A Revamped Karate Kid? Sure. . .

Rating: 8/10 (30 January 2009)

But as someone said, as long as you don't think hard, it's entertaining and that's what you get. I agree that what you see in Never Back Down is nothing new, but to be fair with it, you have to have a story that is more in line with the style of the time, in this case it's Mixed Martial Arts. A bona-fide re-made Karate Kid (meaning the same characters with new faces playing them) would probably turn off fans of the original and would be hokey for today's audiences, even with MMA as the style. So in my opinion, it's fitting that this one was made with a whole new cast of characters. See this film and take it for what it's worth. If you want to be too picky about the similarities between this and The Karate Kid, then stick to that (which I am a fan of by the way, as well as this re-vamped take). But if you are open minded and want to see a different take, then by all means, check out Never Back Down!