Back away from "Never Back Down."

The plot: An angry, troublesome teenager with past demons moves to Orlando with his mom and brother. His mom wants him to start a new life and to not get into fights, but thanks to the internet, the entire school knows his reputation as a fighter. When he decides to take a match with a rich, strong, hotshot student, however, he gets beat down hard and loses credibility. Eventually, he seeks help via a Mixed Martial Arts teacher who helps him become a better fighter. Will is newfound skills be enough to beat the snot nosed jackass student?

There is nothing fresh or new about “Never Back Down.” In fact, the film is essentially a “Karate Kid” rip-off and one long commercial for Mixed Martial Arts and YouTube. Virtually the entire film consists of people running around with video cameras taping fights and uploading them to the net. As if that weren’t enough, all of this is clumsily directed by Jeff Wadlow whose MTV style direction is obnoxious to say the least.

The biggest travesty here is seeing Academy Award nominated actor Djimon Hounsou. What the heck is he even doing in this film? Is he that hard up for cash? Once you get nominated for an Oscar, the offers start pouring in, but yet he picks this of all films? Perhaps you need a new agent Mr. Hounsou.

About the only compliment I can give this film is that actors Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet did a commendable job with their fight scenes. Considering they had little to no experience, they pulled off some convincing fight sequences.

Overall: If you are a Mixed Martial Arts fan, I would suggest skipping this and watching a UFC match instead. At least that way you would be watching real fighting without a melodramatic story at the center.