Writing a review of a “rough” version of a film is a tricky business, because it still has to go through the editing room several times, but since it’s a director’s debut Michael Jay White was shown on "ActionFest" in front of many MMA enthusiasts, I will try my best and be strict but fair towards the film, from which a lot of things need to be cut in order for everything to fall into place. The version we were shown was about two hours or more long. There were a lot of poorly constructed plot threads and attempts to flesh out characters, so condensing the film to 85-90 minutes is highly recommended. However, let's get started.
At the heart of the plot “Never Give Up 2”, which starred mostly fighters MMA, lies the story of four guys who practiced various types of martial arts. They all train under the guidance of a retired sensei Case for the sake of winning a prize fund of $10 and gaining fame as the winner of an underground student MMA-tournament called "Beatdown", which is conducted by a “twitchy,” hyperbole-spewing, college student who closely resembles Zuckerberg (strengths for a fight promoter. In addition, in this film he is the only charismatic actor besides Michael Jay White).
It's a tale of male friendship, schoolboy posturing and cheap, meaningless and overly stylized casual sex. Justin (Scott Epstein) looks like an exact replica with his “depressing” hairstyle David Patrick Kelly в “Warriors”. Justin - a comic book fan who is bullied by local bullies. He learns to fight, but in his desire to take revenge on his offenders he goes, perhaps, too far. Zak (Alex Meraz of "Twilight", even though he's not a fighter UFC, this did not contribute much to the overall quality of the acting) - a boxer with a torn retina, however, he still wants to participate in fights (and also dance and fuck). Hot-tempered fighter present Mike (Dean Geyer), who was left with his mother by his father for another man. As if there wasn't enough homoeroticism in the form of sweaty men showering together and wrestling on vinyl or rubber. And finally there is Tom (Todd Duffy) looking young Dolph Lundgren, but here he plays a good-natured big guy, a devoted assistant Case. He cooks breakfast and makes sure his younger brother and sister don't watch adult channels while his mother tries to pay her mortgage by working as a waitress at a strip club. He himself tries to prepare for the exams, but, one way or another, they still don’t focus on this, although to watch such things in this kind of films, viewers will have to stock up on considerable patience. Various cameo appearances by stars MMA “legitimize” the film as almost an official advertisement for the brand.
In my opinion, the mistake is trying to force drama out of these guys when it's clear that almost all of the drama and conflict is handled well on screen in the various training scenes and the big finale MMA tournament. Get rid of everything unnecessary, leave all the episodes with White (in particular, a delightful one-man showdown with the entire local police force). The mild erotica is mildly titillating, but doesn't fit into the plot at all (since it's a love triangle that goes nowhere) or the home lives of any of these characters. Perhaps the best option is to limit ourselves to muscular men in an octagon. The most interesting things are reserved for the end of the tournament, when the plot and “drama” develop on their own, in Kumite style, with high-quality choreography from the fight director Larnella Stovall. MMA fighting on the big screen is still in the early stages of finding the right style and rhythm, especially given boxing's long cinematic history, but here everything is at its best, the manner of fighting is influenced by the motivation of the characters and the twists and turns of the plot. A decent film that fights to overcome its own shortcomings.
Author: Kurt Halfyard
Source: Twitch
Translation: EvilDollaR
Home » Reviews » Translated reviews »
Tags: Actionfest, Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown, Alex Meraz, Dean Geyer, Larnell Stovall, Michael Jai White, Scott Epstein, Todd Duffy
Tags: Actionfest, Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown, Alex Meraz, Dean Geyer, Larnell Stovall, Michael Jai White, Scott Epstein, Todd Duffy
According to information on Kinopoisk, the DVD release will be on September 13th.
Celpaso, thanks for the information..)
The release has been postponed to an unknown time, because... Sony will try to release the film in theaters
Well, I think that Michael Jai White will work with Larnell and take into account his Twitter request)
I actually want to watch the film, does anyone know when our release date is? in the USA it was like June 10th.
And the topic of cells in movies is somehow no longer interesting. This is exactly what I liked about the first part)
Part 1 really stuck with me... the plot is super... I'd rather see a continuation =)
Yes, it’s too early to talk about it. Let's look at the final version and understand what happened, guano or ambrosia.
Again, all the reviews write that the battles are better than they were in the first part (I had little doubt that this would be the case). But the question is: how well are they filmed? The same Larnell recently complained on Twitter:
"Hollywood, directors, producers, video editors, do you even realize that there is nothing wrong with moving the camera back a little? Stop shooting damn close-ups and cutting up the video..."
And someone else was arguing with me...
I knew it would turn out to be garbage. And fights alone won’t save us.
The first part was not only an action movie, but also a drama that many fans of the film cannot see. Well, it’s forgivable that they don’t see it. There are few thinking young people now.
That's why I was against using the name. They would just make “another film about fights” and that would be fine.
As he looked into the water ...
It’s a pity that there are no former heroes... without them, something won’t be the same.
It's a pity, I would like to see the previous actors, at least Tyler and his friend, otherwise... I'll think about it before watching it, but I was looking forward to it...
All hope is for installation, as I understand it. It might turn out to be a piece of candy, or it might be complete crap if they cut it the wrong way. Overall, fingers crossed.
what a crazy plot, doesn’t America now only want to see boobs, jokes about gays and fights? My opinion is that the plot needs to be simplified, then maybe something useful will turn out, in any case, we’ll see soon, thanks for the news!
It’s not there yet :( I don’t recommend looking on fake sites (I hope you understand what I’m talking about).
Evil, at least post a trailer...
Where can I watch the film?
It's unlikely to be shown in cinemas; we'll have to wait for the DVD release.