The OC meets Fight Club?

Never Back Down is not a remake, I repeat, not a remake, although it might as well be. Simply put, the plot of the movie we've all seen before, the underdog earns self respect while training with a master then puts it all together for the final showdown.  Despite the lack of creativity in Never Back Down, there is something about it that just, well, works.

Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) is a mild-mannered guy with a quick-trigger temper (And I mean quick-temper). Mention his father's death in a drunk driving accident and he'll go ballistic. His reputation precedes him to his new high school in Orlando. The school's hotshot bully, Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet), wants to teach the newcomer a lesson by giving him a beating, and that he does by using his attractive girlfriend, Baja (Amber Heard), to lure Jake to a party where Ryan plans on embarrassing him in front of the entire crowd. Initially, Jake refuses to fight, yet with instigation involving his father, he's ready to go (And shirtless). With cell phone cameras capturing every moment of the action, Jake gets the crap beaten out of him.

The scene is very, Fight Club meets The OC. You have your perfect looking high school students (that are most likely all 25 years old), wearing their expensive clothing (Money provided by the parentals), a mansion bigger than Opera's, a pool shaped like...well not your typical shaped pool, a few girls making out in a tub (I suppose this is realistic), and of course the fight. All things you'll find in The OC, including Cam Gigandet, (Kevin Volchok: infamous for the killing of skinny girl, Mischa Barton). The next day, accompanied by his new geeky friend Max (Evan Peters, Kick Ass), Jake visits a gym for a little training. There, a big, black version of Mr. Miyagi named Jean Roqua (Djimon Honsou) takes Jake under his wing and prepares him for the inevitable re-match.

The movie is good. The fights are energetic, and the soundtrack is awesome. Never Back Down is solid. It may have a recycled plot and different characters going through the same motions of past movies but director Jeff Wadlow delivers what young audiences are looking for: good bodies on good looking people, good music and an underdog ending.

There is a lesson, it might not be the best one but there is one:  violence is bad unless you're teaching the antagonist a lesson and the point is driven home by a humiliating beat down captured on hundreds of iphones (while the crowd cheers from the hoods of an excessive amount of colorful Hummers).

Oh, and there's lots of abs. LOTS.