Expecting a cheap rip off of Fight Club, I was pleasantly surprised by Never Back Down .The story is a tried and true formula: troubled teen comes to new town and has a run in with the school tough guy, largely over a girl. He gets angry and wants revenge but is counselled by a quiet, wise man who slowly gets through to him.
Sound familiar? I must say even though fighting was central, the film borrowed a lot more from The Karate Kid than Fight Club.
What makes this better than the cliched idea it was born from is the lead character Jake Tyler (Sean Faris). There won't be any Oscars but he held the movie together well as far as I'm concerned. Jake is haunted by the death of his father in a car accident where he wasn't strong enough to not allow his dad to drive while drunk.
He sees it as giving in.
That's where Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou) comes in. He's the master of a local `combat club' where angry teens can work out their aggression. He has a rule that no one is to fight outside the club. Of course Jake breaks the rule but is awarded a second chance.
Look, you can pretty much guess where this is headed. Ryan McCarthy (The OC's Cam Gigandet) is the bad guy, looking a lot like Brad Pitt in Fight Club coincidentally.
If you don't take it too seriously and get caught up in the Fight Club comparisons then you'll enjoy it. I certainly did and give it an 8 out of 10.
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