Most Contemporary Fighter

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2011)

When I had first seen the preview for Gavin O'Connor's 'Warrior' I wanted to say that this is going to be a post - any idea we have ever had of any fighter from 'Rocky' to last years 'The Fighter' starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. Now, after seeing it I'm not so sure if that statement holds the same amount of weight.
This isn't your typical fighter. This is also a long distance sibling rivalry between Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brandon (Joel Edgerton). The fighters trade their stories in the same way we've seen done in movies like 'American Gangster' and 'Brooklyn's Finest' only with different bumps in the road that are just as contemporary as threatening home foreclosures and trying to outrun demons, people have recorded and posted on youtube.
American Gangster also made caring equally, for both characters so much easier, whereas in Warrior you really can't know enough about Hardy's character.
In between these stories is another one about a father (Nick Nolte) trying to rekindle his relationship with these two fighters, but the most I really want to say about that is from the beginning of the film Hardy almost brought me to tears with his first monologue. The relationship Hardy has with his father is what makes his story so much better than his counterpart's. Until then, both men are in training for the main event Sparta that could possibly be fought against each other.
With all of that, it takes about maybe an hour and twenty minutes to get to any real fighting. But I think O'Connor wanted to give us everything he had to offer in cinema before this pay-per view. A taste of what Hardy can do in that ring is given here and there throughout, but it isn't until Sparta do we see exactly what we have been waiting for. I don't really know how much more I need to say to tell you that this is what makes Warrior Tom Hardy's film.
Man to man, Tom Hardy as Tommy, in O'Connor's 'Warrior' is the post apocalyptic beast that I have always wanted to be.
Now, I can see why Christopher Nolan cast him as Bane in next summer's final installment to the Dark Knight series. And by 'Bronson,' Nolan probably knew this long before Warrior. However it's this one that showed me what Bane has in store for Batman next summer. For those that have not seen Bronson it will certainly show you.