Susan Granger’s review of “Warrior” (Lionsgate)
Gavin O’Connor’s family drama/underdog sports saga is elevated by three strong performances.
The action begins as an Iraq War veteran, Marine Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy), returns home to his working-class neighborhood in Pittsburgh after a 14-year absence and pays a surprise visit to his dad, Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte), a once-abusive but now recovering alcoholic who is anxiously approaching his thousandth day of sobriety. A former wrestling prodigy who decided to adopt his late mother’s maiden name, scornful, sarcastic Tommy is determined to enlist his alienated father’s help to train for Sparta, the biggest winner-take-all event in Mixed Martial Arts history, scheduled to be held in Atlantic City.
But that choice inadvertently puts him on an inevitable collision course with his older brother, Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned-high school physics teacher who, despite the protests of his devoted wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison) has decided to return to the ring to save his family from financial disaster because their house is headed toward foreclosure due to the huge medical bills they incurred while saving their younger daughter’s life. His coach is a former MMA trainer (Frank Grillo) who uses Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for practice sessions.
Director Gavin O’Connor (“Miracle,” “Pride and Glory”) co-wrote the improbable “Rocky”-like melodrama with Cliff Dorfman and Anthony Tambakis, utilizing many of Sylvester Stallone’s formidable Italian Stallion archetypes. Perpetually listening to an audio tape of “Moby Dick,” Nick Nolte’s stoic-yet-growling Coach Paddy is obviously riddled with guilt and hoping for redemption, while British actor Tom Hardy (“Inception,” “Black Hawk Down”) and Australian actor Joel Edgerton (“Animal Kingdom,” “Star Wars: Episode III”) are compelling as the estranged, quintessentially American siblings.
Masanobu Takayanagi’s compelling cinematography and the adroit work of four editors (John Gilroy, Sean Albertson, Matt Cheese, Aaron Marshall) ignite the gritty, two-day tournament, culminating in the climactic brawl, in which the two brothers meet in the ring, slugging it out for the $5 million purse, viscerally brutal and heart-wrenching.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Warrior” is a sweaty yet sentimental slug-fest 7, delivering a knockout punch.
