,431 worldwide against a budget of $20 million.

Critical response

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OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 22% based on 83 reviews, with an average score of 4.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Though not without its pleasures,Never Back Downfaithfully adheres to every imaginable fight movie cliché ".[3]OnMetacritic,the film has aweighted averagescore of 39 out of 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[4]

Gregory Kirschling ofEntertainment Weeklygave the film a D, calling it "dopey. And with its emphasis on stupid violence, xylophone abs, and getting yourself onYouTube,it's yet another product that makes you feel bad about today's youth culture ".[5]Michael Phillips ofChicago Tribunegave the film two out of four stars, saying "[i]t's a littleKarate Kid,a smidge ofFight Club(with none of the ironic ambivalence toward violence thatDavid Fincherbrought to that story), a lot ofThe O.C.(evil boy Gigandet played an evil boy on that series), and presto: probable hit ".[6]

Richard Roepergave the film a positive review: "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".[7]

Movie historianLeonard Maltincited the picture as "A wildly improbable and cliched, yet entertaining (particularly for fans of this genre), variation onThe Karate Kid...wherein Faris and Heard have theRalph Macchioand (respectively)Elisabeth Shueroles, while Gigandet (who can glare with the best of them) is inWilliam Zabka's...All in all, the filmShowdowntried to be ".[8]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee Result
2008 MTV Movie Award Best Fight Sean FarisandCam Gigandet Won

Home media

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The DVD was released on July 29, 2008, and has so far sold 990,405 units, bringing in $18,495,324 in revenue. This does not include Blu-ray sales.[9]

Anunratedversion called the "Extended Beat Down Edition", featuring nudity and more blood, was released on DVD on July 29, 2008.[10]

Soundtrack

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  1. "Above and Below" –The Bravery
  2. "Anthem for the Underdog"–12 Stones
  3. "Teenagers"–My Chemical Romance
  4. "Someday"–Flipsyde
  5. "Wolf Like Me"–TV on the Radio
  6. "Under the Knife"–Rise Against
  7. "Time Won't Let Me Go"–The Bravery
  8. "Rock Star" –Chamillionaire&Lil Wayne
  9. "Be Safe" –The Cribs
  10. "Headstrong"–Trapt
  11. "False Pretense"–The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
  12. "Orange Marmalade" –Mellowdrone
  13. "You Are Mine" –Mutemath
  14. "Stronger"–Kanye WestfeatDaft Punk
  15. "Crank That (Travis Barker Rock Remix)"–Soulja Boy Tell 'EmandTravis Barker
  16. "The Slam" –TobyMac
  17. "Lights Out" -Breaking Benjamin
  18. "Face the pain" -Stemm
  19. "...To Be Loved"–Papa Roach(featured during theatrical trailer)

The trance track played, when Ryan and his dad argue, is called "Estuera – Tales From The South (Jonas Steur's Flow Revision)", it did not feature on the soundtrack. It's from the albumIn Search of Sunrise 5: Los Angeles–Tiesto.

Sequels

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Main article:Never Back Down (film series)

A 2011sequeltitledNever Back Down 2: The Beatdownwas released withEvan Petersreprising his role as Max Cooperman. Directed byMichael Jai Whitein hisdirectorial debut,the film stars White alongsideAlex Meraz,Jillian Murray,MMAfightersTodd Duffee,Lyoto Machida,Scott Epstein and Australian actor-singerDean Geyer.[11]

A second sequel, released in 2016, titledNever Back Down: No Surrenderwas again directed by White, who also reprises his role as Case Walker. The film also starsJosh Barnett,Gillian Waters, Steven Quardos,Nathan JonesandEsai Morales.

A third sequel, titledNever Back Down: Revolt,which is directed byKellie Madison,was released in 2021. With no returning cast, the movie stars Olivia Popica,Michael Bisping,Brooke Johnston, Vanessa Campos,Diana Hoyos,Neetu ChandraandJames Faulkner.

References

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  1. ^abc"Never Back Down (2008)".
  2. ^"Never Back Down: Cam Gigandet Interview".ScreenSlam. March 13, 2015.RetrievedApril 23,2021.[dead YouTube link]
  3. ^Never Back DownatRotten Tomatoes
  4. ^"Never Back Down".Metacritic.RetrievedMarch 2,2023.
  5. ^Kirschling, Gregory (2008-03-19)."Never Back DownReview ".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved2012-01-14.
  6. ^Phillips, Michael (2008-03-12)."Movie Review:Never Back Down".Chicago Tribune.Retrieved2012-01-14.
  7. ^Richard Roeper(12 February 2021)."Never Back Down".RichardRoeper.com.
  8. ^Maltin's TV, Movie, & Video Guide
  9. ^"The Numbers.com –" Never Back Down "".The-numbers.com.Retrieved2013-07-22.
  10. ^"Never Back Down (Extended Beat Down Edition) DVD Review".IGN. 2008-07-11.Retrieved2021-11-30.
  11. ^"Never Back Down franchise just got Geyer".September 1, 2010.

Bibliography

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