Warrior (2011) (Ltd) (2 Dvd)

There is a saying that "there are no new stories" and this is a case in point. As other reviews have pointed out the struggling under dog, two battling brothers, "father issues" and the one last chance to get what you want does mean that this could be the UFC Cinderella Man or coming out in the same year even a bit like the autumn version of The Fighter.

However if you accept that all films have a passing similarity to at least something that's gone before then this is a highly polished example of a familiar tale, it is further enhanced by an excellent script and brilliant acting, Tom Hardy in the space of a year has been the wise cracking forger in Inception, the skittish English spy in Tinker, Tailor and now the huge and powerful ex US Marine Tommy in the warrior, it's hard to believe it's the same guy in all 3 films and yet is completely believable playing these very different characters. Dare I say it, could he be this generation's De Niro? However the role of the now sober alcoholic and abusive dad was written for Nick Nolte and a bit like the character he's portraying Nick knows this could be a last hurrah and grabs onto the role with both hands giving a performance that is a master class in understated acting (surely a best supporting actor nomination in the Oscars?). Then Joel Edgerton plays the most likeable of the central trio as the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts- don't call them cage fighters!) fighter who after getting badly hurt turned to teaching, but now has to step back into the ring. He may not have the power house moments of the other 2 but he's the easiest character to root for as it's simply win fights or lose his house and as he has a wife and 2 small kids it's an emotional resonance perfect for the current domestic anxieties across the globe.

Indeed like the first Rocky this is a film very much of it's time- recession, foreign war, war widows are the current sign of the times and adds a level of reality to what isn't a true a story but in the future you will just know this has to be set around 2011. However the main thing to add spice to this impressively grown up mixture is this is an MMA sports film not a boxing film and that's an important difference, having only ever seen 1 UFC fight on TV I was not ready for the electrifying fights. We've all seen enough boxing in films to know the basic moves even if you aren't a fight fan, however here almost anything goes, so you go from familiar exchanges of punches to powerful kicks, to the gasps that will come out of you when somebody gets thrown to the floor, to being up close and personal in the horrifyingly intimate grapples. There's simply more for a film maker to show then just above the belt punches and blocks. This is what makes the quest of the central characters even more frantic and even a little tragic- these are desperate men indeed.

A must see film that didn't make a huge wave under initial cinema release, possibly because the topic wasn't the more familiar boxing, possibly because there were no big names either in front of or behind the camera but this film needs to get a bigger audience and hopefully here on DVD/BluRay that discovery will start.

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I know nothing about MMA or UFC but...

...putting aside the mawkish cliché, which this film has a streak of a mile thick, its hard to say a bad thing about it. However, this is less "all the Rocky's rolled into one" than The Wrestler with less subtle character arcs.

It has a trio of very fine performances, from Hardy's brutish, emotionally wounded war vet, to Edgerton's all round dignified good egg, and Nolte's guilt ridden father who is trying to repair his life and atone his sins.

The fight scenes are frenetic and well shot, with convincing bruising action.

Come the end i and the g/f were both very emotionally engaged in the whole affair and im not ashamed to admit on a couple of occasions the drama was genuinely upsetting and uplifting.

Highly recommended.

I love Gavin O' Connor films, this guys directs and writes this stunning, moving and brutal family sports drama and he blends all together a good sports movie and a moving drama together so well, just like he did with his police drama "Pride and Glory". Tom Hardy is the next big thing, this guy is going places and I can't wait to see his performance in Batman next year.

But as for this, he is truly outstanding, this is without a doubt Tom Hardy second best peformance in his career (first being Inception) and he is really worthy of a Oscar win or nomination for his portrayal of "Tommy", the role is almost silent role, he has speaking roles but this role requires parts of the emotion to feed through facial expressions, etc and Tom pulls a hard punch. The Best Supporting Actor award for this year so far is going to Nick Nolte who portrays the father "Paddy", he portrays such strong emotion that is hard not to be moved, when we see him in a particular scene in a hotel room drunk, we know that part is coming at some point and when it does, its breathtaking.

When he begins walking over to "Tommy" at the door, it can be portrayed a a frightening thing, because of his past and how he is acting. It's such a strong and emotionally driven role and he hits it right on the nail.Joel Edgerton portrays "Brendan" a family man who is at the end of a rope to support his family, I have to say whilst Joel gives a good performance as a man at his wits end and is desperate, Joel's performance is the weakess in the film, I'm not saying he is terrible, hell no, he has some cracking scenes such as the end fight and his confrontation of his father on the front lawn.

But the thing Joel's performance lacks is emotion. He gets the desperation and troubled life right but he lacks the emotional grip that is required for the role. But the film in general is outstanding and even though its been disapointing at the box office it's a strong film that is deserves recognition at the Academy Awards 2012.