Movie Review: Warrior (2011)

*SPOILER ALERT*

This is a short movie review about, what could be in my humble opinion, one of the most brutal and emotional fight movies in a long while.

Warrior begins in the city of Pittsburg, where Tommy Riorden (Tom Hardy), an ex-marine, comes back home to his father after 14 years in a bid to train for the largest winner-takes-all mixed martial arts (MMA) purse in history; the 5 million dollar SPARTA event. On the flip side, we see his long forgotten brother Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), a high school physics teacher with a family to support, revisit his past as he too joins the competition to save his home.  

The strained relationship between a once alcoholic but now sober father, with his two estranged sons, is complicated and moving, and the crux of the drama revolves around these three men. Even though the movie is 2hrs 19min long, it really does not feel long at all; the fight scenes were brilliantly executed and the sculpting of Tommy and Brendan’s individual stories move subtly in tandem, snaking up to an inevitable epic conclusion that you will have to witness yourself.

Be sure to turn up the volume on your speakers so that you can feel the violence and brutality which is MMA. From paralyzing face shots to shin-splitting kicks and spine-busting body slams, there is no shortage of insight into one of the world’s most deadly sport. Some of the moves used in the movie like the ‘arm bar’, ‘kimura lock’ and ‘scissors takedown’ are actual moves used by professionals in these MMA circuits, and are not to be taken lightly.

I found myself cheering the underdog Brendan as he outmanoeuvred the cold-eyed Russian machine “Koba”, played by Kurt Angle (yes, Kurt Angle), and cutting to the next scene, feeling a very cold chill down my spine as I witnessed Tommy bestially dispatching his opponents with no remorse. Perhaps this could be a glimpse of what Bane (also played by Tom Hardy) could be like when he ‘breaks the Bat’ in ‘The Dark Knight Rises”; really solid acting of a ruthless animal.

The only complaint I have is closure from the movie because it ends pretty abruptly, riding away into the sunset on a huge emotional climax. But overall, I highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for an extremely engaging fight movie, and although I clearly did not do the gripping tale any justice in these descriptions, it is something you will have to watch and judge for yourself.