David O’Conner’s “Warrior” is a sports movie through and through. Much of what happens in it isn’t surprising and all the boxing (in this case MMA fighting) movie clichés are here. There’s the usual rising, falling, and redemption story line. There’s a montage scene, and, of course, the final fight that should leave you feeling good.
The movie doesn’t try to totally reinvent the sports-fighting-movie wheel. Though it does have one twist: instead of one protagonist to root for, there are two. Two estranged American brothers, played by Brit Tom Hardy and Aussie Joel Edgerton. And in the end, they have to face each other in the final fight.
This is the most peculiar thing about the movie, because usually there’s one protagonist who faces an enemy opponent, but in “Warrior” you can’t root for one in the final fight because you care about both the fighters. Ultimately you end up rooting for both of them. You still leave the movie feeling good but for a different reason.
It also helps to have a very strong lead performance from Hardy. You may remember Hardy from Christopher Nolan’s 2010 Sci Fi film, “Inception.” Then again, maybe you won’t remember him, because in this role he plays a completely different kind of character. It shows us that Hardy isn’t just a one-note actor.
Instead of being cheeky and using his British accent, Hardy plays a quiet brooding type, named Tommy. After going AWOL from the military, he is now an outsider and returns to his hometown where he decides to get back into MMA fighting, and where his father Paddy (an especially gravelly voiced, but endearing Nick Nolte) wants to make up with him for being a bad father. Hardy isn’t just doing a performance; he is Tommy.
Meanwhile, on the other side of tracks Tommy’s brother Brendan (Edgerton) seems to be doing all right. He has a wife and three kids, and is a teacher. But unfortunately he has to do parking lot fights on the side since teaching doesn’t pay well. So, when he hears about a major MMA tournament coming up that pays a lot of money, he decides to join.
Compared to Hardy, Edgerton gives a less compelling performance. Now, some of that might be because of the character. Tommy is more of a loose cannon and rougher, whereas Brendan is nicer, and as we all know it’s more fun to watch the lose cannon. But when doing scenes with Hardy, Edgerton comes alive much more.
In fact all the actors were at their best when they interacted with each another. The script by O’Conner, Anthony Tambakis, and Cliff Dorfman is full of many engaging back and forths between characters (like the one at the beginning between Tommy and Paddy) that may be clichéd but that still feel genuine and the gritty cinematography by Masanobu Takayangi, further brings out that emotion.
As for the fight scenes? In a word they’re outstanding. Some of the best I’ve seen in any fighting movie. O’Conner puts us right there in the midst of the action, making us feel the same agonizing kicks and punches Tom and Brendan endure. It’s one of the few fighting movies where I’ve actually cringed.
Also the brothers have different fighting styles. Tommy’s is more head-on and punch oriented, while Brendan stays on the defensive, putting his opponents in submission holds. It’s a nice contrast, considering the last quarter of the film is mostly fighting.
The movie does have a few problems. There’s a side plot about how Tommy accidently killed one of his army buddies in Iraq (that’s why he went AWOL) that O’Conner doesn’t do much with and the fight does drag on a little at the end. But thanks to Hardy and that twist of making us root for both rivals, O’Conner has crafted a unique sports movie. Something that’s difficult to do.[[In-content Ad]]