More than a... 'fighting' movie.

Rating: 10/10 (3 October 2011)

I don't often write reviews, but on this occasion I felt I must for the simple reason this movie really moved me. It's more than just a fighting movie. It's a movie of life. A broken home, a war vet, a family struggling to get by. A good.... no... fantastic all-round movie. Basically the story goes two brothers, one, the war vet, the other a teacher, not able to pay the bills and look after his family the way he wants to, compete in a mma contest. (That's mixed-martial-arts for those of you who don't know.) Yes it may be an obvious outcome, the brothers have to fight each other in the end. But the movie has so many more levels to it than that. All of the leading actors, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, and of course Tom Hardy are all really on-form. Good to see Nick Nolte back on top after an unfortunate couple of years, and that may be why his performance is so good because he can relate to this in real life as he plays a troubled alcoholic. But for me Tom Hardy steals the show. This is an actor who is really on fire just now. It doesn't seem to matter what part he plays, whether it be a prisoner in Bronson (again a fantastic performance) or an mma/war vet he plays it like the part what made for him. He plays this part perfectly and I don't think there is a single actor at the moment who could have played the part better. Go see this. You will not be disappointed.