NEVER BACK DOWN 4 MOVIE
NEVER BACK DOWN 4 SERIES

Also lumbering is the film's 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. The encode is clean and sharp, but the film can't shake the fact that it looks like a video. As such, it looks dull and uninspired, not unlike other MMA films on the market. No atmospheric tinting or color timing seems to have been applied to give this one a more filmic appearance. Never Back Down 2 comes to DVD presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Alas, Never Back Down 2 drums up all the tired conventions and focuses on them instead of what really matters. Really, do we care about the characters in a fighting movie? Maybe in a sports drama like Rocky, but certainly not in a fighting exploitation flick. It also doesn't help that the script (at least as it's presented on screen) is thinly painted with tired cliches and dull dialogue. Here our heroes are given way too much dialogue and way too much character, and virtually everyone on board, except for Jai White and a few other non-fighters, has a hard time chewing on their dialogue.

NEVER BACK DOWN 4 MOVIE

A tight, concise 80-minute movie would have better suited the narrative. But with an overlong 104-minute running time, the film is padded with far too much superfluous matter. About as many as your usual fighting flick. And there are a decent amount of set pieces here, too. The fight set pieces here aren't bad, but they feel a little stale, especially in comparison to the Undisputed films, which feature some of coolest stuff you're going to see in a DTV knucklebuster, especially the third film. Why? Because that's what fighting superstars do best вЂ“ fight. The plots are thin, though in that franchise they are fairly well developed.

NEVER BACK DOWN 4 SERIES

I'm reminded of the Undisputed DTV sequels, a series Michael Jai White was once featured in. These guys can't act their way out of a paper bag, so why try? Just have them fight. The screen is packed with UFC and MMA stars. The story is fairly trivial, but bloated, which is the film's biggest problem вЂ“ there's way too much of it. It's a name-only DTV sequel about вЂ“ you guessed it вЂ“ underground MMA fighting tournaments. Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown is Michael Jai White's directorial debut. But throw him into the backseat (as a minor character) and force him to direct an MMA-sanctioned movie, and he'll deliver exactly what you'd expect вЂ“ crap. His last few efforts have been downright terrific, especially his cult masterpiece Black Dynamite. And he seems like a pretty cool dude, too. I really love Michael Jai White's movies.

Never back down 4