Closing your eyes to avoid excess gore - one fighter practically has the skin ripped off his face, for example - only helps so much.
There will be blood, and copious amounts of it. The boys compete like Roman gladiators in front of a noisy crowd that eggs them on. It's a combination of wrestling, karate, judo, sambo and other exotic disciplines.
The killer sport practiced by a group of Orlando teens is called mixed martial arts - or MMA, as insiders say.
"Never Back Down" is a junior version of "Fight Club," only with no movie stars and different moves. For complete movie listings and show times, and to buy tickets for select theaters, go to /movies.) Starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Djimon Hounsou and Cam Gigandet. Advisory: This film contains strong language, violence and a cranky partner who is too old for this Peter Hartlaub 'Never Back Down' And relative newcomer Yu Xing, despite his penchant for dressing like Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky II," brings a menacing energy to a henchman role. Collin Chou is appropriately mean as a gangster. Yen also likes to discover new talent and isn't afraid to showcase existing talent that might overshadow his own skills. Ultimate Fighting Championship fans will be happy. Yen has developed a recent passion for mixed martial arts, and his more traditional punches and flying kicks are supplemented by some close-quarters Muay Thai kicks and even some jujitsu submission holds. It's a nice arrangement for the audience, allowing the more dashing Koo (so good in the "Triad Election" movies) to drive the narrative forward while Yen takes over for the fight scenes.Īnd those scenes, supervised closely by action director Yen, are mostly great. While his movie character can't fight very well, Koo is arguably the lead actor, getting more lines and screen time than Yen, who is basically an attack dog - staying mostly in the background until the action starts. Because there's also a rising gang member who doesn't play by the rules, some kindly colleagues who aren't long for this world and a partner (Louis Koo) who is always getting himself into trouble. If you're bothered that he's a cliche that dates back to "Dirty Harry," then this may not be the movie for you. Yen is Jun Ma, a detective who gets results but is still on the edge of suspension, because too many of his suspects end up badly beaten or dead. Specifically, director Wilson Yip seems to be going for a "Lethal Weapon" vibe, with heavy elements of camaraderie and light banter, villains who are unrealistically menacing and even background music that seems suspiciously similar to the Eric Clapton guitar work from that series. The subtitled "Flash Point" takes place more than a decade ago, which is fitting, because so much of it is filmed like a 1990s American action movie. And even though Yen is arguably 10 or more years past his high-flying prime, he's exploring new martial arts disciplines, giving his action scenes in this movie a fresh look. But his latest movie has a solid story, which keeps things interesting during the quiet moments when nobody is getting kicked in the head. It works out to about a punch every four seconds.Īt 44 years old, Yen quite can't keep up that pace. Donnie Yen executes two beat-downs before the opening credits of "Flash Point," the latest Hong Kong action picture from the martial arts master.