The Mixed Martial Artists get it done in this winning flick!

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2012)

Movie Warriors, come out and seeeeee "Warrior". You will not regret it! I am still dumbfounded how this movie did not make more money at the box office. "Warrior" is a gritty film starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as estranged brothers Tommy and Brendan Conlon. Tommy is an introverted, rage-filled former Marine who wants to make a return run to mixed martial arts and participate in a "big money, winner takes all" infamous tournament called Sparta. The elder Brendan is a devoted husband, father of two girls, and physics teacher; how is that for a white-picket fence physics equation. When Brendan cannot make the mortgage payments on his home and is on the brink of foreclosure, he decides to also make a return run to mixed martial arts to bring in the extra flow, and therefore also trains for Sparta. So yes, Tommy and Brendan do yell in unison in one of the movie's scenes "We Are Sparta!!!"; OK, that did not happen but its just part of the close to "300" puns that I insert in each of my movie reviews. Nick Nolte co-stars as Paddy Conlon, the alcoholic father of Tommy and Brendan who definitely did not play "paddy cake" with his sons during their childhood. In other words, Brendan and Tommy do not take a liking to Paddy due to his past lush life. Tommy does ask Paddy to train him for Sparta in just a mere trainer-fighter relationship. Jennifer Morrison also co-stars as Tess, Brendan's supporting but scared wife; and Frank Grillo puts it in the acting grill with his supporting effort as Frank Campana, Brendan's friend and after some St. Brendan praying & begging to Frank, eventual trainer. I will not reveal too much what happens in the Sparta, but let's say that the Conlon brothers from the same father & mother, do make their match. Director Gavin O'Connor excelled in helming "Warrior" in all aspects of the movie including the fight scenes, the brother/father relationships, and in the sport that is mixed martial arts. O'Connor and fellow screenwriters Anthony Tambakis & Cliff Dorfman did not exactly pin down a perfect screenplay in "Warrior", but good enough to take worthy of. The uprising Tom Hardy, who delivered in my eyes one of the most astounding acting performances in the last 5 years with his bravado leading performance in "Bronson", continues to rise up the thespian charts with another strong performance here as Tommy. Joel Edgerton did not match Hardy's performance "pound for pound" but Edgerton's work as Brendan was mixed with more good than bad. But the granddaddy or at least daddy performance of them all was Nick Nolte's stellar work as the Moby Dick obsessed pop Paddy, who even garnered a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination for his passionate thespian effort. I must cut now to the part of the brilliant editing of "Warrior". Unfortunately, the film's editing did not make the cut of the Best Editing Oscar nominated films but it sure deserved it. So get your kicks and thrills (and maybe a few punches) with the magnetism of "Warrior". ***** Excellent