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Released By: Sony Pictures
Released On: 09/13/2011
Director: Michael Jai White
Cast: Michael Jai White, Todd Duffee, Scottie Epstein
The Film:
It seems like a no-brainer in the film industry that whenever a sport gets popular enough, a film gets made to capitalize on it. Roller Derby, Roller Skating, Figure Skating, Skateboarding…nothing is sacred. In some cases, films based around these popular sports capture the essence and vibe of what made the sport so popular in the first place. But in the case of Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown….well, it doesn't really pack a punch, so much as a kick in the nuts. And not a good kick in the nuts.
When Zack and Mike start their first semester at university, they learn about “The Beatdownâ€; an underground UFC event that everyone on campus knows about. Hoping to reclaim their honour or some such nonsense…Zack is a boxer who isn't allowed to box anymore because of an eye injury, and Mike is a wrestler whose life has been flipped-turned upside down because his dad likes dudes….they decide to sign up for a chance to knock the hell out of the other contenders in the octagon. To do this, they will need a tough trainer to bring them up to speed, and are sent to see Case (Michael Jai White), a former mixed martial arts specialist who was big in the game until he ran into some trouble with the law. Now content to live in his motor home and train college kids, Case agrees to take them under his wing, and starts them off punching the ground and pieces of paper.
Also along for the training is Tim, a great big dude who loves his boxer-briefs and would love a shot at the 10,000 dollar prize money to help his mom out, and Justin, an emo-kid who works in a comic shop and has a lot of experience getting his ass kicked. As they continue to train by punching the ground some more and learning other fighting tricks, Mike falls in love with Zack's girlfriend, Zack falls in love with strippers, Tim falls in love with bouncing at the strip club his mom works at, and Justin falls in love with shaving his head and getting a gigantic back tattoo that heals overnight on his instantly toned body.
But wait! Life is not all roses and bubblegum; Justin turns on his trainer, Zack turns on Mike, Mike turns on his dad (snicker), Tim turns on…well, nobody, and Case has to beat the crap out of eight racist cops at once, using the rage he acquired from losing his family in Hurricane Katrina.
Never Back Down 2 is probably one of the stupidest movies ever made. There is no accurate way to describe how bad it actually is. The worst thing about it, though, is that it doesn't even head into “so bad, it's good†territory. It just stays in the ghetto of despair for 100 or so minutes. The writing is about it where it should be, with Chris Hauty bringing forth the same dreck that he spewed onto paper for the original Never Back Down, and the acting is what you'd expect from this type of cast. Michael Jai White is not the worst Director ever, but that's not praise in the least. He's managed to capture the action during the fighting in an appropriate manner, but whoo boy, those sex scenes? Brutal. Jai White needs to stick to what he does best…acting tough in movies. Chris Hauty needs to quit writing, and just about every member of the cast…well, we'll forgive them for this because they were just doing what they were told.
Bottom line? Don't expect this to be good. Or even terribly baddily awesomely bad/good. Or anything other than the equivalent of a lobotomy. You will feel stupid for watching this film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown comes to DVD in a 1.85:1 transfer, anamorphically enhanced. It looks good, with consistent black levels, decent contrast, and solid colour representation. I'd like to think that we're in an age where most transfers come out blemish free, and that's the case here, without an overdose of noise reduction. Likewise, the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is more than adequate, with booming bass during all of those intense scenes in the octagon, and when people are punching dirt to hone their skills. No hisses or pops to be found, and the dialogue is clear and consistent.
There are a couple of extras included as well; 2 Deleted Scenes that run just over three minutes, and a commentary with Michael Jai White, Todd Duffee, and Scottie Epstein. Don't expect any real information from the commentary, as it consists mainly of inside jokes and descriptions of what's happening on screen.
The Final Word:
This is not a good movie, nor is it entertaining. It is not insightful or misunderstood. It is garbage. Avoid.
