Rocky Is Defeated... On Points.

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2015)

As a 40-something movie addict, I've been waiting the best part of my life to watch a fight film that could trade blows with what I considered to be the best of them, that being Rocky - the first one that is, don't get me started on the rest.
To be totally honest, I didn't expect to find a challenger in Warrior - I hadn't even heard of it until a few days ago and despite the high praise it has received here at IMDb, I was still extremely cynical. The benchmark set in Rocky is so high, that every other fight film I sit down to watch is almost doomed before I press play, and invariably they fall down.
Finally I can say that there is a new champion, and Warrior is it. I won't go into lengthy detail, suffice to say it has everything that Rocky has but just that little bit more on each and every level. Emotionally, technically and acting wise Warrior does not relent, and the 2hr 20m runtime literally flies by, leaving the viewer completely shell-shocked, exhausted and begging for another hour - the mark of a true gem.
A genuine tour-de-force that will have you screaming at the screen, the hair standing on the back of your neck and your pulse racing - regardless of whether or not you like sports films. I'll be watching this again, back-to-back with the newly deposed Rocky very soon - and you should too.
The king is dead - long live the Warrior. 9.1 / 10