Indie Film Spotlight: Never Back Down

Welcome to Indie Film Spotlight! In which I act as your guide through the mess of mediocre indie movies out there and bring to you a select few that are not only worth watching but are actually worthy of love and recommendation. But first, a quick primer: an indie film, or independent film, is one that is produced outside of a major film studio and usually distributed by the same. Indie films are also generally recognizable by the filmmaker's personal artistic vision and are lower budget than their media conglomerate cousins. Hence the reason many of them are quite bad. That being said, enjoy this spotlight on an incredible one!

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Synopsis

Never Back Down is the story of Jake Tyler, a new kid at a new school with emotional issues and an uncontrollable knack for getting into fights. When he comes across another student getting beat up, he steps in and is thus drawn into the world of an underground high school fight club. He trains under a mixed martial arts veteran, falls in love, struggles through family issues and friendship issues and issues with his past, and learns a lot about life in the process.

Why You Should Watch It

This film is essentially The Karate Kid, but with fight club. And I love it. Evan Peters plays a dweeby high school kid, Djimon Hounsou plays a mixed martial arts veteran, Cam Gigandet plays a spoiled antagonist, and the rest of the cast is simultaneously adorable, badass, and beautiful. The sibling relationship between Jake and his brother is one of my favorite that I've seen in a film, and the entire film has the perfect mix of drama and humor. Most of the people who I knew loved this movie were high school boys; there's a lot of slow-motion punching and lengthy fight scenes. But there are also very attractive shirtless men in these fight scenes, so it's a win-win. Additionally, the soundtrack is phenomenal and pleasantly different from what you're probably used to. If you like underdog movies with humor and heart, give this one a try.

Win, lose, it makes no difference. It ends tonight. This is my fight. Everyone's got one. 

Have you seen Never Back Down? What did you think?