Never Back Down (2008)

No attack is frowned upon more by mixed martial artists and ophthalmologists alike than eye gouging. This act of pressing on or tearing the eye, usually with the fingers, can cause extensive ocular and periorbital trauma.

Without giving too much away, Never Back Down, a sort of Karate Kid for the You Tube generation, depicts a rather realistic scene of eye gouging. There are also assorted instances of facial blows with subsequent eyelid swelling and superficial trauma.

Despite a ridiculously cliche script and ADHD-style directing, I found myself laughing right along with this movie. The training scenes and the brutality of street fighting were fairly well-rendered. Never Back Down gets a solid C + from this reviewer.

Up next: an actual eye exam performed in Smart People (2008), starring Ellen Page.