Action-Packed and Masculine, But Not as Deep as it Thinks it is

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2012)

Just your run-of-the-mill Hollywood sports movie, it's disappointingly static and mostly predictable with an armload of blatant plot holes. It does deserve credit for bucking convention in a few ways, particularly in building to the inevitable finale with two potentially viable results. Typically the happy ending writes itself halfway through the picture and then just goes through the motions to get us there: in Warrior, we follow both perspectives for the whole of the film and either outcome would make for an appropriate, warm ride into the sunset. The fight scenes are fun, if highly exaggerated, takes on an in-vogue sport; it's about as realistic a portrayal of mixed martial arts as Rocky and The Replacements were to boxing and pro football. Nick Nolte deserves special mention for grizzling up and embracing his inner Burgess Meredith, but I didn't see anything above and beyond from leading men Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.