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Title: Never Back Down (2008)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Sean Faris | ... | Jake Tyler | |
| Amber Heard | ... | Baja Miller | |
| Cam Gigandet | ... | Ryan McCarthy | |
| Evan Peters | ... | Max Cooperman | |
| Leslie Hope | ... | Margot Tyler | |
| Djimon Hounsou | ... | Jean Roqua | |
| Wyatt Smith | ... | Charlie Tyler | |
| Affion Crockett | ... | Beatdown DJ | |
| Neil Brown Jr. | ... | Aaron | |
| Lauren Leech | ... | Jenny | |
| Tilky Jones | ... | Eric | |
| Steven Crowley | ... | Ben | |
| Tom Nowicki | ... | Mr. Lloyd | |
| Chele André | ... | Max's Girl | |
| Chris Lindsay | ... | Beat Down Referee | |
At his new high school, a rebellious teen Jake Tyler is lured into an ultimate underground fighting club in a Backyard Fight, where he finds a mentor in a mixed martial arts veteran. After receiving threats to the safety of his friends and family, Jake seeks the mentoring of a veteran fighter, to train his mind and body for one final no-holds-barred elimination fight with his unrelenting personal nemesis and local martial arts champion Ryan McCarthy. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}
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The advertisements for this movie do it serious injustice. I was standing in the lobby of a movie theater at a free showing, and almost didn't walk in, because the trailers and ads had me convinced it was a complete waste of time. The advertisements portray the film as being merely a vehicle for shirtless boys to beat on each other and hot girls to wear bikinis. While there is no shortage of either, the movie has a strong underlying theme and a decent plot.
At the thematic level, the movie is about accepting responsibility for your actions, controlling your emotions, and making good choices. It's as much about motivations as macho.
Yes, it is a teen-targeted movie. You've got rich kids running around in massive mansions driving expensive cars, but that's just the setting. You've got people beating the crap out of each other, but that's just a plot device. The heart of the movie is about personal growth and making choices. It's not an empty action flick or a taped brawl.
It's not the best film of the year, and it may well wind up as a late night cable movie in a few months, but it's nowhere near as bad as people expect. It's definitely worth the price of a rental, and worth the $10 to see it in theaters, if you've got no other plans. I blame the negativity largely on the advertising, which tries to sell it as "just another fight movie".