User Reviews

My girlfriend took me to an advance screening of Warrior because I'm an MMA enthusiast. She told me she did not expect much. She ended up leaving the theater in tears.

The fighting in the movie is almost an after thought. What the movie is really about is a broken family trying to get on with their lives. You have a recently sober father trying to earn the forgiveness of his sons for destroying his family years earlier, one son trying to provide for his wife and children, and the other son trying to earn money for the family of his friend and fellow Marine who died overseas. All of it comes together seamlessly and provides for a truly gripping movie.

It's emotional without being sappy. It's funny without being goofy. It's inspirational without going over the top. It's hard to say anything bad about it. Even if you have no interest in martial arts, you will get something out of this movie.

I highly recommend this movie for men AND women, fight fans and average Joes alike.

Please don't read this if you don't want the ending given away.

I've noticed a lot of people complaining that the ending spoils the film and is clichéd because the underdog and not the better fighter wins.

I'm not suggesting that my interpretation is the right one but my view is somewhat different than the one some people hold. It is perfectly logical to point out that Brendan had hard fights to get to the final and that he would probably have been exhausted and that Tommy has had a much easier route.

However, the point is that he made that route easier because of his rage. Tommy is only the more destructive force because of that. His demons are driving him on because he is lost. He cannot or will not reach out to connect with his father or brother. The point is that the dam is broken when he sees his father in the hotel room raging against Ahab. This is deeply symbolic. I think you are meant to draw the connection with Ahab who was driven by his own rage with the rage of the father which destroyed his family to the rage which Tommy now feels. Even though he is drunk it is no coincidence that his father refers to Tommy as Ahab and bellows at him to stop the ship. At the point that Tommy takes him in his arms and holds him he begins the healing process but loses what makes him such a formidable fighter. Thus he is simply unable to blow his brother away in the way that he has done to every other opponent.

The other crucial point (and you would have to be a younger brother to fully get this one) is that Tommy doesn't really want to beat his brother at that point. He needs to know that his brother loves him and perhaps that he regrets not reaching out to him when they were younger. The fact that he taps out only at the point when Brendan says he loves him is significant as is the fact that he breaks down in the corner before the final round. Had he still been carrying his rage he would surely rather have been rendered unconscious than submit.

In other words, for me it was the perfect ending and the more you think about the film the more profound it seems.

All in my view of course. Which could be a load of old rubbish.

There aren't many fight movies I'd rate as high as a '10', and by fight movies I'm talking about boxing as the subject. "Rocky" and "Million Dollar Baby" are the only two I can think of off hand. But this movie transcends the genre and is so much more than a film about a pair of brothers reaching for the gold ring in the arena of mixed martial arts. There's a lot of human drama on display, and the three principals in the story pull off some of the most incredible performances one is likely to see in a film like this.

I was taken aback a bit by the number of other reviewers on this board who admitted to shedding a tear over parts of the story line. Some of the scenes affected me the same way and it's a little difficult to explain why, but the characters are so anguished and real that one can relate to them on some visceral level. I was especially heartened to see how the students of Sparta High School got behind their physics teacher, Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) during the War at the Shore. That just showed a whole lot of loyalty and civic pride for the school to turn out the way they did.

The entire backdrop to the fight story of course is the anguished and disrupted home life of Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte), an alcoholic on the mend approaching a thousand days of sobriety, but with the inability to connect with the sons who abandoned him. I was a little surprised that the resolution to the story didn't involve Nolte's character engaging more purposefully with either Brendan or Tommy (Tom Hardy). It's left open ended, just as Tommy's status with the military is left open ended, though if you follow your instincts, the outcomes wouldn't necessarily be rewarding.

As for the fight scenes, I'd have to go on record stating that this movie has the best edited action in the ring I've ever seen. Though the pace is often relentless, none of it looks staged or phony, a credit to all the players involved and the principal photographer. Regarding the outcome of the final match, well before ring time one's brain scrambles trying to guess the outcome, as this is one film and one battle where you don't want either brother to lose, and you can't imagine the twist that will make the final verdict worthwhile. I won't spoil it here either, you'll just have to see and judge it for yourself.

It is not that Warrior is not a good film;in fact, from a point on it grabs you in continuous commitment with your heart pumping fast and helplessly.The truth is that at the start it looks like it wants to be something more than another fighting movie, with the roles of Nolte and Hardy, and the reading of Mobby Dick, some kind of elegy.And it could succeed at it, as the Hardy character-in one of Hardy's best performances-is built masterfully;yet, the other characters of the film gradually become banal, and whats worst-please do not read further if you have not seen the movie-at the end there is the most conservative choice one could imagine, as the winner is the family man who fights in order to pay for the home of his family, whereas the heroic-and anti heroic-veteran, looses everything.One could argue that the end is about reconciliation and the return to the unity of the family;in my opinion, it is a total fiasco that let me down and made me really angry. There should be some other way to discourage violence without letting down the most interesting character of the movie.His defeat is the failure of the film to be anything more than a family fighting movie to watch at home.Yet, for Hardy alone, I would very much like to watch it again.

Okay so I'm also one of those people who "only registered to comment on this movie" and I see a lot of people here being either "OMG! BEST. MOVIE. EVER." or "omg how can this even be classified as a movie.

