Warrior (2011) - Gavin O'Connor

Synopsis:

Two brothers, who haven't seen each other since they were teenagers due to a rocky relationship with their abusive father, fight for the grand prize in an MMA competition.

I'll start by saying this. Easily one of the most bad ass films you will ever see. It was full to the brim of badassery! A war hero marine fights his way to the top of the most badass MMA competition, pledging to give the prize money to the widow of one of his fallen comrades. Simultaneously his brother, an ex-MMA fighter turned responsible Physics teacher with a family whom he is desperately trying to support due to medical bills, is also fighting his way to the grand prize. What makes this film so great is that you want to root for one of these men, yet, you cant help but deep down root for both. While watching it me and house mates were split on who we wanted to win, and to be fair the film makers made it a tough choice. Which I think is brilliant. The thing that let it down for me a bit was that I think they pushed Tom Hardy a bit too much. Everyone loves a badass, and despite his older brother being full of hidden badassery, the quiet-loner-hero nature of Hardy's character is always more likely to swing fans in his favour, particularly the men, the main audience of the picture. That said I'm quite contrary so I ended routing for the other guy anyway, that and I really felt more for his back story, I guess it depends on what rings more important to you. Which is what this film is about.

Obviously they want you to feel pathos for the characters. One of my house mates said they should put in more fighting as those are the best parts of the film, and granted that's what the film is about. But if you don't care about the fighter, how are you going to care about the fight? This film seems to go right down down the middle, more action heavy towards the end, but you get such a sense of the characters and what they've been through it makes the final battle that much more epic! Something I thoroughly applaud the creators for. If you look at say Transformers 3, it was all fighting, no character building so I couldn't give two craps about the fallen robots, I didn't even know their frickin' names! But here we route for these guys, both of them, Tommy and Brendan. Two men fighting for what's right. This is why the film is called Warrior. They aren't just fighters, they're both hero's in their own right, built for battle... they are Warriors!

Heck, you're even made to feel sorry for their drunk and abusive turned sober father. You never really learn what he did but you can assume he was quite the tyrant when the boys were young as they have so much animosity towards him. But he seemed so frail and apologetic the whole time you cant help but feel for him. I kept telling myself no, you're not supposed to feel for this guy. Is that a mistake on the film makers part? Or is it a subtle play on human emotion? All I know is Nick Nolte did a brilliant job here.

But lets get to the nitty gritty. The fighting. I can think of a word beginning with 'B' to describe it but I think you know what I'm going to say. It was incredible, have to be honest and say I'm not sure how they were going to pull it off cinematographically but they did it with perfection. All the camera moves are swift, with fast cuts left right and centre, often a flaw when it comes to fighting and action films. However, you can still see everything! Every punch and intricate move, it's like you're watching real fights, except better. Many UFC type fights tend to drag a bit, in my opinion, and yet every bout was perfectly timed and when you've got a series of fights in a row to end the film you don't want to bore your audience. Every battle left me wanting more, I craved the carnage, which is all you can ask of a film aptly dubbed Warrior.

Overview:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, badass. So badass me and my house mates were acting like giddy children talking about joining a UFC or boxing club and throwing half-arsed punches in the kitchen. A classic beat 'em up flick with depth to match. Did I mention it was badass?

Rating:

★★★★★