Never Back Down 2

Never Back Down 2 (2011) | My Rating☛ 5/10 Director: Michael Jai White Writer: Chris Hauty Stars: Stacey Asaro, Gralen Bryant Banks and Rus Blackwell 103 min- Action

What a waste of time....There was nothing in this movie other than Michael Jai White one single fight with the cops. Acting was way below than one could imagine except Michael Jai White. As far as Michael Jai White debut Direction he was OK but still a long way to go. The story goes like this Four fighters different backgrounds come together to train under an ex MMA rising star (Michael Jai White) and then ultimately have to fight each other and the traitor in heir midst. This movie can only be tolerated by those who love to see anything called "action" and die hard fan of MJW. Rest of the people plz don't bother to see.

This so-called sequel to "Never Back Down" actually got nothing to do with it, and it's so bad. The 2008 original is about 100 times better than this one, because it focused on just one young man's emotional journey. But the screenplay of this so-called sequel is so bad and so lame. The casting was also not too good with 4 uninteresting young actors and one very bad female one.

Unless he could find a very strong script and with better casting, MJW should stay away from directing, 'cause it's not good enough.

If this movie was released in theaters, I'd walk out after 30 minutes. Time is not on MJW's side and favored him like before since he's pushing 50,he's gaining weight and his torso looks so pumped up as a middle aged guy.

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.

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.