Well in my opinion this movie is worth a watch, far from the best or even one of the greater movies I've seen but it was watchable till' the end, it didn't at least feel like a 2 hour movie. What follows are my problems with the film and I think you should see the movie before continuing reading. I'm going to talk about the drama, not how this is a rocky ripoff, fight-scenes, the incredible improbability that these two guys would end up in a tournament like this etc.

SPOILER LINE OF DOOM - DO NOT PROCEED Okay so I gave this film a 6 out of 10 and I don't feel it deserves anything more, and nothing less. I'm really baffled to see how so many people see this as fantastic or great drama, the only dram that i felt had any impact on me was the relationship Tommy had with his father because they actually shared scenes with each other and you really could feel Tommys' anger with his father... unlike the relationship with his brother... which is the climax of the movie.

To me it feels like they just throw a lot of negative events into everyones lives and expect me to instantly feel for them and apparently it works on some people but personally i need more than bad news to care for a person. Brendan has money issues, and he's angry with his father for being a drunk and spending more time with his brother than him, Brendan has one scene where he actually talks to his father. One. You can't expect me to feel anything about this come on.

Tommy. His friend dies, goes AWOL, angry with his brother for leaving, angry with his father for being a drunk and he's an ex-marine. Whoa they really just threw everything and anything into this guy to make him likable. He has one scene with his brother where he says that he's mad because Brendan left. That's it. And this is gonna be sufficient for the finale? It ain't. What, all he ever wanted was for his brother to say he loves him and that would make it all okay? I really just didn't get why they ended this film like they did, I've seen some reviews here from people claiming they cried, personally I was in an emotional what the.. statement. Oh yeah, Tommy is fighting because he made a promise to his dead friends wife that he'd take care of them, we know this from 1 scene where he made a phone call and never speak of this again. I mean... what the hell is with this movie throwing so much in it and not developing anything.

The thing I think the movie got right was the relationship Tommy had with his father Paddy. Nick Nolte does a great performance and I really sympathize with him and it was emotional seeing Tommy finally forgiving him, kind of, maybe he just felt guilty I really don't know they just kind of jumped to the climax from there. Anyway it was nice seeing some closure between them.

Okay first review and it got pretty long, at least I feel I got what I wanted out and think they should have left some parts out and developed other more and for that, it's worth a 5-6. Not the best I've seen, nor the worst, just something watchable in the middle. If this will be the best drama you have seen, like some people on this site claim it is, guess what? There's so many other movies for you to watch than this one, better ones.

It's really hard to start with this movie. It basically covers two estranged brothers - One who has embraced a quiet, family life; the other, dedicated his time to the United States military. Through a series of events, they come in contact with each other again during a MMA tournament. Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton capture the hearts of the fans with their emotional, tear-wrenching performances, with Nick Nolte as their father delivering the most emotional performance of them all. With the film being a MMA movie, it's strange to think that drama would be so prevalent but essentially it is the backbone of the story.

The addition of The National's 'About Today' cements the final scene as a definite tear-jerker.

Over the past few years we've been receiving quite a lump sum of MMA movies due to the rise of the sport. But movies like Never back down, and fighting just doesn't cut it with their cliché man against man rivalry, with their over the top inaccurate MMA-like action. Then there came Warrior. Was it just another MMA movie with over the top hardcore action? Well lets find out.

What pulled me into the movie at first was the trailer. The trailer didn't have hardcore rock or scenes of "You're not the best around here you can't beat me" shenanigans. It had the sense of two brothers trying to solve their own problems while trying to deal with each other and their former alcoholic father through the use of a huge MMA tournament named Sparta. In which revealed in the trailer they eventually have to face each other.

The story of Warrior although is very MMA suited, you will see about more drama than there is action. Not that there is a problem with that, but it's always great to see how everything unfolds. A former MMA fighter now Physics teacher Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) faces financial problems with his house and is slowly getting back into the mix by competing in underground fights. But the education system finds out about his antics, thus for he is suspended without pay. So he uses this to train full time, and compete in Sparta. Whereas former Marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) a war hero who is suffering through PTSD, decides he wants to fight in Sparta to give the prize money to the family of his fallen friend. Then there is the father Paddy (Nick Nolte) a former alcoholic who is trying to reach out for his sons for forgiveness of being a family wreck. Who in return is being used as Tommy's trainer, bet is being neglected by him as well. Then Brendan although neglecting him as well, is trying to deal with his own problems and has no time for him.

As for the fight scenes of the movie, I can say I am an experienced Martial artist I've trained in several styles. Although I am not a pro MMA fighter yet, I've watched enough fights to actually comprehend how MMA fights are like and the rules and whatnot. Warrior has put in really great choreography of an authentic MMA fight. It was as if I was watching real fights on the big screen. Although there were some over the top moves here and there, most of the techniques portrayed in Warrior are applicable in a real life combat situation.

The performance and screenplay, all were simply amazing. Tom Hardy's performance was astounding, as so was Nick Nolte's. The appearances of Nate Marquardt (UFC), Anthony Johnson(UFC), Erik Apple(Strikeforce), Roan Carneiro(Freelance) and Kurt Angle(TNA) did a really good job being actors of the movie while being able to retain their athletic ability of being professional athletes in combat sports.

The movie had a unique way making you feel absorbed into the movie, getting to know the characters and feeling attached to them emotionally. Warrior is an emotional roller coaster that will make you laugh, really tense, and even leaving the theater in tears. Whether you are the MMA athlete, fan, trainer, enthusiast or an average movie goer, This movie is for you. Definitely one of the best movies I've seen this year.