# Never Back Down (film series)

The Never Back Down film series consists of American martial arts sport movies, centered around an original story and characters created by Chris Hauty. The plot of each installment details the events that surround its various underdog characters, who must exceed expectations and overpower their more experienced competition in a variety of legal, semi-legal, and illegal MMA competitions.
The series as a whole has been met with mixed critical and financial successes. The original movie received poor response from critics, despite earning a profit at the box office. The second and third installments which followed earned praise from critics who considered them an improvement, though their monetary performance on home video is unknown. Conversely, the fourth film had mixed reception critically, with various reactions calling it inferior to its predecessors, while others believed it was a worthy sequel from the female perspective. Despite each movie's initial performance, they were later classified by some critics through modern analyses as some of the best classics of their genre.

## Films

| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Story by | Producers |
| Never Back Down | March 14, 2008 (2008-03-14) | Jeff Wadlow | Chris Hauty | Chris Hauty | Craig Baumgarten and David Zelon |
| Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown | September 13, 2011 (2011-09-13) | Michael Jai White | Chris Hauty | Chris Hauty | Craig Baumgarten and David Zelon |
| Never Back Down: No Surrender | June 7, 2016 (2016-06-07) | Michael Jai White | Chris Hauty | Michael Jai White & Chris Hauty | Craig Baumgarten and David Zelon |
| Never Back Down: Revolt | November 16, 2021 (2021-11-16) | Kellie Madison | Audrey Arkins | Audrey Arkins | Craig Baumgarten, David Zelon and Ben Jacques |

### Never Back Down (2008)

After moving to Florida with his mother and brother, Jake Tyler faces the challenges of being treated as an outsider at his new high school. Despite this, he looks for every opportunity to get to know his peers and tries to impress a girl from his classes named Baja Miller. Confronting the various challenging experiences of being bullied by his classmates with outbursts of anger, Jake gets into a fight at a party where he ultimately loses. Humiliated, Jake is encouraged by one of his peers named Max Cooperman to learn how to properly fight through athletic coaching. Introduced to Max's mentor named Jean Roqua, Jake discovers a new passion as he begins to learn mixed martial arts and becomes involved in a fighting tournament known as "The Beatdown" to overcome the expectations of those around him.

### Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011)

Max Cooperman is once again tasked with organizing The Beatdown, a secret MMA tournament. Cooperman works alongside his mentor who is a retired professional UFC athlete named Casey "Case" Walker Jr. to recruit a group of amateur fighters for the event including a talented wrestler named Mike Stokes, a former-boxer named Zack Gomes, a talented recent martial arts fighter named Tim Newhouse, and a bullied record store clerk named Justin Epstein. Working together to train for the event, the group quickly become friends and gain an appreciation for teamwork, athleticism, and the life-lessons that Case shares with them. When he is confronted by local law enforcement, who move to charge him with violating his probation, the group of friends discover that there is a traitor in their midst when its revealed that Case was set up. When Mike finds the perpetrator, he becomes more determined than before to win the competition and make his mentor proud.

### Never Back Down: No Surrender (2016)

For a couple of years, Casey "Case" Walker Jr. has enjoyed success when he returned from retirement to fight in mixed martial arts tournaments. Following a series of successes however, Case has grown tired of the career and resorts to amateur matches while also proceeding with training athletes new to the sport. While mentoring a couple of up-and-coming fighters hone their skills, Case is surprised when an old friend named Brody James approaches him to serve as his trainer for a Primal Fighting Combat (PFC) Championship. Scheduled by a corrupt promoter named Hugo Vega to challenge a massive opponent named Caesar Braga who is known for standing seven-feet tall and for being a significant challenge. James sees Braga is the ultimate fighter and asks for Case's assistance. Initially hesitant, Case agrees to a collaboration with his friend's current trainer named Matty Ramos, with intentions of helping James also address some personal issues as well. Resorting to steroid abuse during his training, James becomes jealous of Case when he and the PFC marketing manager named Mya Cruz becomes romantically involved. Determined to overcome the challenges of his past James agrees to abandoning the substance abuse and returns to traditional training, only to sustain a knee injury at the hands of a trainer named Boris. As Vega approaches him with a challenge to fight Braga, Case begins to question whether injury was an intentional setup by the promoter. Case becomes the student when he trades places with Brody, while the latter becomes his trainer alongside Ramos; Case agrees to fight the massive opponent Braga, and is determined to avenge his friend.

