Though I’ve never done a movie review before, I have seen two or three of them in my day, so when CagePotato.com and Break.com asked me to do a review of the new MMA-themed film WARRIOR, I told them I’ll check my schedule. Under ten seconds later I happily agreed.
With the bar on MMA-themed movies being set to an embarrassing low with such Academy Award-worthy gems as Fighting and Never Back Down, I didn’t really know what to expect from WARRIOR. I actually left Never Back Down out of embarrassment after the chubby sidekick told the main character, “You’ve gotta train Mai Thai.”
Regardless, I did my best Bangs impression and took my Shorty to the movies to go see Warrior. After sitting through previews that accused Billy Shakespeare of being a plagiarizing charlatan and dancing gerbils driving ugly cars it was Showtime!
Though I’ve never done a movie review before, I have seen two or three of them in my day, so when CagePotato.com and Break.com asked me to do a review of the new MMA-themed film WARRIOR, I told them I’ll check my schedule. Under ten seconds later I happily agreed.
With the bar on MMA-themed movies being set to an embarrassing low with such Academy Award-worthy gems as Fighting and Never Back Down, I didn’t really know what to expect from WARRIOR. I actually left Never Back Down out of embarrassment after the chubby sidekick told the main character, “You’ve gotta train Mai Thai.”
Regardless, I did my best Bangs impression and took my Shorty to the movies to go see Warrior. After sitting through previews that accused Billy Shakespeare of being a plagiarizing charlatan and dancing gerbils driving ugly cars it was Showtime!
I was fully expecting campy dialogue accompanied by terrible acting, and boy was I wrong. The plot made sense and unraveled well. All in all, WARRIOR really packs a punch (get it!). Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) is a former high school wrestling star and Marine with a past filled with demons, which eventually come out as the movie unwinds. After the death of his mother and going incognito for a number of years, Tommy returns to the home of his alcoholic and abusive father Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte) to remind him that he’s a piece of shit while also asking him to help him train for MMA competition.
Unknowingly, his brother Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), a retired MMA fighter with a failed stint in the UFC, is now a high school physics teach who spent all of his money on strippers and cocaine. Did I say strippers and cocaine? I meant he spent all his money on surgery for his ailing daughter who suffers from heart problems. Anyways he faces the possibility of the bank foreclosing on his home unless he comes up with some money fast.
Against the wishes of his wife he makes a comeback to the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Eventually there is a big-time tournament called Sparta with a winner-takes-all five million dollar purse. I’m not going to tell you whether or not they make it into the tournament, but they do. What follows is an epic mixed martial arts tournament that was a throwback to all my favorite movies from back in the day (all of which starred JCVD). The ending even got me a little choked up and made my girlfriend cry.
Although no cast will ever stack up to the original line up in Predator (body mass alone!) the main cast had a lot of depth and played their roles really well. Joel Edgerton played a real likable guy and I believe I noticed a little cauliflower ear. Tom Hardy was a BAD ASS anti-hero and had traps so big he could catch a bear. Nick Nolte was so grizzled and his skin looked like leather! His character was real old school and I believe he taught Chris Brown how to treat a woman.
I also thought it was pretty cool that for the tournament competitors they cast actual MMA Fighters Erik Apple, Nate Marquardt, and Anthony Johnson as well as Olympic gold medalist and pro wrestling superstar Kurt Angle playing a scary Russian stud which I know sounds corny and unbelievable but he makes it work by not talking (it’s true! It’s true). Other MMA fighters & personalities who make appearances include Roan Carneiro, Yves Edwards, Stephan Bonnar, Rashad Evans, Hans Marrero and referee Josh Rosenthal.
On a scale of 1 to 2, with 1 meaning it blew ass and 2 meaning it was a good flick, it is definitely a 2. So gather up your broskis and make the trip to your local theatre and see WARRIOR!!!
Warrior hits theaters today — will it live up to its “serious MMA movie” hype? (I mean, I think it does, but everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, right?) Come back this afternoon for Nick Newell‘s review of the flick, which will challenge everything you know about film criticism.
Warrior hits theaters today — will it live up to its “serious MMA movie” hype? (I mean, I think it does, but everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, right?) Come back this afternoon for Nick Newell‘s review of the flick, which will challenge everything you know about film criticism.
The best kinds of movies, like the best kinds of journalism, are not about a subject, but about people. For this reason, describing “Warrior” as an “MMA movie” is not quite accurate. Because Warrior is the best kind of movie, a complex film about family, set against a backdrop of sports.
