the Mind’s Chew Toy

Synopsis:

Jake Tyler (Faris), a recent transfer student with a troubled past, is unwittingly pulled into a fight with school bully Ryan McCarthy (Gigandet) after following the flirtatious Baja (Heard) to a party. After being humiliated by Ryan, Jake discovers Mixed Martial Arts from a classmate and is introduced to Jean Roqua (Hounsou), who agrees to train Jake. But it’s up to Jake to have the patience and desire needed in order to succeed.

Our Thoughts:

The first time I heard about Never Back Down, I figured it’d do well with teens, but not anyone looking for a real plot - after all, we already saw this movie with a bit of a plot back in the days of the Cuba Gooding, Jr. starrer Gladiator (not to be confused with Russell Crowe’s epic crapfest Gladiator).

This time around, we’ve got kids who’ve starred in “The O.C.” (Giganet) and Alpha Dog (Heard) teaming up for a film that looks to be re-introducing Gladiator (which basically re-introduced Rocky to that generation) to the new generation. Toss in a pounding soundtrack, quick and flashy fight scenes and combine it with the recent Mixed Martial Arts rage, and it looks like a movie teenyboppers will flock to this March.

Sure, it probably won’t be that great, but the fight scenes will probably at least get the adrenaline pumping. Just the thing for a Friday movie night after a long week of work - but, despite an appearance by Djimon Hounsou, not worth paying the big bucks for.

Let the teenyboppers waste their parents’ cash at the theaters, I’ll wait for this one to hit DVD and watch Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s Gladiator again while I wait.