“Warrior” is the latest film to deal with the world of mixed martial arts, a rapidly growing subculture in the sports universe. It’s a story of forgiveness and reconciliation — and of beating your opponent into submission. Following the lives of brothers Tommy (played by Tom Hardy of “Inception”) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton) and their improbable rise as fighters in a massive mixed martial arts tournament, “Warrior” is as entertaining as it is sentimental.
Original despite clichés
In spite of being one of the few films made about mixed martial arts, “Warrior” borrows heavily from classic boxing movies, even going so far as to mention “Rocky” early on. It starts off with all the clichés one comes to expect from a fight movie: substance abuse, dysfunctional relatives, working class heroes, the worried wife, workout montages.
Other recent films like “The Fighter” come to mind especially, but “Warrior” quickly distinguishes itself with originality. Of course it helps that mixed martial arts is a completely different realm from boxing. “Warrior” will go a long way to bring exposure to an already growing sport by appealing to a wider audience.
Plot tells the story of two families
Dealing with the issues of the day by making them personal, “Warrior” feels poignant without being contrived. The story sticks close to Brendan and his wife (Jennifer Morrison) in Philadelphia as they try to save their home from foreclosure and Tommy and his troubled father (Nick Nolte) while they train in Pittsburgh. Brendan is a high school physics teacher by day and underground prize fighter by night. Tommy is a Marine Corps combat veteran trying to run from his mysterious past.
The plot moves forward very conventionally, but the background of the two brothers and their rocky relationship with each other and with their father is gradually revealed throughout the film in emotionally verbal confrontations, in between the actual beat downs.
Nolte has the role of a lifetime as the recovering alcoholic who wants nothing more than to be reconciled to his family. It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch for the grizzled actor to be playing a broken down old drunk, but his performance is heartbreaking and contributes to the strong emotion of the film.
When Brendan shows up for class with battle scars from his nightly exploits, the school superintendent places Brendan on suspension. His students quickly rally to support him, as does his wife in spite of her misgivings about having the father of her daughters being beat to a pulp every night.
Meanwhile, Tommy starts training at the neighborhood gym and establishes himself as a worthy competitor by humiliating the toughest guy in the room and becoming an overnight Internet sensation. He gets a spot at the big tournament in Atlantic City where the mixed martial arts elite are assembling for a no-holds-barred winner-take-all battle royale between the greatest fighters in the world.
Toned-down violence until last fight scene
The actual fighting scenes are shot with lots of closeups and quick cuts. Typical of mixed martial arts, the action can be violent, but things don’t get too ugly until the final fight. The two principle actors are convincing as hard-nosed amateur fighters. On a side note, Hardy looks very ready for his role as the super villain Bane in next summer’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Whether in life or in the cage the two brothers cannot be more different. Tommy is unconventional and brutal, dealing out swift punishment in large doses. Brendan is the technically proficient underdog, wearing down his opponents with sound strategy and timely tactics while also taking a lot of punishment himself. Tommy enters the arena with no fanfare, Brendan to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Neither are flashy.
The entire last half of the movie centers on the tournament and one fight quickly follows after another. Humorous color commentary keeps things interesting. The matches are intriguing if not predictable. Brendan ends up fighting the dreaded Russian Koba (played ferociously by pro-wrestler and former gold medalist Kurt Angle) while Tommy gets a rematch with the fighter he first took down in the gym.
When the brothers finally get to face each other in the last showdown the anticipation is sufficiently built up to a fever pitch, but it’s very hard to take sides. The question of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object is answered in five harrowing rounds of brotherly brutality. The ending is hurried, but emotionally satisfying to say the least.
Finishing with an improbable showdown between the two estranged brothers, “Warrior” may sound like some sort of testosterone filled fairytale from the octagon, but strong performances and a compelling story elevate the film to the level of the great combat sports movies of the past. It may not be the first mixed martial arts movie, but it certainly is the best yet.
