Directed by:
Gavin O'ConnorCinematography:
Masanobu TakayanagiComposer:
Mark IshamCast:
Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Noah Emmerich, Kevin Dunn, Denzel Whitaker, Carlos Miranda, Frank Grillo, Gavin O'Connor (more)VOD (3)
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Ex-Marine Tommy Riordan (Hardy) returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh to train for a mixed martial arts tournament with a major cast prize. Looking to his father (Nolte), an alcoholic former coach, for guidance is tough enough, but Tommy's chosen path also is putting him on a collision course with his older brother, Brendan (Edgerton), a former MMA and current struggling parent. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (15)
If someone had told me a couple of days ago that there would be a combat sport drama that would get close to my TOP films of 2011, I would have laughed to their face. Fighter, The Wrestler, Cinderella Man, Rocky, Raging Bull… I didn’t give five stars to a single one of them and I’m actually trying to remember whether I’ve given such high rating to any other sports film. Warrior has a very straightforward plot and nobody will have a hard time figuring out how it ends – although I must say that I thought of two other endings while I watched it, both fairly effective, so I wasn’t all that sure. In the end, the creators took the path of least resistance, but it doesn’t matter, I can forgive that, because if I look at the not very sophisticated script (which doesn’t mean that it was stupid!), it’s brilliant and it works both as a drama and as an action film about fighting. In the end, Warrior arouse in me more rapturous emotions than any other film this year. Tension, followed by joy, followed by sadness, all with a great soundtrack in the back. I really prayed that the barrage of emotions wouldn’t be ruined with some pointless dialogue. Fortunately, it didn’t happen. PS: Now I believe that Hardy’s Bane will match Ledger’s Joker, really.
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Cliché over cliché where everything goes according to a template seen hundreds of times, following the expected tracks, when it’s very easy to guess the development of the plot for long minutes ahead, even the dialogues you can chew in your mind before the actors let them out of their mouths. The comparisons with Rocky are ridiculous; more than anything, Rocky was an original and unconventional love affair, while Warrior has nothing original and unconventional at all. PS: Forget the much-vaunted Oscar, boys and girls.
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A deceptively familiar plot template, masculine sweat in every minute, and problems that will stare back at you forever. Warrior is at first glance a somewhat calculated bit of screenwriting. It takes elements from the various premises of famous boxing dramas and wraps everything up in themes that appeal to both audiences and critics. Iraq, heroism, trauma, high school, debts, and alcoholism all intersect here, with the strongest family values remaining at the center, wrapped around bitter memories. But it works, and it works perfectly. Gavin O'Connor has learned from Miracle that some emotions work better implied and without words, and with each scene that delves into broken family relationships, he escalates the atmosphere of unwavering cheering and the desire for reconciliation. And last but not least, it features Tom Hardy in the forefront, who shatters all doubts with his brute strength. It's hard to say why guys so easily melt the moment they hear that characteristic sound of a blow hitting a muscular body, but the adrenaline that surged in me during each major fight could have powered a regional power plant. When even the most hidden memories and the emotions that go with them bubble up during the closing song, there is no defense against the power of this narrative.
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The most perfect form and absolute pinnacle of sports drama. Every viewer will have several other films in the genre that remain more intense for them in terms of their personal experience (in my case, for example, that would be the Japanese film Gachi Boy), but Warrior represents the incredibly flawless use and fulfilment of all of the elements and techniques of its category. In order to lead viewers to sympathise with both main protagonists, the narrative brilliantly composes and conveys information for the purpose of establishing and deepening their motivations and personal levels. The cast features not only Tom Hardy as a man who anxiously keeps his heart hidden away and the excellent Joel Edgerton, who radiates that captivating combination of intelligence, strength and warmth needed for the role of a likable dad and teacher who also happens to be an MMA fighter. This perfectly tuned emotion-generating machine runs at full throttle right from the start, so it is all the more surprising when it shifts into an even higher gear in the final third of the elimination bout. The tremendously dynamic camerawork and quick editing can be egregiously wild because the precise sound mix, screenplay and directing ensure that everything remains clear. The filmmakers not only make excellent use of the roles of the sporting-event hosts, but they also employ all of the preceding motifs to inundate viewers with stunning physical acts and emotional content. The fact that this film didn’t appear in Czech cinemas at the time, even though the rights to it had been bought here, remains one of the greatest wrongs perpetrated by the local distributor. I’m thus all the more pleased that we were able to right that wrong with at least one screening at the Aero cinema, because on the big screen, Warrior is a truly monumental and intense experience.
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So this is the best picture so far this year. An intense emotional and action-packed fireball with the faultless Tom Hardy and unexpectedly great Joel Edgerton, whose future is starting to look promising. A great idea, swimming in Hollywood sauce and the exiting environment of MMA has exactly the right ingredients. Warrior is about a struggle between two losers, both heroes in a way, but just one of them can win. Sorrow is overcome at the end by joy and the classic lesson “Don’t give up" rings true. I wouldn’t be surprised if this picture became a favorite for an Oscar.
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Gallery (45)
Photo © Lionsgate
![Warrior - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/159/186/159186208_06ad7f.png)
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