REVIEW: ‘Warrior’ packs a touching but intense punch
What would you fight for? “Warrior” is the story of two brothers who, for various reasons, come together to fight each other in the “Super Bowl of Mixed Martial Arts.”
Brendan (Joel Edgerton) is a fun physics teacher and a loving husband and father struggling to make ends meet. With one of his daughters’ medical bills and a mortgage payment, the three jobs between his wife (Jennifer Morrison) and him are not enough to keep their financial heads above the water. When the bank tells him he has 90 days before his house will be foreclosed on, Brendan decides to take action and make some extra money by fighting in contests at clubs.
Word reaches the school and Brendan is suspended without pay. With no where else to go, Brendan begins training so he can make more money on the club fights. While training, Brendan has the opportunity to be a replacement fighter for Sparta, the biggest winner-take-all championship tournament in the world. With money being scarce, he quickly seizes the chance and begins training more rigorously.
Meanwhile Tommy (Tom Hardy) returns from military duty in Iraq, and joins a gym to keep busy. While exercising, he offers to spar with the defending middleweight champion fighter and ends up pummelling him. The owner and trainer of the gym offers to get Tommy into Sparta. Tommy then recruits his father as his trainer.
After a couple months of training, the day of the championship arrives, and the excitement of the movie intensifies exponentially.
Brendan and Tommy’s father Paddy (Nick Nolte) has a dark past as an abusive alcoholic who caused his family to leave him, which significantly changed the life of Brendan and Tommy forever. As he changes and progresses in fighting his addictions, he tries to re-enter his sons’ lives. The path of forgiveness and redemption is not an easy one, but it’s one that Paddy will walk for as long as he needs to.
Throughout the film, Brendan faces a series of defining questions, including “How far will you go to hold onto everything you have?” and “What will you do to protect your family?” The answers to these questions carry him through every challenge he faces.
I enjoyed the philosophies introduced in the movie. Brendan’s coach (Frank Grillo) was full of unorthodox theories and methods which I became drawn to. Quotes like “If you don’t move you die,” “soul of a lion,” “He who controls the pace, controls the victory,” and “simply believe,” were posted around the training club, adding an additional mental edge to the world of combat.
The fighting was realistic in all of it’s brutality and intensity. I could almost feel the punches, slams, and hits as they happened. Also, the brothers’ stories were well balanced. There was one creative sequence I particularly enjoyed showing side by side scenes of the brothers as they trained.
Edgerton, best known for playing Gawain in “King Arthur” and Owen Lars in the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, is excellent in his portrayal of a father, teacher and fighter. His role is so believable, making it easy to relate to his character. I didn’t go into the movie with any preconceived ideas about Edgerton, because he is a lesser known actor, and this actually helped build the realism of his character.
Hardy, famous for playing Eames in “Inception” and Bane in next year’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” is amazing as a U.S. Marine who returns home to fight with a purpose. Don’t expect him to be suave like he was in “Inception.” Hardy’s character is like a fierce rugged animal when fighting but has a vulnerable core when he’s away from the action.
Morrison, from “Star Trek” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” gives a well-defined level of emotion as the wife of a physics teacher turned cage fighter. She has the perfect amount of intensity and internal conflict, as she deals with the challenges of taking care of a family and supporting a husband with a risky job.
Director and writer Gavin O’Connor, who previously directed “Miracle,” once again presents an inspiring sports-related action movie. He puts the audience in the middle of the action, making it feel like you’re half watching and half fighting a cage fight.
Mark Isham once again delivered a solid soundtrack. It was inspirational and had heart. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” will never be the same for me again, as it was used by Brendan’s coach to keep his fighters calm, patient and composed, and was the theme song for Brendan in his Sparta fight entrances.
This movie made me feel invincible, but I also shed some tears. “Warrior” has heart and muscle, brain and brawn, touching moments and physical intensity. You should go see this movie.
— Spencer Palmer is a graduate student working toward an MBA with a recent bachelors in mechanical engineering. He enjoys watching all sorts of movies. Email him at spencer.palmer@aggiemail.usu.edu.