The story unfolds in time, confidently led by director Gavin O’Connor, a name perhaps familiar to MMA fans for his stewardship of “The Smashing Machine,” a 2002 documentary of Mark Kerr. Despite its singular title, the film is essentially the story of a family that has been torn apart by a long history of tragedy. To call the family divided doesn’t quite do them justice; there doesn’t seem to be a prayer of reconciliation for them.
O’Connor’s deft touch unfolds from the opening frames, telling the parallel stories of estranged brothers Tommy and Brendan Conlon, and their father Paddy, a recovering alcoholic. The family is Pennsylvania born and bred, and that background shades their characterizations. Like many of the men from that region, they are blue-collar grinders who don’t always have a lot to say, but rather hint at difficulties beneath their troubled eyes.
At the outset, it appears Tommy (played by Tom Hardy) and Brendan (played by Joel Edgerton) could not have turned out more differently. While life for Tommy was so bad he literally ran off to war to escape his everyday existence, Brendan has settled into a suburban life complete with a teaching job, a marriage and children.
We quickly learn, however, that the brothers are indeed rather similar. Fourteen years after last seeing his brother and father, Tommy returns home to Pittsburgh with barely a word, but a request. He wants his father Paddy — played brilliantly by Nick Nolte — to coach him for an upcoming, $5 million MMA tournament called “Sparta.” As the story goes on, we learn that Tommy was at one time a high school wrestling standout, and Paddy was his coach, and Tommy soon makes clear that this is a business arrangement and nothing else.
Hardy’s riveting intensity and brooding silence tell a story that is always simmering below the surface. In due time, we learn more about his mysterious past, his selfless motivations to win Sparta, and the depth of feeling that led to his detachment from his family. None of it is revealed by Hardy, who excels at the hardest job an actor can have: acting without speaking.
There is a lot of that in Warrior. Despite a 2-hour, 20-minute run time, there are many pockets of silence, but none wasted. Unspoken communication is an ongoing theme in the movie. There is the implied family-altering history, there is a coach who uses music as a learning tool, and there is fighting as a solution to problems.
While Tommy and Paddy’s damaged relationship dangles in the balance, Brendan — who we learn is a former UFC fighter — is faced with financial difficulties of his own. For him, fighting is simply a way to make money, a selfless act of surrendering his body to provide for his wife and kids, even as they object.
Of course, Tommy and Brendan never quite know they are on a potential collision course until it’s too late.
Less than half of the movie is actually devoted to the tournament. MMA fans will see some familiar faces, like Nate Marquardt, Anthony Johnson, and referee Josh Rosenthal. The in-cage action is fairly close to reality, though there are a few moments that will cause fleeting cringes if you’re not one to voluntarily suspend disbelief. Most audiences, however, will have no problem looking past those small issues.
Nearly every key member of the cast shines in his role, particularly Nolte as a father desperate to mend the destroyed relationships between himself and his boys. Despite his time as a recovering alcoholic, Nolte’s character Paddy does not yet have the clarity of mind or perhaps the will to summon a real solution. He tries and repeatedly fails, even when Tommy is living under his roof again. Both sons have pieces of their father in the personalities. Tommy bottles everything up tight, and given his military background, you feel like he wouldn’t give up his feelings under the threat of waterboarding. Brendan at least tries, but like dad, he also hides things, not informing his wife of his plans to fight again until his mind is already made up.
Because of superficial similarities in genre, there have been comparisons between “Warrior” and “The Fighter,” the 2010 film based on the life of boxer Micky Ward. A comparison to a film that earned seven Academy Award nominations is quite complimentary, yet the films and performances within each are quite different. Hardy and Edgerton, for example, are nowhere near as well known as Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, who played the two leads in The Fighter. One film is a biopic, the other is completely fictional. The Fighter finds its emotional balance in the love story between Ward and Charlene; Warrior is anchored solely in the roots of family. Finally, I would boldy add, Warrior is the better of the two films.
It is filled with layered performances, confidently directed and powerful. While most films have formulaic protagonist/antagonist relationships, it says plenty about Warrior that by the film’s climax, you’re not quite sure what to hope for or who to root for. Life’s conclusions aren’t always clear and clean, and this film leaves us the same way. Everything isn’t tied up nicely with a bow; it’s no Hollywood ending. It’s more challenging that that. There has been some early Oscar buzz for Warrior and its cast. For fans who have been subject to a series of MMA-related movie duds, that may come as a shock, but it is truly an excellent piece of moviemaking.
