Director: Gavin O'ConnorCast: Joel Edgerton (King Arthur), Tom Hardy (Inception), Nick Nolte (The Thin red Line, Hotel Rwanda), Jennifer Morrison (House M.D.)
The Deal: Youngest son Tommy (Hardy) returns home from war and seeks his dad (Nolte) to train him for the upcoming MMA Sparta tournament. This sets him on a collision course with his older brother Brendan (Edgerton), with whom he has unresolved issues from their broken childhood, who's competing in the tournament as a last ditch effort to win the $5mil purse and save his family's home.
Thoughts: The crazy thing about this film is it sets the audience up to root for both brothers even though it's clear only one will come out on top. The struggles the two have endured since their broken childhood has left them scarred and searching for answers, be it retribution or forgiveness. Hardy and Edgerton both turn in emotionally charged performances that separate their characters from the other, stereotypical "animals" that comprise the MMA fighters.
Now let's not forget, this is a film about mixed martial arts fighting, but even if you have no interest in the sport, you will find yourself completely drawn into the fights due to our compelling leads, and you may just find yourself walking away from the film wanting to start watching MMA fights on TV. MMA is brutal and animalistic, something that is made very clear and present in the film, yet whenever our war hero and physics teacher step into the cage, you see a real person, pain and determination in their eyes, fighting to fix their broken life.
Verdict: Warrior's emotionally charged performances and adrenaline pumping fights make for a great film, start to finish, and a top 5 film for 2011. ☆☆☆☆1/2
No comments:
Post a Comment