Hooligans 3 - Never Back Down

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Danny (Scott Adkins) turned his back on football violence long ago, and now devotes his life to mixed martial arts fighting, until he learns of the death of his little brother. Determined to find out who is responsible, he returns back to his old stomping ground and sets about trying to turn the new 'firm' from flabby, beer swilling no hopers to the top boys they once were. But along the way, he finds everything is not as it seems.

More 'repellent, brain-numbing bilge' then...obviously the first, direct to DVD sequel to 2005's Green Street did well enough that some bright spark decided a second instalment was needed, with martial arts star Scott Adkins in the lead role. Directed by James Nunn, who previously helmed the infinitesimally superior Tower Block, there is at least a little more meat on the bones and less of a boorish hooliganism love in here, but it still can't help but feel like a meaningless, decidedly odd way to spend film making money.

As others have noted, it seems to have moved away from the original street corner/back alley street fighting and seems to focus more on professional looking fighting (which may explain Adkins in the lead role), with constant references to 'how it's all a lot more organized and sophisticated' now, which further shows how far from the original source material it's strayed. It's filled, as well, with plenty of laughable slow motion, opera drenched 'men marching in to battle' moments and Rocky wannabe training montages. And Adkins is a wooden lead. This series should have been kicked to the touch lines long before it even tried to become a franchise. **

The original Green St didn't need a sequel but we got one all the same and to be fair STAND YOUR GROUND was watchable down to the fact it was unintentionally funny . After all it's not every day you watch a film entirely filmed in an American prison trying to convince its audience that it's set in Britain . To be fair this follow is probably mindful of this hence we get constant establishing shots showing us we are indeed in a cold and cloudy London . This unfortunately is the only thing the film manages to achieve

NEVER BACK DOWN is a cynical exercise in marketing a film as a sequel to another film it has absolutely no connection with . There's no reason what so ever for the words " Green " " Street " or 3 to prefix NEVER BACK DOWN and in reality could easily be a star vehicle for Jean Claude Van Damme since it revolves around martial arts rather than unsophisticated fists and boots

The need to showcase martial arts is what the film concentrates on and as other people have pointed out explanation and exposition is sacrificed to show the protagonists fighting skill . From the outset we get a dialogue free sequence that ends with a couple of heavies getting a good slapping . We also get a long sequence of ramping , ie constant fast motion followed by slow motion most famously seen in 300 . In short it's a film of style over substance that won't appeal to anyone who is after a dramatic movie

I thought the first green st was average and haven't seen the second. This matched the first and seems far fetched in places. Scott Adkins shines with his fighting style however the martial arts don't seem to suit the street brawling you would associate with hooligans

6/10,

See Accident man for Scott Adkins at his best

..... as this felt more like a REAL sequel to first movie. then this silly second sequel. (There are still not connections to first or sequel, it just another stand alone movie in the series)

This movie about old firm lead who decided come back to his old ways after he get called that younger brother as been killed in one of the fights.

We did get to see this at start of the movie, it was little nasty as you seen head get smashed up at start of the movie.

I liked fact the show flashback of him and brother talking in black and white, I thought that good idea and add some thing to movie.

There were sometimes, I felt like I was watching bits rocky at times, with all training scenes, which kind of make movie a bit more slower pace in some places.

Adkins who back to his firm and get there Firm back on top, as battles everyone which each firm.very weekend.

There some okay fighting, here and there but there were lot high kick and kung fu going on in this movie.

And there were some normal fights, which was decent, some fight don't that long at time and some fights feel end in a blink of a eye.

There one or two turns in story that liked, which I thought, it didn't really add much to the rest of the plot/movie

5/10

I'm a huge Scott Adkins fan and will watch him in pretty much anything. I always know going in that I may get a 5-6/10 movie, but the fighting scenes will be amazing. I've yet to be disappointed, until today. I've seen the original Green Street Hooligans and loved it, but knew this wasn't really related, so I went into it for Scott Adkins. Oh, boy.

Another reviewer said this was a typical martial arts movie - this is definitely NOT a martial arts movie! This movie has some training (more like boxing) and some street type fighting, but not very much at all. And don't expect to see the typical Scott Adkins moves we've grown to love. To be believable in this particular role, and I understand why, he's maybe 1/3 of the fighter he normally really is.

If you're going into this movie for the fighting or expecting typical Scott Adkins action, you will be disappointed.

This is not my Scott Adkins or why I watch his movies. :(