Warrior is also important for the place it will undoubtedly find in pop culture. Movements don’t take place in a day; they happen over time, in spurts, until a few waves of momentum become a tsunami. This is a film that’s good for the sport, not for technique or action, but for the humanization of its athletes, fictional though they may be. Tommy and Brendan may be troubled, but at least they’re fighting for something. For the remaining few who still see MMA’s athletes as brainless barbarians, it’s an opportunity to see fighters as real people, with real problems.
Much like MMA itself, “Warrior” has more at play than what we see at surface level. Tommy’s plotline has geopolitical overtones, Brendan’s shadows the current economic landscape in the U.S., and Paddy’s tells the universal tale of parental regret. The ultimate conclusion for the trio may not be ultimately conclusive, but it’s a step forward, and in their complex world, that’s just as welcome as a happy ending.
The best kinds of movies, like the best kinds of journalism, are not about a subject, but about people. For this reason, describing “Warrior” as an “MMA movie” is not quite accurate. Because Warrior is the best kind of movie, a complex film about family, set against a backdrop of sports.
The story unfolds in time, confidently led by director Gavin O’Connor, a name perhaps familiar to MMA fans for his stewardship of “The Smashing Machine,” a 2002 documentary of Mark Kerr. Despite its singular title, the film is essentially the story of a family that has been torn apart by a long history of tragedy. To call the family divided doesn’t quite do them justice; there doesn’t seem to be a prayer of reconciliation for them.
O’Connor’s deft touch unfolds from the opening frames, telling the parallel stories of estranged brothers Tommy and Brendan Conlon, and their father Paddy, a recovering alcoholic. The family is Pennsylvania born and bred, and that background shades their characterizations. Like many of the men from that region, they are blue-collar grinders who don’t always have a lot to say, but rather hint at difficulties beneath their troubled eyes.
At the outset, it appears Tommy (played by Tom Hardy) and Brendan (played by Joel Edgerton) could not have turned out more differently. While life for Tommy was so bad he literally ran off to war to escape his everyday existence, Brendan has settled into a suburban life complete with a teaching job, a marriage and children.
We quickly learn, however, that the brothers are indeed rather similar. Fourteen years after last seeing his brother and father, Tommy returns home to Pittsburgh with barely a word, but a request. He wants his father Paddy — played brilliantly by Nick Nolte — to coach him for an upcoming, $5 million MMA tournament called “Sparta.” As the story goes on, we learn that Tommy was at one time a high school wrestling standout, and Paddy was his coach, and Tommy soon makes clear that this is a business arrangement and nothing else.
Hardy’s riveting intensity and brooding silence tell a story that is always simmering below the surface. In due time, we learn more about his mysterious past, his selfless motivations to win Sparta, and the depth of feeling that led to his detachment from his family. None of it is revealed by Hardy, who excels at the hardest job an actor can have: acting without speaking.
There is a lot of that in Warrior. Despite a 2-hour, 20-minute run time, there are many pockets of silence, but none wasted. Unspoken communication is an ongoing theme in the movie. There is the implied family-altering history, there is a coach who uses music as a learning tool, and there is fighting as a solution to problems.
While Tommy and Paddy’s damaged relationship dangles in the balance, Brendan — who we learn is a former UFC fighter — is faced with financial difficulties of his own. For him, fighting is simply a way to make money, a selfless act of surrendering his body to provide for his wife and kids, even as they object.
Of course, Tommy and Brendan never quite know they are on a potential collision course until it’s too late.
Less than half of the movie is actually devoted to the tournament. MMA fans will see some familiar faces, like Nate Marquardt, Anthony Johnson, and referee Josh Rosenthal. The in-cage action is fairly close to reality, though there are a few moments that will cause fleeting cringes if you’re not one to voluntarily suspend disbelief. Most audiences, however, will have no problem looking past those small issues.
Nearly every key member of the cast shines in his role, particularly Nolte as a father desperate to mend the destroyed relationships between himself and his boys. Despite his time as a recovering alcoholic, Nolte’s character Paddy does not yet have the clarity of mind or perhaps the will to summon a real solution. He tries and repeatedly fails, even when Tommy is living under his roof again. Both sons have pieces of their father in the personalities. Tommy bottles everything up tight, and given his military background, you feel like he wouldn’t give up his feelings under the threat of waterboarding. Brendan at least tries, but like dad, he also hides things, not informing his wife of his plans to fight again until his mind is already made up.
