Never Back Down

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Never Back Down

PG-13

2008

1h 54m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

21%

Tomatometer

82 Reviews

35%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Jake (Sean Faris) moves to Orlando, Fla., with his mother (Leslie Hope) and brother (Wyatt Smith). He feels like an outsider in his new school and frequently lets his temper flare out of control. But Jake wants to fit in, and he decides to go to a party with his classmate Baja (Amber Heard). There, Jake is pushed into a fight and humiliated. Another classmate (Evan Peters) sees what happened, and encourages Jake to visit martial arts trainer Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou).

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Critics Consensus

Though not without its pleasures, Never Back Down faithfully adheres to every imaginable fight movie cliché.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Oct 18, 2008

1/5

A naive and truly obnoxious movie about the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

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Steve Davis

Austin Chronicle

Oct 18, 2008

2.5/5

While the character of Jake isn't an emotionally taxing one, Faris has his moments, especially in a low-key scene in which he attempts to explain why his character is full of rage.

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Tim Grierson

Screen International

Jul 23, 2008

A generic, violent underdog story that pays a lot of lip service to non-violence when its characters aren't busy kicking and punching the tar out of each other.

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James Croot

The Post NZ

Mar 16, 2023

Once again Wadlow does his best to keep a tired-looking format looking fresh with plenty of camera trickery and CSI-style anatomy lessons to liven up the fight scenes. Unfortunately, his good work is undermined by the cast's perfect teeth

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S. Jhoanna Robledo

Common Sense Media

Dec 31, 2010

2/5

Bloody fight film has heart, but it's no champion.

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Bullz-Eye.com

Oct 18, 2008

2.5/5

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Jeff H

@RT22857732 2 days ago

I don't get all the poor reviews, this was a solid movie and liked the MMA theme.....Thumbs up!

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Trey P

@RT45577160 Aug 4, 2026

I don't get all these negative reviews. It's a good story, great soundtrack and one of my favorite MMA movies of all time.

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Ste S

@RT92740883 Aug 3, 2026

The film delivers everything you want! I hate some reviews looking for perfection. Sometimes you want an easy watch - it does what it’s meant to do. With some emotional triggers to relationships, honestly this film is easily 80/100 if you want what the expectation delivers

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Noel L

@RT15930389 Jun 14, 2026

Yes some of the dialogue is dumb and there is overacting, but it's basically the modern day mixed martial arts version of The Karate Kid

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G B.

@gdizzle77 May 3, 2026

BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. Simple as that.

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Nathan M

@RT31632855 Mar 23, 2026

If the acting were a little better this could have been an average movie.

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Jeff Wadlow

Director

Djimon Hounsou

Jean Roqua

Sean Faris

Jake Tyler

Amber Heard

Baja Miller

Cam Gigandet

Ryan McDonald

Leslie Hope

Margot

Never Back Down: Official Clip - Tyler vs. Dak-Ho

1:40

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Training With Roqua

2:17

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Jake's Apology

1:54

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Show Me What You Got

2:14

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Intimidation

1:08

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Road Rage

1:18

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - The Final Fight

2:59

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Learning to Breathe

2:00

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - Party Beatdown

2:28

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Never Back Down: Official Clip - First Lesson

1:41

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Synopsis

Jake (Sean Faris) moves to Orlando, Fla., with his mother (Leslie Hope) and brother (Wyatt Smith). He feels like an outsider in his new school and frequently lets his temper flare out of control. But Jake wants to fit in, and he decides to go to a party with his classmate Baja (Amber Heard). There, Jake is pushed into a fight and humiliated. Another classmate (Evan Peters) sees what happened, and encourages Jake to visit martial arts trainer Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou).

Director: Jeff Wadlow
Producer: Craig Baumgarten, David Zelon
Screenwriter: Chris Hauty
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Production Co: Mandalay Pictures, Summit Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Intense Sequences of Fighting|All Involving Teens|Some Sexuality|Language|Mature Thematic Material|Partying)
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 14, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 20, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.8M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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