Warrior

"Must be hard to find a woman who can take a punch nowadays"

This enjoyable, hard-as-nails, rags-to-riches story puts a few twists on the familiar sporting underdog genre to create something honest and entertaining. This time we get not one hero but two, a complication that adds an edge of unpredictability to the inevitable showdown. Having two Rockys injects some variation into the formula, and these guys also happen to be brothers as well. Slightly unlikely I know (what are the odds?), but it makes for a heck of a film and if you like boxing or martial arts films then I know you will absolutely love the shit out of this.

Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are a couple of non-Americans playing two boiiys from the Bronx, and they both do a pretty good job of it. Hardy's first fight scene is angry, clinical, realistic and effective. He has the look of a hardened but wounded animal, ready to strike and kill, and he really nails the distinctive vocal inflections that bleed out of Bronx tough guys. Hardy is literally the warrior of the film's title.

Edgerton plays a flip side of this coin. Edgerton's character also doesn't feel like the sort of guy you would normally see fighting MMA - there's a certain improbability to the idea of a science teacher being an MMA fighter. MMA guys are frequently described as 'animals' (even in this very film), which makes him seem unsuited to the environment, but this is also sort of the point of his character - he's an underdog. When the film gets to that inevitable climax there are three big fighting characters in the mix, and all have their roles to play. Edgerton is the underdog, the Russian 'badguy' is the giant, and Hardy is the mysterious sensation. Hardy's character fights for a new life and to make good on a promise, whereas Edgerton is fighting for his home and family. Both are fighting for more than just money, and both have already fought a war in their family with their dad.

Nick Nolte is unexpectedly vulnerable as the father. It's a role that makes interesting use of his intimidating physicality and cave-monster looks, a character with more depth than we usually see him get to play, and it casts him in a new light. Through his performance (and that of Edgerton and Hardy) there's a real gutsiness to this tale of a strained family dedicated to a combat sport. Unfortunately this film didn't get as much critical recognition as it probably deserved, simply because The Fighter got it all last year. Warrior is definitely worth your time though, it's a humanistic take on a familiar story that plays out with little fanfare or cliche, and has more than enough glory to go around.

DIRECTOR: Gavin O'Connor
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by Gavin O'Connor, Cliff Dorfman and Anthony Tambakis.
KEY ACTORS: Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Grillo, Kevin Dunn, Maximillian Fernandez, Kurt Angle

RELATED TEXTS

- The obvious comparison is The Fighter, a boxing movie from the previous year that also focused on the fractured family behind two fighting brothers.
- Other obvious comparisons are Rocky and The Wrestler.
- Director-writer Gavin O'Connor previously made the Pride and Glory, another Bronxish tale of brotherhood.
- Other films about Mixed Martial Arts: Bloodsport, Unleashed, Never back Down, Redbelt and Fighting.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Nick Nolte)