### Never Back Down: Revolt (2021)

Anya and Aslan, two Chechen immigrants who moved to England, work tirelessly to make ends meet. Aslan repeatedly receives beatings when he engages in amateur fights to earn some money for their wellbeing, but also secretly owes a large sum of money to a criminal organization. Matters escalate when Aslan is not able to repay his debtor, a villainous woman named Mariah, as the debt notice is called. When Anya pleads for his case, the crime lord makes a preposition where Anya will agree to be taken to a remote location where she'll compete in underground fights with other women until Aslan's debts are repaid. Agreeing to the terms, Anya is surprised when she arrives at large estate and is thrown into imprisonment alongside various other women. The group is forced into combating their fellow prisoners, and matters become dire when one of their companions dies following a violent beating at the hands of an experienced MMA fighter named Janek. Suddenly, Anya realizes the women's situation and determines that unless they escape and defeat their captors, they will all be sold into human trafficking once this syndicate grows tired of their entertainment. Refusing to become victims, Anya begins a revolution with her competitors and they group determine to fight for their lives.

## Main cast and characters

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in notable roles.
* An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
* $^A$ indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
| Character | Films | Films | Films | Films |
| Character | Never Back Down | Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown | Never Back Down: No Surrender | Never Back Down: Revolt |
| Principal cast |||||
| Jake "The Gridiron" Tyler | Sean Faris | | | |
| Baja Miller | Amber Heard | | | |
| Jean Roqua | Djimon Hounsou | | | |
| Ryan "The Terror" McCarthy | Cam Gigandet | | | |
| Casey "Case" Walker Jr. | | Michael Jai White | Michael Jai White | |
| Mike "Wrestler Kid" Stokes | | Dean Geyer | | |
| Justin Epstein | | Scott Epstein | | |
| Myca Cruz | | | Gillian White | |
| Brody James | | | Josh Barnett | |
| Hugo Vega | | | Esai Morales | |
| Caesar Braga | | | Nathan Jones | |
| Anya | | | | Olivia Popica |
| Aslan | | | | Tommy Bastow |
| Janek | | | | Michael Bisping |
| Supporting cast |||||
| Max Cooperman | Evan Peters | Evan Peters | Evan Peters | |
| Zack "Smoke and Thunder" Gomes | | Alex Meraz | | |
| Tim Newhouse | | Todd Duffee | | |
| Matty Ramos | | | Stephen Quadros | |
| Taj Mahale | | | Amarin Cholvibul | |
| "Creech" | | | Daniel Renalds | |
| Lori | | | | Hannah Al Rashid |
| Mali | | | | Vanessa Campos |
| Valentina | | | | Diana Hoyos |
| Julian | | | | James Faulkner |

## Additional crew and production details

| Film | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail |
| Film | Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time |
| Never Back Down | Michael Wandmacher | Lukas Ettlin | Victor Du Bois & Debra Weinfeld | Mandalay Independent Pictures | Summit Entertainment | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown | David Wittman | Yaron Levi | Debra Weinfeld | Mandalay Pictures, BMP Inc. | Stage 6 Films | 1 hr 43 mins |
| Never Back Down: No Surrender | Frederik Wiedmann | Ross W. Clarkson | Scott Richter | Mandalay Pictures, BMP Inc. | Destination Films | 1 hr 42 mins |
| Never Back Down: Revolt | Ram Khatabakhsh | Oliver Loncraine | Emma Gaffney | Mandalay Pictures, Destination Films, Wonder Street Fiction Films | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | 1 hr 29 mins |

## Reception
### Box office and financial performance

| Film | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Box office ranking | Total home video sales | Worldwide gross total income | Budget | Worldwide net total income | Ref. |
| Film | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All-time North America | All-time worldwide | Total home video sales | Worldwide gross total income | Budget | Worldwide net total income | Ref. |
| Never Back Down | $24,850,922 | $16,776,509 | $41,627,431 | #3,380 | #3,631 | $21,341,760 | $62,969,191 | $20,000,000 | $42,969,191 | |
| Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown | — | — | — | — | — | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | $3,000,000 | Information not publicly available | |
| Never Back Down: No Surrender | — | — | — | — | — | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | |
| Never Back Down: Revolt | — | — | — | — | — | $5,957 | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | |

### Critical and public response

| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
| Film | Never Back Down | 21% (84 reviews) | 39/100 (22 reviews) |
| Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown | TBD (1 review) | — |
| Never Back Down: No Surrender | TBD (1 review) | — |
| Never Back Down: Revolt | TBD (2 reviews) | — |