26. Warrior

 Oh hey! It's been a while huh?

As I type this, we're nearing the end of Britain's second lockdown due to COVID-19 but I thought it'd be a wasted opportunity if I had nigh on a month off work and didn't chip away at a few more movies in the collection, especially as I'm in this good place of not having any lingering uncompleted series over my head, having finished 'Oz' at the beginning of the month.  A few completed comic series and video games later and I've got the itch to get back in the saddle.

Today's film, sort of became the roadblock after a pretty productive summer of writing. There's nothing wrong with it, I just know that it's a tad more serious then previous watches and I wasn't feeling it at the time. Regardless it's now time to wipe the dust off of the DVD case, clear the clothing from the ol' viewing chair and watch:

WARRIOR (2011 dir. Gavin O' Connor)

'All The Rockys rolled into one' claimed Shortlist. Thankfully this isn't the case as it would have a painfully boring part in lieu of Rocky V but also it sadly doesn't have fucking awesome music montage sequences a la Rocky IV...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

Come on, with a tag line with 'All the Rocky's...' how could I not give it a spin? I think I remember renting this one with Dad at his local video shop in Sholing. Blockbuster's had long since passed by this point so the locals were the only way to rent. Sadly my lazy arse father couldn't be arsed to take the short drive down and he was too lazy to return the rentals on time and unlike Blockie's who would let him off with it, he didn't seem to understand that this wasn't how things were done post Blockies.

Still, we managed to pop off a few rentals in that time, one of them being 'Warrior'.  Being a wrestling fan as well, I remembered there was a bit of buzz about Kurt Angle's appearance in it too (albeit, he's completely silent in it). The whole MMA/UFC craze was buzzing at this point due to a variety of colourful stars passing through it and I mean look at that box art. That's a lot of stars right there. It needed to be checked out.

What followed was a highly enjoyable two hours of pumping MMA action interwoven with interesting family drama. I remember this being another noticeable hit for rising star Tom Hardy, it was my first memorable look at dependable all rounder Joel Edgerton and I particularly remember Nick Nolte playing 'Alcoholic Dad', rather well to boot.

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

I think chances are good. I don't think the movie will have aged THAT much and the performances were really stand out. It'll be that sort of classy high brow sports movie that 'The Wrestler' fell into also. Something I may want to stick on again after a Rocky kick or something like that.

The review:

Warrior is not a movie that'll change your life but it tells a story, it tells it well and you don't feel like over two hours have passed, that's the sign of a strong movie in my eyes.

My recollection was slightly wrong, Nick Nolte played 'Recovering Alcoholic Dad', his (unexplained) reprehensible actions as a raging alcoholic having split his family in three, his two sons going off in separate directions. 

We're greeted with moody, detached, pill popping Tom Hardy and his mysterious story of how he came back and the trials and tribulations of well meaning family man Joel Edgerton who doesn't want to lose his house thanks to the banks fucking him over.

Inevitably the golden ticket, the one hope for both men is a $5 million dollar MMA tournament where for each man, it's a shot of redemption.

The first half of the film sets out the story and you feel an emotional connection with everyman Edgerton. The amusing fact that a Brit and an Aussie are playing brothers from Pittsburgh aside, you become involved in their stories and the movie sucks you in.

Tom had taken exception to a fan claiming 'This Means War' was their favourite film of his...

 The highest praise I can put on this movie is that even though I knew the ending, I still got sucked in the fights and felt a swell of joy whenever Joel progressed, wanting him to win and make things right for his family.

There's not too much to gripe about honestly, it's a film about performances. The choice of song for the dramatic ending is a bit weak, considering what a good job the score had done throughout the film, it weighed it down slightly.

It could have been shaved down slightly too, at times the film likes to hammer home the desperate situation of our characters and therefore lays it on a bit thick but ultimately it does make the final outcome that much more pleasing.

Should it stay or should it go?

Absolutely. It's good 'meat and potatoes' sports style drama. Warrior gets a respectable 7.5 I think upon this watching but it's score could easily shoot up again depending on my mood on subsequent watches.

Well that's the serious stuff out of the way, we're heading into some pretty goofy action fare in the next film so stick around for that with a film I don't think time has been too kind too honestly...

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major