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34
10,000 B.C.
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36
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82
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31
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41
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57
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67
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54
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49
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34
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57
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78
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71
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61
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65
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79
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57
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35
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73
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24
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37
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51
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43
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58
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48
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55
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22
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69
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44
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53
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76
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37
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35
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37
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xx
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61
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47
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55
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33
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93
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64
Wanted
36
What Happens in Vegas...
xx
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
54
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93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
51
Mamma Mia!
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
43
Meet Dave
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
35
Space Chimps
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
xx
Step Brothers
xx
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
65
American Teen
39
August
59
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80
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76
Beauty in Trouble
79
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47
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80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
60
Blind Mountain
68
Boy A
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
70
Brideshead Revisited
xx
Bustin' Down the Door
xx
Canary
70
Caramel
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
82
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
xx
CSNY: Déjà Vu
75
Days and Clouds
48
Death Defying Acts
54
Diminished Capacity
47
Doorman, The
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
27
Eight Miles High
54
Elsa & Fred
81
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
56
Felon
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
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63
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60
Fugitive Pieces
72
Full Battle Rattle
45
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31
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55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
Go-Getter, The
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
59
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10
Harold
68
Heartbeat Detector
36
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68
Honeydripper
55
Irina Palm
66
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58
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66
Kabluey
62
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63
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80
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38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
72
Lou Reed's Berlin
70
Love Songs
67
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65
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84
Man on Wire
64
Married Life
30
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33
Miss Conception
53
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74
Mongol
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
85
My Winnipeg
xx
No Regret
61
On the Rumba River
69
Operation Filmmaker
65
Order of Myths, The
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
70
Outsourced
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
Promotion, The
55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
Roman de gare
77
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
56
Sangre de mi sangre
51
Savage Grace
76
Shotgun Stories
66
Son of Rambow
70
Standard Operating Procedure
57
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61
Stuck
72
Surfwise
25
Take
81
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
70
Transsiberian
71
Trumbo
71
Tuya's Marriage
xx
Two Tickets to Paradise
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
59
Very British Gangster, A
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
37
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65
Water Lilies
66
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55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
85
My Winnipeg
84
Man on Wire
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
82
Chris & Don. A Love Story
81
Tell No One
81
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
80
Last Mistress, The
79
Reprise
79
Visitor, The
79
Before I Forget
78
Counterfeiters, The
77
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
76
Shotgun Stories
76
Beauty in Trouble
75
Young@Heart
75
Days and Clouds
74
Mongol
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Lou Reed's Berlin
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Full Battle Rattle
72
Priceless
72
Surfwise
71
Tuya's Marriage
71
Trumbo
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Transsiberian
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Brideshead Revisited
70
Love Songs
70
Outsourced
70
Caramel
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Go-Getter, The
68
Boy A
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
67
Mad Detective
66
Son of Rambow
66
Jellyfish
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
66
Kabluey
65
American Teen
65
Man Named Pearl, A
65
Order of Myths, The
65
Water Lilies
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Expired
62
Kiss the Bride
61
Brick Lane
61
Stuck
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
Wackness, The
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Blind Mountain
59
Baghead
59
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
59
Very British Gangster, A
58
Jihad for Love, A
57
Flawless
57
Stone Angel, The
56
Felon
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Diminished Capacity
54
Tracey Fragments, The
54
Elsa & Fred
53
Mister Lonely
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
48
Death Defying Acts
47
Doorman, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
39
August
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
36
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
31
Garden Party
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
27
Eight Miles High
25
Take
10
Harold
xx
Bustin' Down the Door
xx
CSNY: Déjà Vu
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
xx
Two Tickets to Paradise
xx
No Regret
xx
Canary
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Never Back Down
Summit Entertainment
 |
|
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for mature thematic material involving intense sequences of fighting/violence, some sexuality, partying and language - all involving teens
Starring
Sean Faris,
Djimon Hounsou,
Cam Gigandet,
Amber Heard,
Evan Peters,
and
Wyatt Smith
Jake Tyler never goes looking for trouble, but it always seems to find him. Since the breakup of his parents' marriage, it's everywhere he turns. Freshly transplanted from a sleepy Iowa town to the heat and flash of new-money Orlando, Florida, Jake seems headed for even more rocky terrain as he is pulled into an underground fighting league--a kind of fight club for teens. With the help of his new group of friends--a fight and life-savvy coach, a free-thinking and adventurous girlfriend, and a scrawny but charming best friend--Jake manages to rise above the chaos around him. But just as he's beginning to feel like he's in control, his world is turned upside down once again by an unrelenting campaign to get him back in the ring. (Summit Entertainment)
| GENRE(S): |
Action
|
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Chris Hauty
Sean Faris
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Jeff Wadlow
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: July 29, 2008
Theatrical: March 14, 2008
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
75
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Formulaic and derivative, but sufficiently well made to work as both teen-angst melodrama and bone-rattling brawl picture.

