How desperate for work could Djimon Hounsou possibly be?
A gifted actor who received Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in Blood Diamond and In America, Hounsou’s appearance in Never Back Down alongside a cast of high school soap-opera alums is bewildering, to say the least. The film, of course, is far from decent, but one could certainly make the argument that it does hold its own as one of the most enjoyably awful movies of the year.
When Jake Tyler (Sean Faris, Reunion) moves to Orlando to support his younger brother’s aspiring tennis career, all he brings with him are his scattered belongings and a troubled past. His reputation as a brash fighter with a volatile personality precedes him, and it isn’t long before a student named Max Cooperman (Evan Peters, Mama’s Boy) is introducing him to the underground world of mixed martial arts.
When word of Jake’s ability reaches Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet, The O.C.), the regional MMA champion wants to see how he stacks up against a new adversary. After being embarrassed in his first bout with Ryan, Jake goes under the tutelage of Jean Roqua (Hounsou), a legend in MMA who ends up teaching him more about life than just how to fight.
There are two clear sides to director Jeff Wadlow’s (Cry Wolf) film. The narrative side shows why writer Chris Hauty (Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco) hasn’t written a movie in 12 years, as the predictable script is plagued with dreadful lines such as, “Your handwriting is harder to read than The Iliad” and “Babes – the one thing better than brawling.” Furthermore, when seemingly every character is given an identical sob story to tell from their past, the attempt at giving the plot some depth only makes it feel more artificial.
The better side of the movie relies heavily on its action sequences. Clever editing and cinematography combined with excellent work by fight choreographers Damon Caro (Live Free or Die Hard) and Jonathan Eusebio (Balls of Fury) make for some highly entertaining fight scenes. Outside the gym, there are subtle cinematic touches, such as shooting in Jake’s home with a handheld camera to symbolize the state of his broken household, that show the film does have at least some artistic merit.
Hauty tries to add some spice to the story by developing a romance between Jake and McCarthy’s girlfriend, Baja Miller (Amber Heard, Hidden Palms). But to say the relationship is unconvincing and shallow would be a tremendous understatement. Thanks to Heard’s truly awful performance, Baja comes across as a superficial, unintelligent flirt who knows that her looks are all she has going for her. The writing for the pair turns out to be no better – one moment they’re pissed off at each other, the next they’re inexplicably making out.
Meanwhile, loading the soundtrack with music from the likes of Kanye West, Soulja Boy and My Chemical Romance, while constantly filling the screen with half-naked girls and ripped, shirtless guys, gives the impression that the movie is just trying too hard to make up for its lack of substance.
If there is one scene that summarizes Never Back Down perfectly, it is when Jake and Max are stopped at a red light and the Hummer behind them gets a little close to their bumper. Jake gets out of the car and curiously proceeds to beat the shit out of all three guys in the Hummer, leaving the audience doing three things: cheering, laughing and asking, “What the hell just happened?”
tfloyd1@umd.edu
RATING: 2 STARS OUT OF 5
