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It was only a matter of time before mixed-martial arts made enough noise to turn the heads of studio execs. With the UFC leading the charge in North America, the sport has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last few years. Some would even make the argument that as a result, boxing is officially dead and buried.
This year, film goers will get a few MMA offerings - including one, "Redbelt," from famed screenwriter David Mamet.
However, first out of the starting gate is the teen flick "Never Back Down." Think of it as the "O.C." meets MMA (OCMMA?), with elements of "Save the Last Dance" and "Stomp the Yard" thrown in. Only in this case it's more like, "Save the Last Kick" and "Stomp the Face."
The story is fairly standard stuff - poor, small-town boy with a dark past, Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), moves to fancy-pants Orlando where he's roped into evil rich kid Ryan McCarthy's (Cam Gigandet) own personal fight club.
After getting his butt served to himself on a silver platter, he begins to train MMA with legendary vale tudo fighter Jean Roqua ("Blood Diamond's" Djimon Hounsou), who has a dark past of his own. The film also has the obligatory romantic sub-plot so the guys can drag along their girlfriends without scorn.
This is all fine and dandy, but "Never Back Down" knows where its bread is buttered - it mostly consists of bikini babes, shredded abs and martial-arts training montages with some soap-opera-ish plot developments sprinkled throughout. All of this eventually leads up to the big showdown in a super-secret underground tournament that just so happens to take place at one of Orlando's hottest night clubs which has its own JumboTron.
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The fight scenes themselves are energetic and surprisingly impressive - especially considering the cast involved. The film could have been helped by less shaky camera movements during these sequences, but fight choreographer Damon Caro deserves a lot credit for crafting brawls that stay fairly true to the MMA style.
Hounsou really stands out as the best thing in "Never Back Down," both in terms of acting and fighting technique. During his training sequences he displays impressive speed, agility and fluidity. It's too bad we never get to see him in a proper fight scene.
The story does have its moments, but for the most part it's a paint-by-the-numbers affair.
If you're the type of person who's scoffed at the trailers, you'll no doubt do the same in the theatre. But those who can't wait to see it will certainly get what they paid for.
It may not be a knockout, but "Never Back Down" does enough to earn the judges' nod.
(This film is rated PG)