MOVIE REVIEW: WARRIOR

Warrior tells the story of the broken Conlon family, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Paddy (Nick Nolte), who figuratively and literally fight to repair themselves and their family. An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for a Mixed Martial Arts( MMA) tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father. But when Brendan’s unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives

PRO’S

• Great story line that gets you hook from the beginning to the end of the movie.
• You will feel for the father , played by Nick Nolte , as he struggles to find forgiveness from his sons.
• The relationship between the two estranged brothers was developed perfectly.
• The conversations between Tommy (Tom Hardy) and is father (Nick Nolte) were done perfectly , lines such as “..hard to find a woman who can take a punch these days” contains the history of Tommy’s childhood, his fighter’s voice, his humour, his father’s backstory and the character of his mother, all in 11 words.
• The fights were excellent , even if you are not a fan of Mixed Martial Arts , you will be impressed.

FAVORITE QUOTES

Brendan Conlon(Joel Edgerton): C’mon, it’s not as bad as it looks.

Principal Zito: Are you being literal or figurative? Because literally it looks bad. And figuratively it looks even worse.

Tommy Conlon(Tom Hardy): Mom needed you. I needed you. You were my big brother and you bailed on me.

CONCLUSION

Coming out of the summer movie season that has been filled with larger than life super hero’s , this movie brings us back to real life. Dotted with emotional honesty and strong storytelling that you only find in truly special movies. It is much more than a “fight” movie . One of the top 5 movies of the year.

RATING

5 out of 5

BY KAPA187