Warrior

Rating: Null/10 (1 October 2013)

Mixed martial arts is a masculine, gruesome, and unforgiving sport that is given deeper meaning in Gavin O'Connor's latest movie Warrior. This film is chalked full of emotion and heart that is evident through the gritty setting, raw acting, and action-packed cinematography. O'Connor fulfills this genre's requirement of gut-wrenching fight scenes, elevating them by not only making moviegoers wince with physical pain, but with empathy as well. The unforeseen complexity of Warrior's plot seizes the attention of its audience, delivering significantly more substance than a traditional sports movie. Separated when their maliciously abusive alcoholic father drives their family apart, two brothers head down drastically different life paths. Tommy, the youngest, returns home a war hero from a recent stint in the marines. Whereas Brendan is raising a family and teaching high school physics. When money becomes a burdensome obstacle for both of them, they find themselves battling for $5 million in the final ring of the largest mixed martial arts tournament in the world; Sparta. The twists and turns of the plot are supported by the appropriately grungy setting. The director's choice to have the story split between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia strongly evokes the brokenness amongst the members of the Conlon family. Pittsburgh, where the father and Tommy reside, is adequately portrayed as grimy, dark, grey, and gloomy. This captures the essence of these characters and their hateful relationship. On the other hand, Brendan's home in Philadelphia is represented with a brighter aura that symbolizes his more put together life. These vastly different lifestyles are made apparent in the setting choices of the brothers' gyms. Tommy's is a dilapidated hole-in-the-wall, whereas Brendan attends a state-of-the-art facility. O'Connor's fitting use of setting adds a broad level of understanding to the characters and plot. Tom Hardy and Joe Edgerton do a stunning job portraying the damaged Conlon brothers. The use of relatively unknown actors by Gavin O'Connor was a brilliant way to appropriately add an air of realism and avoid inappropriate glamour in this movie. Tom Hardy embodies the mysterious, bitter, and surprisingly big-hearted Tommy to a T. Hardy pulls viewers in two emotionally drastic directions. He draws fury out of spectators as he constantly demeans and emotionally beats his rehabilitating father. However, his character grows on audiences after they learn about his involvement in a remarkably brave act overseas. Joe Edgerton, wins over moviegoers' hearts from the beginning between his beautiful family, loving students, and unfortunate money issues. O'Connor manages to provide two heroes in this story. As with any other sports film, action scenes are the blood supplying life throughout the movie. The cinematography of these fight scenes adds an air of emotional depth to mixed martial arts that is often overlooked. Close-ups of the fighters' faces in the heat of competition show not only the physical battle, but the emotional one as well. Large, sweeping pans of the ring illustrate an inside perspective of the fight that is only seen by those who are throwing the punches. Ducking and weaving cameras leaves audiences trying to evade the iron fists of these brutal men. The vicious, action-packed choreography of this film helps produce sensations of phantom pain and empathy that viewers feel with every strike. Warrior hits you with a punch you never saw coming. Emotions and testosterone rage in unison as mixed martial arts coincides with a devastating family situation. When the final fight for $5 million involves two brothers, who will you root for?