PRINTMovie Review: Warrior
A movie about two brothers, with one passion
Photo courtesy of Lionsgate Films
September 10, 2011 | 12:00 p.m. CST
Warrior is a compelling movie that has the potential to join the ranks of movies like Rocky and The Fighter and will have you cheering from your seat.
Warrior is a story of two very different brothers Tommy (Tom Hardy), who would make you run the other way fast, and Brendan (Joel Edgerton), a high school physics teacher. The two aren't in contact with each other, but both resort to fighting for their careers; Brendan is suspended at his school after he is seen fighting for extra money, and Tommy returns home from Iraq with nothing else for him to do except take out his aggression in fighting. He comes to his recovering alcoholic father for training, but makes it clear that he is nothing more than a trainer to him. Brendan seeks out an old trainer in hopes of making money to pay for his house. Both of the brothers have such talent in the cage that they find themselves at the largest tournament ever, Sparta, in Atlantic City.
Related MovieThe tournament is by far the best part of the movie. The scenes make you want to yell out loud from your seat. Predictably, the brothers find themselves fighting each other in the final fight. You're not exactly sure who to root for, and the outcome is surprising. It all culminates in the brilliant final scene of the movie, in which they finally acknowledge each other as brothers.
Despite the fact that Hardy has about 15 lines in the entire movie, he gives a brilliant portrayal of a very troubled and angry man who is holding in a lot of pain and secrets. And Nick Nolte, as the father, makes you feel his pain as he desperately tries to reconnect with his sons who want nothing to do with him.
Overall, Warrior is a movie that will have you emotionally invested and wanting to cheer for the entire last half of the movie.
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