Independent Films, Film Profiles

Never Back Down

Never Back Down is a 2008 action film starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet, and Djimon Hounsou. It was theatrically released on March 14, 2008.Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) and his high-school football team win an important game. A disgruntled opposing player makes taunts about Jake's father, who was killed because Jake let his father drive intoxicated and failed to stop him. Infamously-hot-tempered Jake starts a brawl with the opposing player. Spectators capture the brawl with mobile phones and video-cameras. Soon, the brawl is uploaded to YouTube.Jake gets thrown off the team for fighting, but takes it in stride because he is leaving this school anyway. He and his younger brother Charlie (Wyatt Henry Smith) are moving with their widowed mom to Orlando, Florida where Charlie has received a tennis scholarship. The Tyler brothers are close despite Jake's penchant for fighting and getting into trouble, which greatly upsets their mom (Leslie Hope).At his new school, Jake has a hard time fitting in. He catches the eye of Baja Miller (Amber Heard), when he rescues her in class by correctly answering the question of "What the pictures on Achilles Shield meant." Later, Jake notices fellow student Max Cooperman (Evan Peters) getting beaten up on campus. Jake rushes to Max's aid, only to discover that the "bullying" he disrupted was actually a street-kickboxing match. Everybody present, including Max, demands that the astonished Jake leave.At school the next day, Max lets it be known that there are videos on the internet of Jake's football brawl, which has gained him a positive reputation on campus. Max invites Jake to come and learn mixed martial arts with his instructor, while Baja invites Jake to a party at her boyfriend Ryan McCarthy's mansion. Jake declines the former offer but accepts the latter. At McCarthy Manor that night, host Ryan (Cam Gigandet) - having seen the internet footage - challenges Jake to demonstrate his brawling prowess in a fight against...Ryan himself. When Jake refuses the challenge, letting Ryan know that Jake came to the party only because Baja invited him. Ryan kisses Baja in front of Jake to verify whose girlfriend she is. Jake realizes that he's being set up, and attempts to leave - until Ryan makes taunts about the disgraceful death of Jake's dad. An angry Jake accepts the challenge but is brutally defeated by Ryan. Baja appears disgusted with Ryan for continually beating on Jake, despite the fact that Jake was obviously down and out.A day later, Max comes to Jake's house, and repeats the invitation to come and learn Mixed Martial Arts from Max's instructor, Jean Roqua (Djimon Hounsou). After careful consideration and thought, Jake accepts. He meets Max at Roqua's gym and is introduced to Roqua himself. Roqua briefly interviews Jake...who, he senses, is there for the wrong reasons. Roqua tells Jake to come back in the morning with Max to begin training in beginners class, but Jake wanted to learn quickly and asked Roqua if he could train with the Advanced Students instead. Max pleads to Roqua that he has tremendous talent, sensing Jake's eagerness, Roqua puts Jake through a series of training circuits to prove his mettle and worth. Nonetheless, Jake is successful and Roqua allows Jake to train with him - on the condition that Jake does not fight anybody for any reason outside the gym. The next morning Jake arrives at 5am to get an early start. Jake notices that Roqua apparently lives in the gym. Roqua allows him into the gym to begin his early workout and notices Jake struggling with the punching bag. Roqua explains to him the philosophy behind proper breathing when hitting. Jake's ego goes into overdrive when he fails to follow Roqua's instruction and blames the bag for being too heavy for his lack of improvement, spurring Roqua to demonstrate the proper technique. Standing stunned, Roqua explains to Jake that "It is not just him, everyone has their fight."The night after Jake's first training session, Baja comes over to his house to apologize for setting him up at the party. Jake quickly retorts after Baja tells him about her school life, saying "Does that mean I'm meant to feel sorry for you because you're popular?" The next day, Baja confronts Ryan and breaks up with him on account that he beat Jake up. In his anger, he grabs Baja's arm and refuses to let go, even after she pleads. Jake appears and attempts to stop it, only to which Ryan insults his late father, saying "You're weak, like your old man... was". This insult has a negative impact on Jake's training that afternoon. At the gym, he is too aggressive, and, Roqua, sensing this, tells him to go home to cool off. Max gives Jake a ride in his Mustang Fastback. At a set of lights, three guys in a yellow Hummer relentlessly and annoyingly beep their horn at Max. Jake, still angry from Ryan's insult, and spurred on by the repetitive horn, goes out to confront the three guys. He beats them all up on the street, and the footage is filmed by Max, and uploaded and spread throughout the internet. This further improves his social profile