| | | Special Edition.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, Spanish, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1)
Jake (Sean Faris) is the new kid in school. When a beautiful girl (Amber Heard) befriends him, Jake thinks he's set. But instead, her fight-club boyfriend, Ryan (Cam Gigandet), smacks Jake a bloody, black-eyed welcome. Humiliated, Jake then turns to a mixed martial arts (MMA) master (Djimon Hounsou), who teaches him how to fight...and how to walk away. But it becomes obvious that a brutal re-match is inevitable if Jake wants to stop Ryan and his bullying, once and for all.
"A modest surprise: better acted than needed, better made than expected." Jim Ridley, The Village Voice
"...sufficiently well made to work as both teen-angst melodrama and bone-rattling brawl picture." Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide
"It's a little "Karate Kid," a smidge of "Fight Club"...a lot of "The O.C."...and presto: probable hit." Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
""The Karate Kid" meets "Fight Club"..." Nick De Semlyen, Empire
"...set in the hot new arena of mixed martial arts...energetic and warm-hearted..." Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter
Editor's Note
IN THEATRES MARCH 14, 2008 Like THE KARATE KID with a Mixed Martial Arts kick, NEVER BACK DOWN centers on Jake Tyler, a new kid in town whose skills aren't enough to take on the school bully. So Jake begins to study the techniques of the hard-hitting sport under the tutelage of a gifted fighter (Djimon Hounsou, BLOOD DIAMOND), and soon he is able to hold his own both inside and outside of the ring.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Deleted & Extended Scenes | | Director & Cast Audio Commentary | | Featurettes: Blow By Blow - Breaking Down The Fights With The Director & MMA Experts, & Mix It Up - Taking MMA From The Fighting Ring To The Big Screen | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Training Webisodes With Djimon, Sean & Cam |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Never Back Down - DVD Review By: Blake French - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 7/18/2008 5:45 PM | |
As Jake has an emotional breakdown and reveals his inner demons, his mentor listens with an attentive ear... as he browses the shelves for lettuce. That's right, the pivotal scene of Never Back Down takes place in the produce aisle of a grocery store. Did the filmmakers think audiences would take this movie seriously when the drama peaks as the characters are shopping for spinach and romaine? Effective drama can happen in a grocery store. Many priceless movie moments have taken place in unexpected locations. But Never Back Down doesn't bring earnestness and truth to this scene; it just feels awkward and clueless. There's also a scene where Jake breaks out his newly learned karate moves when a car behind him honks at a stop sign....read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: UNI DIST CORP. (SUMMIT) |
| Release Date: 7/29/2008 |
| Running Time: 113 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2008 | | Catalog ID: 66105148 | | UPC: 00025195043236 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
MTV Award (2008) | | | Sean Faris, Cam Gigandet, Nominee, Best Fight |
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| | Professional Reviews | Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t happily wears its influences like a badge of honour....With bruising hand-to-hand fights..." 05/01/2008 p.44Reel.com 5 of 10
As Jake has an emotional breakdown and reveals his inner demons, his mentor listens with an attentive ear... as he browses the shelves for lettuce. That's right, the pivotal scene of Never Back Down takes place in the produce aisle of a grocery store...The list of awkward scenes could continue. In fact, Never Back Down is awkward and clueless throughout. It's loud, flashy, brawny, and fast-paced, but it doesn't have a brain behind its assets...Never Back Down delivers cliche after cliche. Jake (Sean Faris) is a tough kid from the Midwest with a troubled past. After his younger brother is offered an opportunity in Orlando, he leaves high school football fame in Iowa and relocates with his family. All the while, Jake's mother (Leslie Hope) desperately tries to hold the family together as they mourn the recent loss of the man of the house...Yet, despite its never-ending list of flaws, Never Back Down is visually and audibly stimulating, complete with a catchy soundtrack, creative camera zooms and angles, ultra-loud sound effects, and CGI-enhanced hardbodies. In fact, the film might be worth a look if you're in the mood for a brainless, numbing, recycled heap that will assault your senses, and there is an audience who loves this kind of movie. Imagine if Fight Club impregnated Step Up. Their bastard child would be Never Back Down. - Blake French
San Francisco Chronicle 5 of 10
"Never Back Down" is a junior version of "Fight Club," only with no movie stars and different moves. The killer sport practiced by a group of Orlando teens is called mixed martial arts - or MMA, as insiders say. It's a combination of wrestling, karate, judo, sambo and other exotic disciplines...Jeff Wadlow, who won a contest paying $1 million to make his first film, "Cry Wolf," directs "Never Back Down" at a frenzied pace as if building up anticipation for Jake and Ryan's first rumble. Jake's flashbacks to his father's death appear in fast motion...Faris is movie-star handsome but rather stiff in scenes calling for him to be emotional. You don't buy his attachment to Baja. Heard is more energetic during the romantic parts, but the costume department isn't doing her any favors by dressing her so scantily. Most of the men in the audience will have their attention diverted from whatever she has to say. Gigandet, the best known of the trio from his starring role on "The OC," shamelessly overacts, flaring his nostrils to show Ryan's contempt for Jake..."Never Back Down" pretty much goes by the book for this kind of movie. But one scene sticks out. In a classic literature course, the teacher asks about the significance of Achilles' shield. From the students' interest, you wonder if they're thinking it could come in handy at the next MMA meet. - Ruthe Stein
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