Review of Warrior

3.5/4

I remember watching the trailer for this movie awhile back and thinking that Warrior would just be another cliched sports movie. Now, this movie stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as two brothers competing against each other in a MMA tournament called Sparta. This premise makes Warrior unlike any other sports movie, because there isn't one person or team that you're supposed to root for. These two brothers each have their own reasons for trying to win the $5 million prize. They have their flaws and complicated history, but as viewers, we grow to like them both. Just by simply making the movie about two separate characters breaks down all sports cliches. The first hour or so establishes each character, and we learn that the two brothers have been estranged for a long time due to their father's abusive upbringing. This movie is a true story of forgiveness and redemption. Everybody is seeking forgiveness from each other, and what you get is an emotionally satisfying and gripping movie. The fights are well choreographed, and each characters is an interesting one. I enjoyed all three main actors' performances. Nick Nolte is pretty well-deserved of his Oscar nomination for this movie. We don't see him as much as I would like in the second half, but it's fine. Some might not like the ending, but I found it very satisfying. I really recommend this movie to fans of boxing/fighting movies. I have Warrior in my top 5 favorite movies of 2011. It wouldn't normally be a contender for Best Picture in most years, but I think this movie should have got a nomination over the likes of The Help and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.