TXMMA Movie Review – “Warrior” – The Dallas Edition

Written by: Lindsey Angelone, TXMMA.com Contributing Writer / Photographer

DALLAS, TX, August 4, 2011 – An invite to the pre-screening of Warrior?  A movie about MMA…ANOTHER movie about MMA… Okay, I’m game.

Avoiding trailer previews or any further details about the film and relying solely on my faith in Lionsgate Productions along with my appreciation of the previous roles Tom Hardy had chosen to play, I sat down in the theater with a relatively clean slate in an attempt to give the film an unbiased chance to captivate me. When all was said and done, I’m happy to say that it succeeded.

The announcement of the “Sparta” tournament to find the toughest man on earth and reward him with a winner-takes-all $5 million dollar purse finds our three main characters facing challenges they never imagined. Paddy (Nick Nolte) is a recovering alcoholic estranged from his two sons, Brendan (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy (Tom Hardy). After what is alluded to as a painful and abusive past and carrying a mountain of resentment towards his father, Tommy finds himself back in his hometown at his father’s doorstep asking for his help training to fight in the “Sparta” tournament.  Brendan, a high school physics teacher and family man that secretly competes in questionable parking lot smokers for extra cash, sees the tournament as a way to pull his family from the clutches of financial hardship and foreclosure by returning to his roots, training again as he did in the past for the UFC.

The challenge that the “Sparta” tournament presents for its international competitors is almost dwarfed by the emotional challenges each of the main characters face. Paddy lives in regret and struggles to have the forgiveness of his two sons for the difficulties caused by his alcoholism among other things. Brandon faces financial crisis with the idea that he will disappoint his family and lose everything he has built while being faced with demons from his past when his Father reaches out to him. Tommy, the darkest of the three, lives with anger in his heart for his Father and Brother, focused on winning to prove his strength and follow through on his promises while carrying the weight of his angst on his shoulders. His build and body language make his pain palpable while he works with Paddy in the gym and pushes him away every chance he gets outside training, lashing out with words that cut straight to the heart of a character that is impeccably portrayed by Nick Nolte. Feeling torment and heartache for the three of them drags you into the story while the MMA action makes you clinch your fists.

While I’m so often let down by most MMA films with most actors’  lack of knowledge of the sport or attention to details and technique ,I was quite pleased with the realism in the fighting sequences in this film. Warrior overcame that stigma and put the audience in front of what felt as real as the Pride 19 face-off between Don Frye and Ken Shamrock. love it or hate it you still want to see it.

In a world where mixed martial arts is often exploited in films that lack integrity, accuracy in the sport, and true emotional investment in the story, Warrior stood up to the challenge and filled the void left by its half-assed predecessors. I’d definitely recommend checking it out when it hits theaters on September 9th.

About WARRIOR (Lionsgate Productions)

Rising stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton command the screen as two estranged brothers facing the fight of a lifetime­ in Lionsgate’s WARRIOR, a moving, inspirational action drama from acclaimed director Gavin O’Connor (MIRACLE). Haunted by a tragic past, Marine Tommy Conlon (Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for “Sparta,” the biggest winner-takes-all event in the sport of mixed martial arts. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan’s unlikely, underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart, facing off in a soaring, soul-stirring, unforgettable climax that must be seen to be believed. A rousing ode to redemption, reconciliation and the power of the human spirit, WARRIOR is also a moving testament to the enduring bonds of family.

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