Netflix has officially found its own Rambo meets Liam Neeson hero, with the streamer set to unleash an all-new, all-original action thriller next month. While we wait, a new trailer has now been released and shows off this action hero to rival both Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo and Taken’s Bryan Mills as he shows off his particular set of skills in a fight, not for the greatest action parent, but the greatest action grandparent.
Taking the idea of the aged action hero to its gloriously hard-hitting limits, Netflix presents Never Surrender, which finds a grandfather with a violent past forced to fight to protect his family from a ruthless criminal gang. The aged action hero has become increasingly popular thanks to both Liam Neeson’s 2008 effort Taken (during which he was actually only 55 years old) and the real-life aging of several major genre icons such as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, and even the seemingly ageless Keanu Reeves.
Thus, Never Surrender takes elements from all of these, and adds a dash of the kind of raw, dusty martial arts spectacle of modern hits The Raid and The Furious, to gift the world of action thrillers with a new one-man army. Centering on an unassuming grandfather and his two grandchildren, Never Surrender kickstarts when they’re forced to fight back after being targeted by a local gang. Of course, this man is no ordinary elder and is, in fact, a former soldier with the skillset required to take down violent villains in the name of our entertainment.
Set in a small village in Central Java, a grandfather accustomed to living alone must care for his two grandchildren, whom he has not seen in a long time. However, a major problem from Jakarta follows them — and a group of ruthless criminals storms their home, trapping them in a life-threatening situation. To survive, the grandfather and his grandchildren have only two choices: surrender or fight back.
Hailing from Indonesia, Never Surrender, aka Serangan Balik, finds this grandfather leaping out of his comfy chair and into action as he sets Rambo-style booby traps, disarms enemies with ease, and covers his grandchildren’s faces in war paint in the name of survival.
Never Surrender is directed by Sidharta Tata, the filmmaker behind last year’s acclaimed revenge outing Ikatan Darah (aka Blood Ties), and stars Lukman Sardi, Derby Romero, Donny Alamsyah, Callista Arum, Sulthan Hamonangan. Never Surrender boasts everything needed, from tactical action, to martial arts prowess, to emotional family drama, to make Never Surrender the next big action thriller sleeper hit. And no doubt it’ll be just that when the movie lands on Netflix on Nov. 12, 2026.