70
The Hollywood Reporter
Stephen Farber
Although the movie set in the hot new arena of mixed martial arts is a bit short on star power, it's energetic and warm-hearted enough to become a word-of-mouth hit.

63
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
The movie is just a cheesy, preposterous, semi-eroticized way of yelling, "Fight! Fight!," when two people go at it in the school cafeteria.

60
Variety
John Anderson
Best part, though, is the cast: Everyone's a model, everyone beats each other half to death, and no one looks as if they've ever suffered so much as a coldsore.

60
Village Voice
Jim Ridley
A modest surprise: better acted than needed, better made than expected.

50
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
It’s a little “Karate Kid,” a smidge of “Fight Club” (with none of the ironic ambivalence toward violence that David Fincher brought to that story), a lot of “The O.C.” (evil boy Gigandet played an evil boy on that series), and presto: probable hit.

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Director Jeff Wadlow and screenwriter Chris Hauty are so committed to following through on the "Karate Kid" formula that they don't care for novelty; it's enough for them just to hit their cues and play up the slo-mo MMA brutality. In the future, movies this derivative will be made by robots.

50
Chicago Reader
Andrea Gronvall
Jeff Wadlow directed this exploitation flick, which seems designed for students on spring break.

50
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
This movie isn't bad just because it follows a formula slavishly but because it does so without verve or passion.

50
Los Angeles Times
Jan Stuart
A disposable sports drama.

50
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
A junior version of "Fight Club," only with no movie stars and different moves.

50
New York Daily News
Joe Neumaier
By the time ever-noble, ever-watchable Djimon Hounsou shows up to teach earnest young Jake honor and roundhouse kicks, the power-rock and smashmouth idiocy become like a fever dream, sweaty and hard to shake off.

50
Austin Chronicle
Steve Davis
Borrows from other movies almost shamelessly.

40
Film Threat
Felix Vasques Jr.
About as bland, predictable, and self-important as you’d expect.

40
Empire
Nick De Semlyen
"The Karate Kid" meets "Fight Club" but it's no way near as good as it sounds.

38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Jason McBride
At times, the film is more fun than it deserves to be, and it's probably a lot more fun if you're a 13-year-old with an addiction to "Bully: Scholarship Edition."

30
The New York Times
Jeannette Catsoulis
The movie speeds up and slows down as though controlled by a director in the grip of competing medications. For those who make it to the final beatdown, however, the only pill worth taking is the one that makes you forget.

25
New York Post
Kyle Smith
A formula flick that should have tapped out in the script stage.

25
Entertainment Weekly
Gregory Kirschling
Movie is dopey. And with its emphasis on stupid violence, xylophone abs, and getting yourself on YouTube, it's yet another product that makes you feel bad about today's youth culture.

25
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
Reprehensible.

25
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
While too bland and stupid to be offensive, Never Back Down spouts a hollow message of nonviolence while celebrating the brutal satisfaction of beating the crap out of someone.

20
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Sitting through this is groan-inducing enough, but it's spiritually depressing to watch Djimon Hounsou, who deserves better.


The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 48 User Votes
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