CINEMA: Never Back Down

Haneke’s theory that the casual way violence is handled in American movies desensitises the audience comes to mind on viewing this decidedly slick, but entirely gratuitous film, about bare knuckle fighting.

Angry young man Jake (Sean Tyler) arrives at yet another new school hoping to leave his violent past behind him, only to discover his pugilistic reputation has got there before him. He’s tricked into fighting the school’s premier martial arts practitioner Ryan (Cam Gigandet) and gets well and truly beaten, but this lesson in humiliation leads him to the martial arts classes of master practitioner Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou), and under his tutelage Jake knows that if Ryan ever comes gunning for him again, he’ll be able to hold his own.

The film’s production values are excellent with lots of extra quick cuts, an impossibly beautiful and buff cast, a pounding soundtrack, and expertly choreographed fight scenes. But ultimately, this is an exercise in style over substance; the storyline is crass and unsophisticated, while the film positively wants the audience to become a braying mob, egging the guys on to ever more brutal fights.

Your enjoyment of the film will depend entirely on how much you like watching two young men beat the hell out of each other in slow motion on the big screen.     Dee Pilgrim