It's brother-vs-brother in an MMA showdown...

Warrior, a film surprisingly off my radar, was screened secretly at last month’s Empire Big Screen event. Before it began, Empire’s News Editor Chris Hewitt - MC of the whole event - jumped on stage proclaiming that this was to be one of the films of the year and it had just been awarded five stars in Empire Magazine (October 2011 issue) - now that’s a lot for a film to live up to, especially one appearing to come from nowhere. It was with this promise of greatness that I sat, uncertain, waiting for the film to begin.

Opening with a bleak, drizzly depiction of a working class town (Pittsburgh) Warrior immediately brings to mind this year’s other gritty fighting movie, David O. Russell’s The Fighter. It is interesting that despite being reminiscent of a plethora of other sports/fighting movies from Rocky to the present day, this film manages to hold its own and make the genre feel fresh.

Once the setting is established we meet the protagonists, Tommy and Brendan Conlon, two estranged brothers played by the fantastic Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton (I’d never heard of him either but apparently he’s been in lots of stuff!) Tommy, the youngest son of Nick Nolte’s Paddy returns home under the name Tommy Riordan and, despite hating his father for reasons that soon become clear, asks his dad to train him up so he can enter the world’s biggest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament in Atlantic City. Meanwhile Brendan is working as a teacher but not earning enough to support his family and hang on to their house so he decides to get back into the ring and earn some quick money. However, he soon becomes the underdog as he too enters the MMA competition and the brothers begin fighting their way towards the title and its large cash prize.

There are no prizes for guessing whether the brothers fight each other and at which stage (the trailer gives that away) but nevertheless the final forty-five minutes deliver some of the greatest fight scenes and emotional climaxes of any sports-based movie. Throughout Warrior we are given glimpses of both characters’ personal lives; one has an attractive wife (an underused Jennifer Morrison) and son to support and a class who seem to love him to a slightly unhealthy degree and the other has an army secret that the whole world soon discovers.  While these stories provide the necessary motivations for the characters’ actions it is their relationships with each other and with their father that gives the film its emotional weight. Growing up with an alcoholic, abusive patriarch the brothers had to make certain decisions that sent their lives in different directions and these decisions in turn led to their estrangement.

Nick Nolte gives an assured, grizzly performance as Paddy Conlan, without whom it would be tough to believe in Tommy and Brendan’s situations and thought processes. The technically impressive fight scenes coupled with these character arcs ensure the film comes to an affecting end, and unlike the Rocky franchise where you generally know who will come out on top it will keep you guessing who will win. Which brings me on to the one and only plot hole that I can think of: what happened to the wife and child of Tommy’s army mate? (Not a major question, by any means, but thought I ought to mention it.)

As I have mentioned in detail above, the characterizations are perfect and the different fighting styles of the two men allow the director to portray their distinct personalities even in the ring. MMA is unlike boxing in that there are multiple ways of winning a fight and even more ways of getting to the final blow/strangle hold. Tommy goes in with all guns blazing and uses his sheer strength and force to win battles whereas Brendan takes his time getting his opponent exactly where he wants him for the final take down and submission. It is the freedom of using this varied fighting sport that allows the film to feel more original and also means we get to see greater theatrical moves in the ring as opposed to the standard boxing punches.

With some impressive performances and an interesting, new, sports subject matter, Warrior stands as one of the year’s finest films. Tom Hardy, it seems, can do no wrong (I’m looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy even more now!) and Joel Edgerton has proven that he can handle a central role with ease. If you want a film that will make you cheer and punch the air then this is the film for you. Likewise if you’re interested in predominantly masculine familial dramas then this is my choice for you too.

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