The 1980s are alive but not very well in Never Back Down, a Karate Kid clone with a young actor who is the spitting image of Top Gun-era Tom Cruise. Sean Faris plays Jake Tyler, a football star whose family moves to Florida, where his new high school is run by a sadistic bully (Cam Gigandet) who organizes brutal, mixed martial arts bouts. It would all be mind-numbingly familiar if not for Faris’ uncanny kinship with Cruise. It’s not just his looks, but the cocky way he uses them. Like Cruise, Faris has a smile that says, “You’re lucky to be watching me.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re lucky to be watching his film.
