Warrior (2011)

“So you found God, huh? That’s awesome. See, Mom kept calling out for him but he wasn’t around. I guess Jesus was down at the mill forgiving all the drunks. Who knew? ” – Tom

Number of Times Seen – 2 (27 Nov 2011 and 15 Dec 2015)

Brief Synopsis – Two men vie for the ultimate title in a winner take all mixed martial arts tournament with the largest cash prize ever offered in the sport, but only one can win.

My Take on it – I really enjoy this movie because it is somewhat unique in the fact that it does an excellent job developing the two main characters and establishing them both as heroes.

The problem is that we know that only one can win in the end.

It’s quite rare for the viewers to want to wish that both characters in a fighting match will win.

What would the Rocky movies be like if we wanted both Rocky AND Apollo to win?  Or Ali vs. Foreman or any other two person fighting match in the history of film for that matter.

The idea that usually there is a hero and an anti-hero is thrown away here and we are given two heroes, who each have noble causes and they ultimately will need to fight each other in order to win the top prize that can help their family and friends.

And we must choose between them which is not easy since they are both developed so well and in likable fashion.

The cats is perfect; Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are both superb as the dual heroes who must duel.  Nick Nolte makes a comeback performance as the father and trainer of Hardy’s character who himself has his own kind of problems.

Besides being a movie about MMA, it also has a great underlying message about family that shines through all of the fight scenes.

Bottom Line – Great movie because it gives us two heroes to root for despite the fact that only one can ultimately win. Excellent cast helps to keep us in suspense as to who will be the better fighter.  Really liked how they properly developed both characters in a way that you don’t want to have to choose between them eventhough you know you will inevitably need to.  Great message about family that still shines through despite being seemingly about fighting. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – On the first day of shooting, the crew gave Nick Nolte a standing ovation after the first take of a scene shot at a local diner. The scene was later cut but appears as a DVD extra. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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