Fight-night makes a comeback

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2011)

I saw the trailer for this and immediately thought that this was a Rocky for 2011. To a certain extent this is true as everything builds up to the main event - a $5 million cage fight for the toughest fighters around the globe - and it is the story of 2 underdogs both of whom happen to be estranged brothers. Brought up in and then split by a harsh, patriarchal family, the 2 brothers follow their own separate paths - one a physics teacher and family man, the other a troubled marine.
Both Edgerton (Brendan Conlan) and Hardy (Tommy Conlan) play their respective parts well but it is Edgerton who gets more screen time and is the more likable character - a struggling teacher who needs to fight to pay his mortgage and keep a roof over his family's heads. Hardy doesn't get to flex the acting muscles too much as we only get to see him do angry or angrier. He is angry about his past and angry about his present. He does however play the pit-bull pugilist to a tee with his fight scenes in the cage being the most brutal. Nolte plays the rather pathetic, recovering alcoholic dad competently but I found a few of his scenes slightly forced as this character was too sketchily drawn for the viewer to become emotionally involved. Brendan' wife, Jennifer Morrison, is no Adrian Balboa as her character is given little scope to express anything more than mild worry about her husband's decision to return to fighting as a career.
I enjoyed this film immensely but I personally don't think that it's the Oscar material as some are touting. Warrior is hugely watchable but for me, this is not in the same league as the Fighter or Rocky. Both of those films provide us much more in terms of character development, back story and in the Fighter's case far superior dialogue. It is, however, a fantastic Friday night fight film that will entertain and excite in great measure.