Warrior

Tommy Riordin (Tom Hardy) returns home, seemingly unannounced, and he begins to train at a local gym. After sparring with local talent Mad Dog Grimes, and easily defeating him, the video goes viral and Tommy becomes the talk of not only the town but people everywhere. Tommy must deal with the past, including his alcoholic father and a military service that ended in a way Tommy would rather forget. At the same time his brother Brendan Conlin (Joel Edgerton) faces bankruptcy and foreclosure on the house he shares with wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison) and his two daughters. Brendan decides, much to the dismay of Tess that getting back into fighting may be the way in which he can make up the money his family needs. The two brothers find themselves in the Sparta tournament, where 16 men fight, one vs one, until only one man is left standing and can be called the best fighter in America.

Well structured, Warrior finds itself making it all about the struggles of the two main characters, way before you see them in the ring. Tommy has pills in his hand, struggling to ease the pain of a past he would rather forget, and Brendan is talking to a bank manager who tells him that he has less than three months to find the money or his house will be taken. Brendan gets even more bad news, when he is suspended from his high school teaching duties for being apart of a fight card. Both men are forced into the ring, one to vent aggression and the other to try and provide for the only people he cares about. Both men look to be incredible shape, Hardy and Edgerton packed on the muscle and definitely spent time training for Warrior. Not only are they both at peak physical condition, but they are both at the top of their game as far as acting goes as well.

Warrior is more about them as humans then it is about them beating the hell out of people in the ring. Tommy is a ruthless animal in the cage, knocking out every opponent in less than one round, where Brendan is smart and tactical waiting for the right opportunity to strike and make his presence known. Both men have been unable to forgive their alcoholic father (Nick Nolte) for the way in which their family was always divided. Tommys past is much more secretive then that of his brothers. Brendan fell in love with Tess and made a life for himself, where Tommy always struggled to do that, even when he joined the Marines.

What Warrior does so well, is it mixes the heart of a fighting champion, with the heart of two real-life people who have suffered through painful experience. The pain they feel in the ring is just the beginning, the pain the feel within is much deeper and more crippling than any injury sustained while fighting in the ring. They both have nothing more to lose, Brendan will lose the house if he doesn't win, and Tommy will lose his chance to help out someone who lost everything.

Tommy does happen to be the better written of the two brothers, simply because some of his past is left to be realized as the film progresses. With Brendan, all the cards are one the table, he was fighting for Tess and his daughters more than for himself. With Tommy, he was made out to be a selfish, take no sh*t kind of guy. Later on, we the audience realize he went through a traumatic experience, when he was the only person of his Squad to survive a friendly fire incident. It is at this time we learn Tommy is trying to distance himself from his days in the Marines so he does not have to deal with the fact he deserted.

When the film is not slowing down (with what could be called near perfection) it is a fast paced, relentless in your face fight movie, with scenes that look like they came straight from the latest UFC fight card. The fight scenes are incredible, as are the in between rounds scenes, where Brendan is in the corner talking to his trainer and trying to keep his composure through some physically gruelling fights.

As the two brothers start to head down a path that leads to both of them in the final, they are forced to deal with the pains of the past, both choosing to do so in different ways. Warrior is a film that is a bit predictable, but it is the only in which the story could be told so elegantly without compromising the integrity of the characters.

One of the best pictures to capture the realism of the sport on display, while still capturing heart wrenching performances from the main actors. Warrior is a solid movie, full of heart and soul. You will be cheering for both of the brothers, even though you know in MMA there can only be one winner.

10/10