Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown

I was a huge fan of the original "Never Back Down", therefore was looking forward to seeing this follow-up.

In terms of the plot, it is painfully similar to the original, however this is not necessarily a bad thing, as, surprisingly, the same, predictable story line is still entertaining second-time-round. In addition to this, the characters are very similar to those in the first film in many respects, just with a few fresh ideas being introduced.

The action itself is strong; combat is well-acted and every fight scene is relatively convincing, therefore the film succeeds in, arguably, its key area.

In addition to this, Jai White is brilliant and after being impressed by his performance in "Blood and Bone", I was pleasantly surprised to see that his ability has not halted. Furthermore, despite being unsure about his ability as a director, I was equally impressed.

Overall, fans of the original who desire a similar dose of mixed martial arts action, or those who want an enjoyable, solid, MMA-based drama and are not concerned about a lack of depth or originality, should probably give this movie a try, however I'd advise watching the original first, as it is undoubtedly superior.

For an action movie then this was as predictable as they come. Yep, it is one of those movies where an underdog receives a short period of training in martial arts, then rises to the occasion and wins despite impossible odds against many other well-trained combatants.

Story-wise then "Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown" was rather generic and similar to many other similar movies before it. Actually it was almost a frame-by-frame copy of the first movie.

What makes the movie somewhat worthy watching is the fight during the actual Beatdown event, but it doesn't take place before well over an hour into the movie. The rest of the movie was just, sorry to say, a rather mundane story.

As for the acting, well I will say that it was adequate for the particular genre that it is. Just don't get your hopes up for academy award winning performances.

This sequel is a blatant and unnecessary remake of the first "Never Back Down" movie, to the point where it was embarrassing to bear witness to. It wasn't a continuation or anything, and sure it was with other characters, but the plot and storyline was a copy and paste job that was made so hastily.

"Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown" is a mediocre action movie experience, although it does show some impressive fighting skills from Michael Jai White. It might be worth a watch if you enjoy fighting movies that is driven by the action and a solid storyline is left far behind in its wake.

hot chick or 2, fights were OK but not as good as the first film except for the fight where Michael Jai White is hand cuffed and fights off 4 or 5 police men showing his agility. there was some character development but not much, clumsy dialogue - not a lot of complete or realistic conversations, mildly entertaining though i wouldn't watch it twice like you can with some classic martial arts films. Some big plot holes like how a teenage boxer became a mix martial arts fighter with only a few weeks training....... hopefully kids out there don't think that's realistic! they all looked a bit young for MMA - kind of boyband MMA haha

the faults aside it was likable and i was entertained!

The first "Never Back Down" was a MTV inspired version of "Karate Tiger meets Beverly Hills 90210" with a lot of good looking kids (Amber Heard being one of them), some nice fight and training sequences and tons of bad acting and a cheesy script. Never Back Down 2 offers more of the same. Instead of suffering trough the "emotional journey" of one character, the focus is on 4 of them, everyone's motivations and storyline being a thin as the piece of paper, that one characters is hitting for 80 minutes (don't ask, watch it and you'll know). However the fights and training montages are great (especially the sequences with MJW, moving impressively fluid for a guy of his size, and the rad capoeira dances of Meraz) and MJW is as charismatic as ever in this underwritten role as a mentor with a troubled past. Overall the movie is enjoyable if you're not expecting too much and are a fan of MMA-related movies or of cheesy, "so bad that it's fun" 80's karate flicks.

I never saw NEVER BACK DOWN, but this sequel features Michael Jai White so it was a must see for me. Four kids from varied backgrounds get training advice from down-on-his-luck former MMA star and now ex-con Case Walker (White). You have Tim (former UFC fighter Todd Duffee), a college student trying to help make ends meet for his single mom; Zack (Alex Meraz), a former boxer who just had a humiliating loss that resulted in a career ending eye injury; Justin (Scottie Epstein), the comic book geek looking to get revenge on the guys who beat him up; and Mike (Dean Geyer), a college freshman wrestler who falls for Zack's girl and is dealing with the fact that his father left his mom for another man (really!). Can you guess which character ends up going rogue and using his violent tools for bad? They all learn how to enhance their previous skills (boxing, wrestling) in order to become well-rounded mixed martial artists for the upcoming Beatdown show produced by Max (Evan Peters, apparently the only connection to the first film).

Heading direct-to-video, this sequel apparently hits all the same notes as the first film. The drama, for the most part, is very standard stuff, although I did find Case's personal history to be well down. In addition to the lead role as the trainer, Jai White also made his directorial debut here. The man definitely knows his martial arts and should be commended for not only the (mostly) realistic action and training, but also imparting some wisdom in terms of the discipline's mental aspects (watch for a funny bit where he quotes Bruce Lee). He seems to have learned a lot from directors like Isaac Florentine and doesn't cheat during the brawls. It also helps that he had Epstein, who is a black belt in jiu-jitsu, and Eddie Bravo, former UFC commentator and inventor of the rubber guard at 10th Planet, serving as technical consultants for the fights. Of course, you have to take the good with the bad and there are also some more "cinematic" fights. White also has a bizarre love for montages featuring the blandest of generic white boy rock. The acting is pretty good all-around, with surprisingly strong performances from martial artists Epstein and Duffee. I say that after nearly two decades of watching MMA fighters embarrass themselves on film. Look for current UFC light heavyweight Lyoto Machida in a small role as himself.