Video Back-Log: "Warrior"

**originally release:  9/9/2011**

I'm probably not the only one whose been on a Tom Hardy kick lately because of "The Dark Knight Rises". Seeing that I've already seen quite a bit of his work ("Layer Cake", "Star Trek: Nemesis", "Inception", "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "This Means War"), I didn't have to go far to play catch up with last year's "Warrior".  Once again, I was not disappointed.

Taking place in the world of MMA (mixed martial arts, for those who are not sports savvy...like me) fighting, "Warrior" tells the story of two brothers who enter the ring for different reasons.  Brendan (Joel Edgerton) --  high school physics teacher and loving husband/father -- finds himself upside down in his mortgage, desperately trying to make ends meet, and about to foreclose on his house.  Tommy (Hardy), a former Marine, comes home embittered and cold, looking for something to do with his anger, stumbling upon a gym where they train MMA fighters and becoming an instant YouTube sensation after easily defeating popular fighter Pete "Mad Dog" Grimes (Erik Apple).  While Tommy relies on the training of their newly sober father (Nick Nolte), Brendan, a previously seasoned UFC fighter, turns to old friend Frank (Frank Grillo) to get him ring ready -- much to the chagrin of his wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison), who would rather be broke and homeless before seeing Brendan go back to fighting for a living.

Director Gavin O'Connor ("Pride And Glory", "Miracle"), who co-wrote the script with writer Anthony Tambakis (feature film debut) and Cliff Dorfman (also his feature film debut, but was a staff writer for HBO's "Entourage"), brings us a story of MMA fighting, making these muscle-heads look human.  Though it mainly focuses on Tommy and Brendan and the trials they go through to make it to the big competition at the end of the film, the other fighters are shown briefly as well, allowing their personalities to show through, allowing them to appear human, for better or worse.  In the end, it is a sports movie, of course, but it's one that is fairly compelling.

Nick Nolte earned a lot of attention for this movie, garnering an Oscar nomination for his role as Paddy Conlon.  And he's good here, don't get me wrong.  But what kept me glued to the screen was both Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy.  Tom Hardy, instead of being brash and sarcastic like in a lot of his movies, is dark, brooding, and drop-of-a-hat violent, easily trashing his opponents and leaving the ring without a victory dance or acknowledgment of any kind.  Joel Edgerton, who has been making quite the name for himself lately starring in "The Thing (2011)" and the upcoming "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", has an amazing screen presence, while giving a very minimalist performance.

Of course, "Warrior" is about the MMA bouts.  The wonderfully choreographed fight scenes are incredible, though a bit tough to watch at times.  It's the same kind of brutality you'd find in "Fight Club" (perhaps just a bit more athletic appearing), but, when you realize that people actually do this to one another in an actual cage match and get paid for it in real life, it makes the action all too real.  If that makes me a wuss, then get me a pink tutu and tiara.  I don't care.  Hearing the bones crunching and the fists slapping against bare skin becomes a bit overwhelming knowing that this is actually happening to someone as we're talking about the film.  In the end, I was cheering as much as the rest of the cast in the final battles leading up to the end, but it's a hell of a bloody journey getting there.  And the relationships with the characters are quite compelling, making it a good movie overall.

FINAL VERDICT:  Though sometimes an arduous task to get through the film at times, "Warrior" is a great movie.  I can't say that I'll be watching any UFC bouts any time soon, but the film is a compelling, stirring look at the world of MMA fighters, and the hell they have to go through both in the ring and in their personal lives to do what they do.  It's definitely worth viewing, but, if you're at all squeamish, you have been warned.