Reviews

I heard something about this movie upon its brief showing at the theater, but because of atrocious advertising it was not seen by many including myself. So upon it's release on DVD and based on all the great reviews by critics and past viewers I decided to rent. Well, as the credits rolled at the end of my viewing I felt I had just watched one of the greatest movies ever made. I don't think "Rocky" or "The Fighter" are on the same level as "Warrior."

The acting from Mr Hardy, Mr Edgeron and Mr Nolte was truly amazing. These actors made you embody their character.

Paddy - played superbly by Nick Nolte was a drunk and abusive father. Mr Nolte was excellent in the hotel scene where it seemed like his son Tommy had finally broken him has he returned to the bottle...it's then I felt sadness for this terrible excuse for a father.

Brenden - The older son who is a devoted and loving husband and father of two girls is on the brink of financial collapse. Everyone loves Brenden - his family, students, faculty and long time friend. By all accounts he is a good man.

Tommy - the younger son. How my heart cried for Tommy. A man so broken by so much pain and suffering because of what life had thrown at him. There was this feeling of abandonment from his older brother who decided to stayed with his drunken abusive father, the heartbreak of caring for his sick mother while watching her die surrounded by poverty and the horror of war as he stood witness to his entire combat unit and best friend succumb to friendly fire, with him being the only surviver. Tommy is emotionally and mentally scared. Tommy is rage toward everyone, especially his father and brother. The only peace he seems to find is in his mission to help his dead best friend's wife financially. So he must win the MMA competition

That final fight in the iron cage between Tommy and Brenden was heartbreaking. Tommy's anger toward his brother had almost reached the point of madness. He was like a caged animal let loose. He was willing to fight almost to his death, but this man was calmed when his brother said "i'm sorry" and "I love you" You saw that steel of armor drop revealing a broken and sensitive man who had never stopped loving his brother.

Mr Nolte and Mr Edgeron gave excellent performances, but it is Tom Hardy who stood out for me. I feel he gave one of the best performances I have ever seen on screen. And as a fellow Brit I am proud to say he is one of the best actors to come out of England in decades. I've seen his brilliance in Bronson as Charles Bronson, his cool and likable Eames in Inception and that of Handsome Bob in RocknRolla, to name a few. The man is a chameleon.

It's such a shame Warrior was not more recognized because Mr Hardy gave a Oscar worth performance and Edgeron should have been up for supporting actor. At least Mr Nolte got recognized.

This lady gives Warrior 10 out of 10

I rented this movie with very low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. This movie is extremely good stuff. And one would never guess it was low budget.

EIGHTEEN, directed by 'Richard Bell' centers around an 18 year old named Pip, played by the superb 'Paul Anthony' who leaves his home because of the circumstances surrounding the way his older brother died. He is overcome with guilt by this event and falls into a hard life of a runaway teen on drugs and alcohol. On his 18th birthday, his father tracks Pip down and gives him a tape left for him by his grandfather, of which he was to listen to on his 18th birthday.

The way the whole film is told is with two simultaneous stories unfolding at the same time. The present life of Pip and the past life of his grandfather during WW11 of which Pip listens to on the tape.

The three outstanding performances in this movie are the ones from 'Paul Anthony' as Pip and 'Brenden Fletcher' playing Jason, the young 18 year WW11 soldier, his grandfather. Also, the role of the WW11 wounded medic 'Macauley' played by 'Mark Hildreth.' All putting in fine performances.

A couple of concerns and scenes that didn't sit too well with me...the priest, Father Chris played by 'Alan Cumming' who is gay and in broad daylight pick's up the local street hustler the whole neighborhood knows about. And then we have the local store clerk named Jeff, a sweetheart played by the attractive 'David Beaszely' who just wants to be loved, and for some unknown reason is attracted to the very unattractive and sleaze ball street hustler, Clerk, who sleeps with just about anyone and in all likelihood is a walking toxic time bomb. On top of all that he's not a very likable person. This part just didn't ring true.

The parts I really like the most was the flashbacks to the War. They were so well acted and very touching. There is a scene at the end where the one soldier is dying and the other soldier, 'Jason' is there for him to comfort and show him love as he lays badly injured and dying. This is such a wonderful and touching scene it left me in tears. Beautifully acted.

I highly recommend this movie. It is one of love, redemption and the power of the human spirit to survive.