“Believe me, they will know about this fight on Mars"
For reasons I can’t
explain, I hadn’t thought to look into the Never Back Down
series before now
and thereby completely
overlooked
that Michael Jai White had
expanded from martial arts star to
filmmaker. This
movie
actually gives me some hope for the future, as it’s virtually the
only one I’ve seen
show an interest in actually
carrying on the legacy of
martial arts videos’ glory days. Don’t give me another boring
Dolph Lundgren production if White’s making films. Of course, Never
Back Down: No Surrender’s
not perfect – it’s
actually one of the few
movies of this sort where the problematic screenplay bothers me more
than any technical shortcomings. As
is, this one works best as a blueprint to improve on, but in
the meantime, it’s a very
watchable blueprint.
The story: Legendary
fighter Case Walker (Michael Jai White) travels to Thailand to train
his comrade Brody James (Josh Barnett) for a high-stakes title match,
but soon realizes that the promoter (Esai Morales) has shady
intentions.
NBD3
has so many real-life
influences that it’s practically
meta. There are numerous
connections
between Josh Barnett’s character and the actor’s
real-life competitive career,
many of them unflattering. Additionally,
the movie tackles the
ever-relevant issue of steroids in sports with
surprising zeal. Ironically,
this approach makes the
film’s frequent idealistic stances feel haphazard and naive, as
it presents
simplistic solutions to complex problems. Also, I didn’t like that
the story is full of unresolved issues: aside from the loose
thread of Casey taking on a couple of young proteges, it’s
uncomfortable that
the feature
allows
things like Brody’s blatant infidelity and the racism of some
supporting characters to
fade into the background. I also
didn’t like how a side-story regarding sexism towards a character
played by Jeeja Yanin is “resolved”
via sexism. Despite
all of this, the screenplay isn’t
weak: Case
Walker is likable enough,
and the story eschews
typical life-and-death setups in
favor of a political approach
that feels more suitable to
modern sports promotion. Not
every idea it has
pans out, but I can
appreciate a film for showing
me that it at least had thought behind
it.
How
much you enjoy the action content depends
on your tolerance of
unnecessary slow motion. Fight
choreographer Larnel Stovall delivers good stuff, but the fact that
only a couple of the eight fights
aren’t mucked about with
this editing technique
is disappointing.
Nevertheless, Michael Jai White remains one of the best performers in
modern martial arts films,
and this is apparent throughout the feature. Though he achieves
Hector Echavarria levels of self-glorification by including a scene
that puts him over a genuine MMA star
like Josh Barnett, he looks fantastic in whatever he does and
whoever he fights. He’s got
a great cast of supporting
kickers,
including Nathan Jones as the rival champion and genre
staples Brahim Achabbakhe,
Eoin
O’Brien, and Ron Smoorenburg as
various brawlers.
More impressive on paper but less so onscreen are the Thai stars: the
aforementioned Jeeja Yanin has a
single
fight and is barely a character, while Tony Jaa only shows up to make
a fool of himself in a comedy cameo. Seriously,
if
the poor quality and
infrequency of
Jaa’s most recent output
hasn’t
caused you to lose esteem for him, his buffoonish
scenes
here will do the trick.
Despite these disappointments, NBD3
is an enjoyable watch. Again, I’m pleased that MJW
chose
to be
a filmmaker: it’s good
knowing that the legacy of U.S. martial arts videos has a competent
torchbearer, and it’s important that the subgenre contains
perspectives other than those of white men.
The main problem remains
the movie’s screenplay, but
I’m hopeful that White will improve in that regard in
time. Even so, this one is
worth a look.
Never Back
Down: No Surrender (2016)
Directed
by
Michael Jai White
Written
by
Chris Hauty (Never
Back Down 1
& 2), Michael Jai White
Starring
Michael Jai White, Josh Barnett (Absolution),
Gillian White (Bamboozled),
Esai Morales (NYPD
Blue)
Cool
costars:
Stephen Quadros (Sworn
to Justice),
Nathan Jones (Tom
Yum Goong),
Jeeja Yanin (Raging
Phoenix),
Brahim Achabbakhe (Dragonwolf),
Ron Smoorenburg (Who
Am I),
Damian Mavis (Kung
Fu Yoga),
Amarin Cholvibul (Hard
Target 2),
Eoin O’Brien (Kill
‘Em All),
and Creighton Mark Johnson (Risk
for Honor)
all appear in martial roles. Pro fighter Quinton Jackson cameos in a
little scene. Tony Jaa also cameos, but…I just can’t.
Content
warning:
Sexist
and racist dialogue, racially-motivated violence,
police brutality. There’s
also a scene where a transsexual prostitute is “humorously” outed
against her will.
Copyright
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
B-Movie Dragons 