Underground (2007)

My Rating: ***

An illegal underground tournament offering a big money cash prize pits twelve fighters against each other in brutal no-holds-barred fights. The competitors are each skilled in a different fighting style – from boxing to Wushu, wrestling to mixed martial arts – and each has their own reasons for taking part.

underground

Observing the event is a group of businessmen and high-stakes gamblers, each of whom chooses two of the fighters as their own before deciding which fighters will face each other in each round. The loser of each round is out of the competition – whether they walk or are carried out…

Never Back Down (2008)

My Rating : ****

Set against the action-packed world of Mixed Martial Arts, Never Back Down is the story of Jake Tyler, a tough kid who leads with his fists, and, often, with his heart. Jake Tyler, played by Sean Faris, is the new kid in town with a troubled… Set against the action-packed world of Mixed Martial Arts, Never Back Down is the story of Jake Tyler, a tough kid who leads with his fists, and, often, with his heart. Jake Tyler, played by Sean Faris, is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He has recently moved to Orlando, Florida with his family who has relocated to support his younger brother’s shot at a professional tennis career. Jake was a star athlete on the football team at home, but in this new city he is an outsider with a reputation for being a quick tempered brawler.

never back down

Making an attempt to fit in, at the invitation of a flirtatious classmate, Baja (Amber Heard) Jake goes to a party where he is unwittingly pulled into a fight with a bully named Ryan McDonald (Cam Gigandet). While he is defeated and humiliated in the fight, a classmate introduces himself to Jake and tells him about the sport known as Mixed Marshall Arts (MMA).

He sees a star in Jake and asks that he meet with his mentor, Jean Roqua, played by Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, In America). It is immediately apparent to Jake that MMA is not street fighting, but rather an art form he wants to master. Roqua will take Jake under his wing, but it is up to Jake to find the patience, discipline, willingness and reason within him to succeed.

For Jake, there is much more at stake than mere victory. His decision will not just settle a score; it will define who he is.