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Daniel-san goes off the Ritalin.
Video:
"Never Back Down" is presented in widescreen with its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1. I noticed other sites have this actually listed as 2.35:1, so I'm just going with what's on the case. The coloring sometimes has a yellowish tinge resembling "The Fast and the Furious" and if I had to guess, that was the look director Jeff Wadlow was trying to replicate here. Black levels were pretty sharp and I didn't notice any artifacts, although I didn't quite get that three-dimensional feel that sometimes comes through on Blu-rays. Still, it was a solid picture.
Audio:
Audiophiles should be happy with the DTS-HD Master Audio track, especially when the hard-driving music kicks in with a pulse-pounding bass. Like the video, it didn't have me grinning from ear to ear as some releases do, but overall it still was better than most. Optional English and Spanish subtitles round out the audio features.
Extras:
I wasn't expecting such a decent amount of bonus material for a film that was panned by many critics. First we have an Audio Commentary by Director Jeff Wadlow, Actor Sean Faris, and Writer Chris Hauty. It contains the usual production stuff, but they also share a lot of insider details about the fights. For instance, Faris mentions that his triangle choke during The Beatdown tournament was the best one he ever locked on and nearly caused his opponent (who also happened to be the choreographer) to pass out.
Blow By Blow: Breaking down the Fights is an interactive feature where Director Jeff Wadlow, Fight Choreographer Damon Caro, and Director of Photography Lucas Ettlin break down the action sequences frame-by-frame. The feature can be activated when a fist icon appears during the movie or they can be visited on the menu: "Gridiron Tyler," "Backyard Brawl," "The Main Event," "Roqua's Day One," "Half Speed," "Road Rage," "Mega Training Montage," "The Beat Down," and "Battle on the Blacktop."
Another interactive feature is the Alternate Angle Fight Mode where viewers can switch through the original cut, alternate cut #1, alternate cut #2, or a side-by-side comparison of all three views. Similar to Blow By Blow, this feature is identified by a punching bag icon during the film or can be selected individually: "The Main Event," "Road Rage," "Checking In," "The Slam," "Kick to the Ribs," "Ryan Fouls Out," and "Battle on the Blacktop."
Mix It Up: Bringing MMA to the Big Screen (10:14) is a short featurette on incorporating the mixed martial arts into the movie and touches on how the actors had to go through months of vigorous physical training to actually become believable fighters.
There's no shortage of Deleted Scenes, either. Each has an introduction by director Jeff Wadlow explaining the significance of the clip and its removal, and I've got to say that I wish more releases were done this way. The scenes can be viewed using the "Play All" option or individually: "That's Alright Mini-Jake" (0:48), "Salt in the Wound" (1:13), "Just Wanted to Talk to You" (0:43), "Extended Famous Montage" (1:05), "One of Those Awful Days" (2:18), "A Little Stalker-ish" (1:21), "Justus Von Liebig" (1:08), "Ask Him Again" (0:40), "Your Semi-Finalists" (1:07), "Extended McCarthy/Villa Fight" (1:15), and "They Don't Care Who Wins" (1:37).
Also included is a Promo Reel (1:36) which is a short promotional trailer created to pitch the idea for the movie, originally titled "Get Some," to studios so that the film could be put it into production.
I never saw the theatrical version of "Never Back Down," but Wadlow has a short Intro (0:22) before the film begins explaining that the Blu-ray version contains the extended beat down edition of the film featuring more intensity to the fights.
The Final Cut:
Sure, "Never Back Down" is a bit cheesy at times and the background for the story isn't anything we haven't really seen before, but even so I can't really say that I disliked the film. Maybe my expectations were low from hearing all of negative reviews or maybe I'm just easily amused. Who knows? All I know is that while it could have been better, I still wouldn't mind seeing it again and that makes it a slightly above average movie for my tastes.
"Never Back Down" is presented in widescreen with its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1. I noticed other sites have this actually listed as 2.35:1, so I'm just going with what's on the case. The coloring sometimes has a yellowish tinge resembling "The Fast and the Furious" and if I had to guess, that was the look director Jeff Wadlow was trying to replicate here. Black levels were pretty sharp and I didn't notice any artifacts, although I didn't quite get that three-dimensional feel that sometimes comes through on Blu-rays. Still, it was a solid picture.
Audio:
Audiophiles should be happy with the DTS-HD Master Audio track, especially when the hard-driving music kicks in with a pulse-pounding bass. Like the video, it didn't have me grinning from ear to ear as some releases do, but overall it still was better than most. Optional English and Spanish subtitles round out the audio features.
Extras:
I wasn't expecting such a decent amount of bonus material for a film that was panned by many critics. First we have an Audio Commentary by Director Jeff Wadlow, Actor Sean Faris, and Writer Chris Hauty. It contains the usual production stuff, but they also share a lot of insider details about the fights. For instance, Faris mentions that his triangle choke during The Beatdown tournament was the best one he ever locked on and nearly caused his opponent (who also happened to be the choreographer) to pass out.
Blow By Blow: Breaking down the Fights is an interactive feature where Director Jeff Wadlow, Fight Choreographer Damon Caro, and Director of Photography Lucas Ettlin break down the action sequences frame-by-frame. The feature can be activated when a fist icon appears during the movie or they can be visited on the menu: "Gridiron Tyler," "Backyard Brawl," "The Main Event," "Roqua's Day One," "Half Speed," "Road Rage," "Mega Training Montage," "The Beat Down," and "Battle on the Blacktop."
Another interactive feature is the Alternate Angle Fight Mode where viewers can switch through the original cut, alternate cut #1, alternate cut #2, or a side-by-side comparison of all three views. Similar to Blow By Blow, this feature is identified by a punching bag icon during the film or can be selected individually: "The Main Event," "Road Rage," "Checking In," "The Slam," "Kick to the Ribs," "Ryan Fouls Out," and "Battle on the Blacktop."
Mix It Up: Bringing MMA to the Big Screen (10:14) is a short featurette on incorporating the mixed martial arts into the movie and touches on how the actors had to go through months of vigorous physical training to actually become believable fighters.
There's no shortage of Deleted Scenes, either. Each has an introduction by director Jeff Wadlow explaining the significance of the clip and its removal, and I've got to say that I wish more releases were done this way. The scenes can be viewed using the "Play All" option or individually: "That's Alright Mini-Jake" (0:48), "Salt in the Wound" (1:13), "Just Wanted to Talk to You" (0:43), "Extended Famous Montage" (1:05), "One of Those Awful Days" (2:18), "A Little Stalker-ish" (1:21), "Justus Von Liebig" (1:08), "Ask Him Again" (0:40), "Your Semi-Finalists" (1:07), "Extended McCarthy/Villa Fight" (1:15), and "They Don't Care Who Wins" (1:37).
Also included is a Promo Reel (1:36) which is a short promotional trailer created to pitch the idea for the movie, originally titled "Get Some," to studios so that the film could be put it into production.
I never saw the theatrical version of "Never Back Down," but Wadlow has a short Intro (0:22) before the film begins explaining that the Blu-ray version contains the extended beat down edition of the film featuring more intensity to the fights.
The Final Cut:
Sure, "Never Back Down" is a bit cheesy at times and the background for the story isn't anything we haven't really seen before, but even so I can't really say that I disliked the film. Maybe my expectations were low from hearing all of negative reviews or maybe I'm just easily amused. Who knows? All I know is that while it could have been better, I still wouldn't mind seeing it again and that makes it a slightly above average movie for my tastes.
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[release]23837[/release]