Never Back Down(2008)
** / ****
I agree with others as it came to my mind as well, the fact that NEVER BACK DOWN is an obvious clone of THE KARATE KID about a fatherless young man whose mom moves him to Orlando where he must contend with a mean bully whose reputation as a superior fighter gives him an advantage when confrontations occur.
Sean Faris is Jake Tyler, who becomes a good fighter(full contact fighting replaces the more civilized karate tourney from THE KARATE KID)thanks to a mentor in mixed martial arts, who teaches him the ropes. Djimon Hounsou is Jean Roqua, Jake's teacher and "counselor" as there's no other father figure in the young man's life.
Cam Gigandet is the hostile teen, Ryan McCarthy, who relishes his abilities to pummel Jake, and we get a look at why he's such a sadistic son of a bitch, a father who has obviously demanded nothing but discipline and excellence from his son..he's not strict in regards to his son's extra curricular activities, but no disrespect because his father is into bodybuilding as well. Ryan's father has molded this bastard into a repulsive cretin needing his ass kicked one good time to straighten him out. As you would expect, Jake soon is up for the challenge when Ryan beats up his friend Max(Evan Peters)so bad he ends up in a hospital.
I have passed by as my wife watches NEVER BACK DOWN on occasion, and it kind of disturbs me that so many kids seem to do whatever the hell they want, the movie again questioning parents and their roles in the lives of their children. These teenagers seem to have all this freedom to do whatever they want, and many of them seem to congregate at Ryan's palatial home. Ryan is the "cool" one many of them wish to emulate and admire, but to me his personality is one to avoid at all costs. He exists to fight. He lives, breathes, shits bashing on bodies until those victimized suffer internal bleeding, external bruising, or worse. I consider people like Ryan the lowest form of human being imaginable. He works out all the time, carries that cocky demeanor that sickens me, and surrounds himself with others who seem to worship at his alter. It's easy to root for Jake, because Ryan's such a shitheel.
There is plenty of eye candy for the gals(and gay guys)in NEVER BACK DOWN, plenty of buff bodies and cut abs, and I reckon this is one of the appeals to my wife, which contributes to why it is always on. I pass by to watch it when Amber Heard pops back up, but other than that I kind of find it a chore to sit through because this forumla is evaporating to me. It's not the fighting, which is energetically shot by the filmmakers, trying to make up for a routine, tired story. I've seen this crap over and over, new pretty boys and chicks supplementing older ones. You do see fighting in abundance with poor Jake a lot of times on the recieving end of Ryan's blows. There is a tournament, the kind of underground set up with an army of jubulant youth cheering and shouting as teenagers engage in combat, beating each other senseless. This is the kind of "sport" a person like Ryan would fit perfectly into; I imagine he'd make the perfect gladiator for the decadent citizens of Rome. Jake has heart and soul, but lacks the savagery Ryan has ingrained in his psyche. Amber Heard is the beauty who comes between the two competitors(just guess who she eventually sides with).
So, THE KARATE KID is an obvious influence. The girl once connected to the bully, soon falling for the hero. The mentor with knowledge of the martial arts lending his expertise to the kid, but molding him into more than a fighting machine, a better human being.
I agree with others as it came to my mind as well, the fact that NEVER BACK DOWN is an obvious clone of THE KARATE KID about a fatherless young man whose mom moves him to Orlando where he must contend with a mean bully whose reputation as a superior fighter gives him an advantage when confrontations occur.
Sean Faris is Jake Tyler, who becomes a good fighter(full contact fighting replaces the more civilized karate tourney from THE KARATE KID)thanks to a mentor in mixed martial arts, who teaches him the ropes. Djimon Hounsou is Jean Roqua, Jake's teacher and "counselor" as there's no other father figure in the young man's life.
Cam Gigandet is the hostile teen, Ryan McCarthy, who relishes his abilities to pummel Jake, and we get a look at why he's such a sadistic son of a bitch, a father who has obviously demanded nothing but discipline and excellence from his son..he's not strict in regards to his son's extra curricular activities, but no disrespect because his father is into bodybuilding as well. Ryan's father has molded this bastard into a repulsive cretin needing his ass kicked one good time to straighten him out. As you would expect, Jake soon is up for the challenge when Ryan beats up his friend Max(Evan Peters)so bad he ends up in a hospital.
I have passed by as my wife watches NEVER BACK DOWN on occasion, and it kind of disturbs me that so many kids seem to do whatever the hell they want, the movie again questioning parents and their roles in the lives of their children. These teenagers seem to have all this freedom to do whatever they want, and many of them seem to congregate at Ryan's palatial home. Ryan is the "cool" one many of them wish to emulate and admire, but to me his personality is one to avoid at all costs. He exists to fight. He lives, breathes, shits bashing on bodies until those victimized suffer internal bleeding, external bruising, or worse. I consider people like Ryan the lowest form of human being imaginable. He works out all the time, carries that cocky demeanor that sickens me, and surrounds himself with others who seem to worship at his alter. It's easy to root for Jake, because Ryan's such a shitheel.
There is plenty of eye candy for the gals(and gay guys)in NEVER BACK DOWN, plenty of buff bodies and cut abs, and I reckon this is one of the appeals to my wife, which contributes to why it is always on. I pass by to watch it when Amber Heard pops back up, but other than that I kind of find it a chore to sit through because this forumla is evaporating to me. It's not the fighting, which is energetically shot by the filmmakers, trying to make up for a routine, tired story. I've seen this crap over and over, new pretty boys and chicks supplementing older ones. You do see fighting in abundance with poor Jake a lot of times on the recieving end of Ryan's blows. There is a tournament, the kind of underground set up with an army of jubulant youth cheering and shouting as teenagers engage in combat, beating each other senseless. This is the kind of "sport" a person like Ryan would fit perfectly into; I imagine he'd make the perfect gladiator for the decadent citizens of Rome. Jake has heart and soul, but lacks the savagery Ryan has ingrained in his psyche. Amber Heard is the beauty who comes between the two competitors(just guess who she eventually sides with).
So, THE KARATE KID is an obvious influence. The girl once connected to the bully, soon falling for the hero. The mentor with knowledge of the martial arts lending his expertise to the kid, but molding him into more than a fighting machine, a better human being.
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