within the school, now being the second-most popular guy after Ryan. Ryan learns of Jake's brawl and sends a message to him to let him know that he was not impressed with his current escapade. Ryan tells Jake that if he wants revenge then he would have to face him in The Beatdown, an underground tournament where fighters gather to fight and prove who is superior. Ryan had won the tournament twice and uses it as a launching pad for his popularity.The next training session, and unfortunately for Jake, Roqua banishes Jake from training with him because he notices the bruises on his knuckles, a result of the fight. At home, Jake comes to grip with the aftermath of his actions when Charlie comes home with a black eye. Jake's mother blames Jake for his black eye because Charlie wanted to be like him. Charlie later admits that the black eye was a result of a tennis ball hitting him in the eye and not because of a fight, he only said it was because "...it sounded cooler." After hearing this Jake realizes that he wants to train again with Roqua. Jake and Max follow Roqua to a grocery store, where Jake confronts him and admits that Roqua was right: he signed up to train for the wrong reasons. Jake also tells Roqua the late Mr. Tyler's story; evidently, Jake feels that his mother blames him for her husband's demise and he can not control his own emotions because of it. After hearing this, Roqua allows Jake to train with him once again, however, still angered by Jake's earlier betrayal, Roqua decides to no longer take it easy on Jake. Jake is pushed to the limit each session but is quickly rewarded each step of the way as he improves and gains Roqua's trust once gain. Roqua then tells his story: he had a younger brother, who was an excellent mixed-martial artist. One day in a bar, a local bully mouthed off at his brother Joseph and challenged him to a fight. Roqua wanted to fight the bully himself, but Joseph fought instead. His brother won the brawl, only to be shot and killed by the bully. Jean's father blames him for permitting the situation to escalate into violence which could have been avoided. Jean left home over that; he has not seen his father, or even set foot in Brazil, for the past seven years for that reason.No longer angry, Jake declines to enter The Beatdown. Word spreads quickly of Jake's declined invitation and reaches Ryan. Students spread rumors about why it was better for him not to be in the tournament since "Ryan would lose to him anyway." When Ryan discovers this turn of events he invites Max to McCarthy Manor on false pretenses. Max is assaulted and brutally beaten and left barely breathing. Meanwhile, Baja visits Jake at his house. Baja becomes interested in Jakes fighting skills and playfully flirts and challenges him to a fight. After a brief spar, Baja beats Jake and pins him down. Afterwards, they began to kiss. Ryan and his friends then leave Max, barely breathing, on Jake's doorstep. Realizing that Ryan would not stop until he gets what he wanted, Jake decides to enter The Beatdown. Fearing for his family, friends' safety, and Baja, Jake realizes he had to fight. Roqua hears of this as well, and confronts Jake with an ultimatum: Jake will never be allowed near the gym again if he even goes to The Beatdown, much less fights in it. Jake - realizing that Roqua is trying to prevent him from making the same mistake which Roqua himself made with his own father - answers that Roqua's only mistake was not doing what Jake himself is about to do. He says the mistake wasn't brawling; it was evading the conflict at hand, rather than confronting and resolving it. Jake tells Roqua that "doing nothing has consequences too," and "this was his fight." Before Jake leaves, Roqua gives Jake one last bit of advice, "No Matter What. Control the outcome,it's always been on you."At The Beatdown, both Jake and Ryan reach the semifinals. Jake is hurt in the ribs prior to the final bout with Ryan and had to conceal his injury from the referee in order to stay within the tournament. However, Ryan is disqualified for eye-gouging and failed to reach the round which Jake has already advanced to. In view of this, Jake taps one second into his super-final but (because his purpose for entering The Beatdown to begin with is no longer present). Outside the club, Ryan attacks Jake and they have a spectacular brawl in the club parking lot. Ultimately Jake wins the fight.In the 2 Disc and Blu Ray versions, there is a deleted scene where Ryan tries to challenge Jake to a rematch. Jake replies to this by bringing to light the fact the fans are chanting for the rematch unsatisfied with the fight they just saw, and subsequently they want to watch just simply two guys "kill" each other and do not care about the sport itself. This would cause Ryan to realize he had basically been a puppet to gladiatorial combat for the amusement of others and not the one on top and in control he thought he was. Angered and embarrassed he yells at the crowd and runs off.Jake has won the respect of all his yellow students, up to and including Ryan. For the first time in a long while, Roqua closes the gym and goes to visit his family and friends in Brazil.