Strictly speaking, Never Back Down is not a remake, but it might as well be. The premise is familiar: underdog achieves self respect through training with a master then puts it all together for the big fight. Like a pop song suffering from overplay, Never Back Down hits all the expected notes but feels tired and stirs no emotion. When one considers where Million Dollar Baby took this concept, it becomes all the more depressing how little creativity exists in Never Back Down's DNA. There's no reason to see this film - everyone in the audience knows not only what the starting and finishing points are but the trajectory that will propel events from one to the other. Those with a craving for the story would be better off re-watching The Karate Kid than enduring this lackluster re-telling.
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