New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

48 21
80 Band's Visit, The
69 Bank Job, The
83 Chop Shop
64 Chronicle of an Escape
46 CJ7
36 College Road Trip
68 Cool School, The
78 Counterfeiters, The
35 Deal
51 Doomsday
58 Felon
59 Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour
57 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55 Irina Palm
79 Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
69 Last Winter, The
38 Life Before Her Eyes, The
30 Meet Bill
33 Miss Conception
63 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
71 My Brother Is an Only Child
39 Never Back Down
55 Nim's Island
48 Penelope
17 Prom Night
xx Rogue
44 Ruins, The
76 Shine a Light
37 Shutter
40 Sleepwalking
57 Smart People
50 Step Up 2 the Streets
61 Stop Loss
55 Street Kings
33 Superhero Movie
72 Surfwise
54 Tracey Fragments, The
55 Turn the River
55 Without the King
67 Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Never Back Down
Summit Entertainment


7.6

based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 67 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

Cry_Wolf

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...

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Formulaic and derivative, but sufficiently well made to work as both teen-angst melodrama and bone-rattling brawl picture.

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.

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.

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.

Village Voice Jim Ridley

A modest surprise: better acted than needed, better made than expected.

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.

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.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Jeff Wadlow directed this exploitation flick, which seems designed for students on spring break.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

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

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

A disposable sports drama.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

A junior version of "Fight Club," only with no movie stars and different moves.

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.

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

Borrows from other movies almost shamelessly.

Film Threat Felix Vasques Jr.

About as bland, predictable, and self-important as you’d expect.

Empire Nick De Semlyen

"The Karate Kid" meets "Fight Club" but it's no way near as good as it sounds.

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."

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.

New York Post Kyle Smith

A formula flick that should have tapped out in the script stage.

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.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Reprehensible.

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.

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 7.6 (out of 10) based on 67 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kevin F gave it a5:
Not as bad as Haold and Kumar. A worthy effort for a so so script.

Alec B. gave it a3:
Tom Best basically did wrap this movie up. The movie looked good to be honest but fell so far from the goal line. At least if you threw in some actors that people know of then the movie would have been good. Go watch Fight Club way better fighting movie then this crap

nicole a. gave it a10:
10 out of 10 for sure!!!!!!!!!!! this is my favorite movie and i never get tired of watching it over and over again. the actors were great picks!! i think the same as another person in here that said that the older people who rate these movies wont like it as much as us teens do. cuz me and all my friends luv luv luved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #1 movie if u ask me!!!!

Jay H. gave it a5:
Not very interesting story, rather mundane and it has all been done so often before. I had a hard time staying interested in the film.

Chloe A. gave it a10:
Thought this movie was absolutely amazing, had you attached till the very end, would recommend it to anyone who loves action fight kinda movies. Buying it as soon as it comes out

savannah h gave it a10:
One of the best movies ive seen in a while, I really connected with the story line and the characters.

Michelle M. gave it a10:
Great movie!! I love the music in this movie!!!

Never Back Down Summit Entertainment

Never Back Down
Summit Entertainment