Because of superficial similarities in genre, there have been comparisons between “Warrior” and “The Fighter,” the 2010 film based on the life of boxer Micky Ward. A comparison to a film that earned seven Academy Award nominations is quite complimentary, yet the films and performances within each are quite different. Hardy and Edgerton, for example, are nowhere near as well known as Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, who played the two leads in The Fighter. One film is a biopic, the other is completely fictional. The Fighter finds its emotional balance in the love story between Ward and Charlene; Warrior is anchored solely in the roots of family. Finally, I would boldy add, Warrior is the better of the two films.
It is filled with layered performances, confidently directed and powerful. While most films have formulaic protagonist/antagonist relationships, it says plenty about Warrior that by the film’s climax, you’re not quite sure what to hope for or who to root for. Life’s conclusions aren’t always clear and clean, and this film leaves us the same way. Everything isn’t tied up nicely with a bow; it’s no Hollywood ending. It’s more challenging that that. There has been some early Oscar buzz for Warrior and its cast. For fans who have been subject to a series of MMA-related movie duds, that may come as a shock, but it is truly an excellent piece of moviemaking.
Warrior is also important for the place it will undoubtedly find in pop culture. Movements don’t take place in a day; they happen over time, in spurts, until a few waves of momentum become a tsunami. This is a film that’s good for the sport, not for technique or action, but for the humanization of its athletes, fictional though they may be. Tommy and Brendan may be troubled, but at least they’re fighting for something. For the remaining few who still see MMA’s athletes as brainless barbarians, it’s an opportunity to see fighters as real people, with real problems.
Much like MMA itself, “Warrior” has more at play than what we see at surface level. Tommy’s plotline has geopolitical overtones, Brendan’s shadows the current economic landscape in the U.S., and Paddy’s tells the universal tale of parental regret. The ultimate conclusion for the trio may not be ultimately conclusive, but it’s a step forward, and in their complex world, that’s just as welcome as a happy ending.
Warrior hits theaters this Friday, and as you already know, I thought it was a damn good time. Somehow, bjjireland was able to lurk behind the cameras during filming, and got some amazing footage of the movie-making process. For example, these behind-the-scenes videos highlight the fact that co-stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton did all their own stunts for the MMA fight scenes, and have the scars to prove it. Also, neither one of them is from the United States, and yet both of them did passable American accents, which is admirable in itself.
The never-before-seen footage continues after the jump, with director Gavin O’Connor helping his actors find their emotional motivation in the midst of a cage-fight. Very cool stuff.
Warrior hits theaters this Friday, and as you already know, I thought it was a damn good time. Somehow, bjjireland was able to lurk behind the cameras during filming, and got some amazing footage of the movie-making process. For example, these behind-the-scenes videos highlight the fact that co-stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton did most of their own stunts for the MMA fight scenes, and have the scars to prove it. Also, neither one of them is from the United States, and yet both of them did passable American accents, which is admirable in itself.
The never-before-seen footage continues after the jump, with director Gavin O’Connor helping his actors find their emotional motivation in the midst of a cage-fight. Very cool stuff.
In the latest preview, Tommy, played by Inception’s Tom Hardy, who will also be playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, steps in to work with the big dog at the gym who has knocked out all of his apt training partners. Hilarity ensues.
In the latest preview, Tommy, played by Inception’s Tom Hardy, who will also be playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, steps in to work with the big dog at the gym who has knocked out all of his apt training partners. Hilarity ensues.
The movie comes out September 9 and the reviews of the film, which was directed by Gavin O’Connor who also did “Miracle” in 2004, have been solid. It’s definitely worth seeing.
(Anderson Silva is brought to tears by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s win at UFC 134. Props: Gesias)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Dana White Still Open to Signing Alistair Overeem (NBC Sports MMA)
– Ryan Jimmo predicts a TKO against Sokoudjou at MFC 31 on Oct. 7 (MMA Mania)
– Exclusive Photos From Fight Rehearsals on “Warrior” Film (TheFightNerd)
– Postcards From Rio, Part III: Fight Night Musings From Beer-Soaked Press Row (MMA Fighting)
(Anderson Silva is brought to tears by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s win at UFC 134. Props: Gesias)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Dana White Still Open to Signing Alistair Overeem (NBC Sports MMA)
– Ryan Jimmo predicts a TKO against Sokoudjou at MFC 31 on Oct. 7 (MMA Mania)
– Exclusive Photos From Fight Rehearsals on “Warrior” Film (TheFightNerd)
– Postcards From Rio, Part III: Fight Night Musings From Beer-Soaked Press Row (MMA Fighting)