Straight to the point
Great storyline that was brutal, immersive and well acted; think Rocky without the cheese. If there is one movie you need rent, buy or download, then it is this one – 10 GPPs
Review
Warrior was one of those films that I saw advertised and thought: “ meh, I’ll watch it when it’s on TV.” In my mind it was just going to be another fad film, like the Street Dance or the Fast and Furious series and now that MMA / UFC is getting bigger it would be time to cash in and make a series of mindless teen movies, dedicated to the struggle of a young, tormented lad, who fights his way to victory.. oh wait they’ve done that already (Don’t Back Down); man was I wrong!
Warrior is so far away from those sort of films that it’s speaking a different language, eating foreign food and bedding exotic women (with protection of course.). Yes it’s a mans film and yes there is a bit of montage half way through, but its so much more than a mindless fight flick; It’s a master class in how to make a truly awesome, fight flick!
The Story is a pretty simple and I guess some could argue, slightly clichéd: dysfunctional family, fathers a drunk, mothers dead, sons hate each other and a fighting tournament (Sparta) is the glue that will bring them together… well ish. But where Warrior differs from other, similar films; apart from being acted and choreographed brilliantly, is that there are two main protagonists, not just one and both stories are interlocked, giving the watcher a bit of a conflicting choice: whom do you want to succeed?
Both Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton) are likable characters with emotional back-stories and individual reasons why you should want them to succeed; a matter made all the more complicated by the fact that they are brothers and both Great fighters; Tommy being more powerful and aggressive and Brendan being more technical.
Now you might think It’s slightly odd that I’m talking about the brothers as if they are real fighters, with real back-stories and real problems, but this is another reason you have to watch the film. The acting and choreography (as I said before) is so realistic, so well thought out and so well executed that you find yourself being pulled into their world. I found myself shouting at the TV during the fights and going “ouwww, ahhhh” when ever someone got slammed or knocked out.. I even turned to my brother and said “he’s not intelligently defending himself” when a fighter was getting ground and pounded; then, after a strange look, realized what I was saying.
I wont go into a lot of detail about the plot or the sub stories but I can’t emphasize to you how impressed I was with Warrior; I will though, leave you with two final reasons why you should watch it.
Firstly: Nick Nolte’s character, Paddy; an ex war vet and recovering alcoholic, who spends most of the film trying to stay on the wagon, whilst making amends with his alienated kids, is acted brilliantly and despite the background of neglect and abuse, you find yourself feeling sorry for this shell of an old man; adding another level of depth and realism to the story.
Secondly: The lack of gratuitous cheese! This is something that always seems to go hand in hand with such films, but was thankfully lacking in this one. There was a point when Kurt Angle appeared and I just thought: “ballz, and it was going so well” but bar a WWE style power slam, no cheese! Showing me that just because you are making a macho film, doesn’t mean you have to layer it with one liners, clichés and over acting.
Please watch this film, you wont be disappointed
Matt Geary
10/01/2012
