With the big main stream attention the UFC has received with the impending Mcgregor-Mayweather fight I saw it only fitting to review the only MMA movie I've ever seen, Warrior. This review will also start a trend of reviews I've been wanting to do for a long time where I get to review movies I consider hidden gems. These could be good movies that didn’t even make up their budget (like Warrior), movies I disagreed with the general consensus on or movies you just may have never even heard of before, and they deserve more love. So without further ado let’s take a look at the 2011 sports drama Warrior.
Sports film can always be complicated to make because of how often cliché and predictable they are, but Warrior stands out by throwing that out the window in its story. Its main conflict is the story of two estranged brothers who both wind up in a MMA tournament for a cash prize that both of them desperately need for their own personal reasons, all the while their recovering father tries to make amends with them as well. It’s a story that instead of giving us one person or one team to cheer for we have several different people we want to win in not only their external conflicts but internal as well.
One thing that really pleased me with this movie is that like other great sports movies before it, much more was done well here than just giving great fighting scenes. Warrior’s writing and performances are nothing less than spectacular. The two lead actors here are Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy, and you can just feel their passion and emotion in almost every line. Especially when we finally do get our one scene between the estranged brothers in the second act of the film. It’s a beautiful scene that is incredibly well shot and feels real with the dialogue and delivery between the two. Nick Nolte as their father also puts on a strong supporting performance as their father and to be honest he almost brought me to tears.
The film also delivers on its fight scenes, that can vary from seeing brutal punches to incredible submissions. This is not so surprising though considering the film has several professional MMA fighters in cameo roles in the film like Anthony Johnson and Nate Marquardt. I also learned from watching the making of the film that famous MMA trainer Greg Jackson was consulted on the film and its fighters.
Now I wouldn’t go as far to say this film is a Rocky or a Raging Bull when it comes to greatness, as some things do hold it back for me. An example is its ambiguous ending which annoyed me a little as it didn’t give exactly the closure on the characters I wanted. Also the story does have a few fights in it that follow a certain pattern that seem unrealistic even though they are still fun to watch.
It really surprises me Warrior didn’t even break even with its budget. Maybe it was due to lack of star power at the time (as Tom Hardy is big now) or just a lack of good marketing from Lionsgate. But it certainly is a film I think anyone especially fight fans can enjoy.
