Strong Swing and a Miss

Rating: 6/10 (31 July 2016)

Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Frank Grillo. These are 3 actors, I love. The latter 2 being way underrated I think, but they are amazing. Their intensity in front of the camera, is "Pound for Pound for Pound". However, though this film, at many points; got me cheering, involved and engaged, it also got me to that point right before being close to tears, and then, it dropped me.
As the film progressed, I found myself backing Brendan Conlon, but not fully, because Tommy also had his own baggage eating away at him. Sadly though, Tommy, Brendan and their father Paddy's back stories weren't quite fleshed out enough for us to understand their inability to forgive.
Sure, Paddy beat on their mother, and Brendan chose to stay with Paddy, because he fell in love with Tess, thus Tommy is angry at Paddy and Brendan... I get the tragedy of that, but, the anger Tommy felt, seemed more deep seeded. OK, maybe that's because of Iraq. But still, his story is not told well enough, for you to empathize, it's only told well enough for you to sympathize, to a point. Reason being, because of Brendan's maturity and struggle, Tommy starts to seem like a baby, without a cause, and because of that... The story, kept dropping and catching, and dropping me.
Honestly, you only feel for Tommy because of Hardy's impressive portrayal, not because of Tommy's actual story. I mean, he even turns his back to his niece's, while his hurting brother, pleaded with him.
Warrior gave hints at back stories, and perhaps told them at points, but, it didn't bring them to life, and for that, it loses me, because I don't think Warrior was a Sport Movie... I think it was meant to be a Drama with a sport backdrop.
It's a... Hit, with the fans, I see that... But, I can't give it an 8. It was a potential 8, that for me, turned into a very well fought for, 6.
I realized all the points of absolution. Brendan with Paddy. Tommy with Paddy. And at the end, Tommy with Brendan... But still, those points came about based on the necessity of a happy ending... They didn't arise from tackling what it was that was tearing them apart.