Never Back Down

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: With help from a wise mentor (Djimon Hounsou), a teenager (Sean Faris) turns to the world of underground mixed martial arts fighting to overcome anger and frustrations over a tragic event in his past that he feels responsible for.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Sean Faris, Djimon Hounsou, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet, Evan Peters, Wyatt Smith, Leslie Hope

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. In this homo-erotically charged mash up of a modern day Karate Kid crossed with an iphone commercial, you’ll get exactly what the ads promise. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the fight sequences are pretty exciting, but it’s all been done and seen before. And been done way better.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You’ll think it should have made you laugh way more, except when you’re laughing at the unintentional humor. Which you’ll enjoy doing more than once.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you’ve ever had a cracked rib, this movie might bring back those painful memories, and in so doing, make you cry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I’m sure there’s an MTV Movie Award nomination in its future for Best Fight. And I’ll go out on a limb and say maybe even for Best Kiss (even though it’s just the plain old heterosexual kind).

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Better than expected. Hounsou is magnetic no matter the material and he’s a large presence in this despite playing a supporting role. And even though some of the “teen” leads are surely teetering on the edge of 30 in real life, they’re all quite good. Suspension of belief will be needed, but at least you won’t be cringing over line readings.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Pretty darn good. The mixed martial arts fighting style really pops and is extremely well choreographed and shot. It’s probably the only reason anyone is seeing this movie, and it won’t disappoint in that regard. Okay, so some people are also going so they can see Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet with their shirts off… and let’s just say that if the director was responsible for that, too, then even more kudos.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Pretty formulaic. At least it pays lip-service to some character development and back story, which elevates it slightly from a straight ahead beat-a-thon. And it also deserves credit for putting forth a strong message about accepting personal responsibility and coming to terms with the bad choices we all make in life.

Back To Top

Step Up 2 The Streets

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A young street dancer from the bad part of town, gets a chance to dance with the rich kids from the fancy dance school, and ends up having to battle her old crew from the streets.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Cassandra Ventura, Danielle Polanco, Black Thomas, Will Kemp and a whole mess of dancers.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you enjoyed the first one, then you may as well Bring it On, and Stomp the Yard, because somebody's gonna Get Served! What I'm trying to say is that if you've seen the first one or any of the movies in the aforementioned sentence you know this story by heart... But dance movies are always a good time!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It takes a while to get there, but finally shows up in the form of an Asian Woman.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If anyone cries in this movie, I will personally buy them a lollipop.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Are they eligible to win Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew on MTV?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The lead girl in this one is a much better actress than the girl from Step Up the first, and cuter, too. She looks like Hayden Panettiere with brown hair. Her male counterpart is also a cutey, but when he starts dancing you can't help but wonder if he's gay. Not that that's bad, I'm just saying I've never met a straight guy with dance technique that good. And here's a question for the casting department: why did the guy playing his brother have an English accent? I mean, I know the actor is British, but does that ever happen in life where one brother has an American accent, and the other one sounds Japanese?

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The movie looked pretty, but the dancing didn't energize me as much as I had hoped it would, and I can't help but blame the directing, because the choreography seemed strong. Some of the dance scenes are perfect, some have great concepts in them (especially the finale), but sometimes I felt like I wanted to be more inspired to 'get krunk,' and I couldn't help but think that a different camera angle, or a more focused lens, or brighter lighting would've served the energy better.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The script is bearable mainly because there is so little of it. What is there is generic and by the numbers, but if you're going to see this it shouldn't be for the story, it should be for the dancing, which takes up a lot more screen-time than the story anyway.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: If you enjoy hip-hop music you might want to buy the soundtrack, which plays like a strong compilation of modern pop hip-hop songs.

Back To Top