In the past decade, mixed martial arts has made a strong leap towards the mainstream through PPV’s, reality shows and video games. Films involving the sport have been lacklustre up until this point but director Gavin O’Connor has used the sport, albeit a sensationalised version of it, as the backdrop for his latest film Warrior. Combining elements of previous films Miracle and Pride & Glory, O’Connor trots out every fight movie cliché in the book but still manages to craft an engaging, entertaining film with some raw family drama to boot.
The film focuses on Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) and Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), two brothers, estranged from each other and their father Paddy (Nick Nolte). Their backstory emerges in small chunks throughout the film: Paddy used to drink and was abusive, Tommy left to go West with his dying mother while Brendan stayed to be with his future wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison).
Paddy is almost a thousand days sober when Tommy turns up on his doorstep one night, after being gone for 14 years. Tommy makes it clear that there is no way the pair will ever reconcile but when he hears of an upcoming MMA tournament offering $5 million prize money he enlists his father as his coach. A successful high school wrestler, Tommy wins a spot in the tournament when a video of him destroying one of the world’s top contenders in a gym sparring session becomes an online sensation.
Quite the opposite to Tommy, Brendan is living happily with his family in the suburbs. A former UFC fighter, Brendan now makes a living as a high school physics teacher. However, his family are struggling for money and are in danger of losing their house so he fights in trashy parking lot events to make the extra cash to survive. When one of these bouts leaves him battered and bruised, he is suspended from school and decides, without consulting his wife, to return to fighting full time. He gets back to his old gym, working with his old coach Frank (Frank Grillo), who reluctantly enrols him in the tournament when his top contender gets injured.
Another video emerges online of Tommy rescuing someone from a tank in the Iraq war and this immediately makes Tommy a massive fan favourite for the tournament. Brendan’s first fight is a war where he overcomes much adversity to pull off the win, thus endearing him to the fans as the underdog. Both progress through the tournament leading up the inevitable brother vs. brother finale that the trailers have already given away.
The plot is riddled with contrivances and implausibility. Why would these two even be invited to a tournament for the best fighters in the world, let alone both make it to the final? And what are the chances of them both progressing without facing each other in an earlier round? There are plenty of these questions to be asked but the fact is O’Connor and his talented cast do such a good job throughout that we are too invested in the characters and the family drama aspect of the film to care about such glaring plot holes.
Rising star Tom Hardy got most of the attention upon the film’s release but it is Edgerton who gives the more nuanced performance here. While Hardy is all surly whispers and coiled rage, Edgerton has more to do as he deals with the drama surrounding his brother and father while also worrying about his own family and what could become of them. Nolte is also impressive, bringing heart and depth to the archetypal deadbeat dad role. Grillo and Morrison also offer a lot here, mainly as the voice of reason, but the script somewhat short changes them.
The fight scenes in the film are handled well. Anyone who’s watched MMA before will tell you they aren’t a true reflection of the sport, playing out more like pro wrestling, but it’s a liberty O’Connor must take to make them exciting and cinematic, which he certainly does. The distinct difference in character between Tommy and Brendan are well reflected in their differing fighting styles. Tommy is quick and brutal while Brendan is the resilient underdog, taking a beating while awaiting his chance to strike. When the inevitable fight between the two arrives, it is a thrilling scene that builds to a climax so emotionally powerful that there surely can’t be a dry in the house.
So while the plot is predictable and often contrived, O’Connor and co do a great job of crafting such an enthralling fight film that also contains touching family drama that resonates strongly. The film’s run time clocks in at almost two and a half hours but it never drags for a second, in fact it’s almost disappointing to know that the climax is approaching, which says a lot for how entertaining a film Warrior really is.
