"Ya' Gotta Mix it Up!"
TheOriginalMily | Tejas, USA | 09/07/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm not even a MMA fan... and I absolutely LOVE this movie!!! I must've watched it at least 10 + times after the first day I got it, I liked it so much. I wasn't even expecting anything special from this movie at all. Especially knowing it was a MMA movie. The back of the DVD and the description on this page summarizes it well. It's pretty much a little bit of "The Karate Kid" mixed with a little bit of "Fight Club." So if you like those movies (or just one or the other), I think you will definitely find some things in this movie entertaining.
Before I couldn't STAND MMA. I seriously HATED it with a PASSION because I thought it was just so stupid! Watching a couple of sweaty, bald, fugly dudes rolling around on the ground inside a caged ring like idiots for how long God knows what...? What was so special and appealing about that?!? But this movie opened my eyes and showed me a little bit about the basics, and what this sport was/is all about!
Yes, it's pretty violent--but hey, this is a Fight/MMA film. If you're not a Fight movie fan, of course you're not going to like it. If you're not a fan of this genre--move on. Stick to your Disney movies. Fight movies SERIOUSLY need to make a huge comeback. Not just with MMA, but with traditional martial arts as well. Just like The late 80s and early 90s when Fight movies were at their prime. How I miss those movies being taken seriously. Anyway, NON-MMA fans, give this movie a chance, just like I did. I think you'll be glad you did.
With plenty of blood, spit, sweat, crazy and deadly "Beat-downs"... As well as....... EYE CANDY ALERT!! EYE CANDY ALERT!! EYE CANDY ALERT!! 'Sean Faris' (the male lead, Jake) looks EXACTLY like a young 'Tom Cruise.' Ryan, who is Jake's vicious and merciless nemesis... well, he is just... OMG... Those wash-board abs!! Those piercing and menacing blue eyes! That golden tan flesh! HAWT! HAWT! HAWT! *fans self* Ladies (and Gents) should not be disappointed in this area of the film, LOL. All of the characters are pretty spunky and have some interesting personalities and backgrounds, too. The MMA Master (or our 'Mr. Miyagi', I guess, if you will), 'Djimon Hounsou', who trains Jake throughout the movie was the PERFECT choice for this role. And how about this... There's an actual plot and a great lesson to be learned here. I certainly wasn't expecting that.
Now, I consider "Never back Down" to be one of my all-time favorite Fight Movies in my collection. Oh, and about MMA--it's certainly not for everybody, but this movie pretty much breaks it down for you if you're interested in knowing at least little bit about the sport. I was not disappointed. Especially since I am currently studying -Aikido-. *dodges stones thrown* I know! I know! I know! Yep. TOTALLY. DIFFERENT. PLANET. I get it. But this movie showed me exactly how essential 'ground-work' is when it comes to mastering, re-mastering, and cross-training into various martial art styles.
So heeey... I actually get it now! "Ya' gotta mix it up!!" ;)"