Never Back Down - Combattimento letale

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.

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.

Much like the first movie this revolves around a bunch of guys trying to prove themselves, but unlike the first this is multi-starrer. But all the expectations can be kicked out within a few minutes into the movie. Bad acting by all of them (except for Michael White),no proper background to the characters, the characters aren't developed enough, lack of emotion and a few other traits add up to a very disappointing watch. You feel like you are just sitting there seeing a bunch of characters in scene after scene just stringed together. In some particular instances the movie makes no sense what so ever. The first movie was filled with emotions creating a reason for Jake Tyler(Sean Farris) to fight his way into the beatdown,but here it just a group of guys swearing at an alarming rate fighting each other. There are a few saving graces though, like the training sessions where you can see some insane work-out methods. All in all an average movie.

Just an action movie, without trying to be melodramatic. Yes, it's about 5 guys (including the mentor) with personal problems that seek the answer in training and fighting. There's not much background on the characters - but it's not necessarily bad. Sometimes the director is forcefully trying to make us like some character by making him/her an orphan, or raised by only one parent, or evil step parents, and also having an ill sibling, and no money of course. Did I mention that other kids/people trying to step on them, beat them, or kill them perhaps ?

There is no much character development in the movie, maybe except of Justin, but there is character portrayal. It's not hard to understand what kind of person each (and here I think that Michael Jay White did a great job). They all have got problems, but it's not like their world is collapsing on them. At least their not showing it to us - and I think that's good, since the fighter in them becomes more believable that way.

I agree that the acting is slightly wooden. And it's irritating at first, though I did get accustomed to it. Surprisingly, it's not full of clichés (though there are some), and the dialogs are not stupid, because the characters don't say obvious things.

The fighting is satisfying enough. After all, this is the reason I've watched that movie.

I certainly disagree with those saying first Never Back Down was better. This movie has almost no plot, but the first one was just stupid. The director of the original tried to make me like Jack Tyler by the usual trick - making him miserable but struggling. And Cam Giganet's character is barely watchable. He's just not acting like a fighter. The other fighters look more like a clowns. Fight choreography in the original is nowhere near this one. And all unnecessary shots from smart-phone make me ask the question, why watching the first Never Back Down movie ?? For the action - it's not worth it. The drama - not interesting and nothing new.

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.