Mixed Martial arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the last few years and we were bound to see a movie about it sooner or later. It makes sense to capitalize on it and try to put a personality to it (other than taking two men and having them beat the hell out of one another for a few rounds).
“Warrior” the new movie by Gavin O’Connor (“Miracle”and “Pride and Glory”) not only looks at the physical toll it has on its fighters but also gives a solid story of what some of these fighters go through to win the ultimate prize, which interestingly enough, isn’t always about the money.
We are given three members of a dysfunctional family. The father, Paddy Conlon (played by Nick Nolte) who is a recovering alcoholic coming up on his 1,000th day sober. The older brother, Brendan Conlon (played by Joel Edgerton), an ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter who is about to lose his home to foreclosure and is now working a job as a high school physics teacher. And the younger brother, Tom Conlon (played by Tom Hardy) who is running from a mystery that occurred during his time as a Marine in Iraq.
The entire story line has an underlying mystery to it. Something dark happened between these three men years ago that made Tom and their mother run away and Brendan and Paddy stay behind in Pennsylvania. We are slowly revealed the pieces of this puzzle throughout the entire story. It was enough to keep the audience engaged and guessing why two of these men are not willing to admit that they were wrong. (Sounds like a man, right?)
Tom comes back from the Marines to Paddy’s house with enough anger and resentment to fill a coliseum. Paddy with all of his sober intentions only wants the two of them to make up and start over again. Tom will have nothing to do with it and goes to the local gym where in a sparring match, he knocks down a fighter that shouldn’t be knocked down by a nobody.
Meanwhile we see a family story develop with Brendan, his wife and children. They are about to lose their home and with all of Brendan’s ego, he refuses to take a step backwards. (Sounds like a man, right?)
This couldn’t be a story about guys being too tough to accept defeat or mending broken relationships. The fight of the century is coming up in Atlantic City. A fight organizer wants to find out who the toughest man on the planet is through a series of “winner takes all” cage matches.
After building the two back stories through a training montage we move into the “Sparta Championship.” While there Brendan and Tommy reunite on a beach. There was a lot of emotion on Brendan’s part and a lot grunting on Tommy’s part. Did you think that they were going to resolve their issues on beach? That’s what cage matches are for.
After several intense fight scenes, the story finally climaxes where Tommy and Brendan have to fight one another to win the $5 million prize. One is fighting to for his family and home. The other is doing it to prove to himself that he can do it.
Should you see this movie? Sure, it’s a good movie for fans of this sport. For the non-fans who are new to this sport, there is enough of a story line to hold their attention. It was a blast to see Tommy’s fight scenes where he knocked his opponents out with one or two punches instead of the standard “let’s drag this movie out through highly choreographed fights.”
