WARRIOR (REVIEW)
Rated
M - 140 mins
Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Jennifer Morrison, Nick Nolte, Kevin
Dunn, Vanessa Martinez
Cliché free this is not; Warrior
is mostly compelling. A slow burning drama about two estranged brothers that have
only two things in common, the hatred towards their father and exceptional skills
at mixed martial arts fighting.
Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) is
back in America after serving on the battlefront of Iraq. He has returned in mysterious
circumstances then reluctantly fronts up on the doorstep of his dad, Paddy (Nick
Nolte). Fourteen years earlier, Tommy had escaped with his mother away from the
clutches of raging alcohol-dependent Paddy. Older brother Brendan (Australia's
fast rising star Joel Edgerton) stayed behind after the departure then became
a high school physics teacher. A massive fight night is looming and each brother
has their own reasons for entering the big event with an equally big prize winning
money of 1 million dollars.
Brendan has a daughter with a heart
defect, so with the mounting medical expense, competing in the tournament seems
logical. Not according to his wife Tess who believes he's too old to keep up with
the young guns. The more talented Tommy allows his now sober father to train him
but not without a continuous spray of insults. A whole childhood rages against
the once drunken Irish boxer who is now bursting with inner regret.
The
performances are a knockout (pardon the pun) with high impact bone-rattling fight
scenes interjected with moments of clarity and emotional tribulations. The veteran
Nolte is exceptional, certainly Oscar worthy baring his soul in a sea of acceptance
and redemption. Soon to be seen as the new nemesis of Batman in The Dark Knight
Rises, Tom Hardy proves his memorable moments during 'Inception' were no fluke.
The screenplay certainly doesn't lack punch, literally, the story mechanics are
just run of the mill and it's hard not to mention 'Rocky', they're both from the
same champion realm of a prize-fighter mould. The only difference is this is cage-fighting,
ferocious brawling at its most brutal in a controlled but wayward atmosphere where
a post-mortem is more likely than a countdown by the referee.
Two
thirds of this long film is the build up to a sibling rivalry face off everyone
in the audience will see coming from very early on.
Shane
A. Bassett
