WARRIOR: Yes, in all caps.

I am going to apologize up front for the length of this article. I just could not keep to my usual 500-600 words. I also feel that I should get a few other items out of the way early. I was a high school wrestler, and was in judo (still am if I ever get back in shape) since 5th grade. I have a soft spot for sports film, especially pugilistic sports. I have never competed in mixed martial arts. I would love to, but The Wife has threatened me with divorce if I step in a cage and fight. With all that said, let’s get on with the review.

Warrior is from the writer/director Gavin O’Connor of Pride and Glory infamy. Pride and Glory was one of the most disappointing movies I have seen. I had high hopes for it, and its only impact on me was how much it failed. O’Connor, however, also directed Miracle. I loved that movie, and thought Kurt Russell was overlooked for his role as Herb Brooks, and robbed of an Oscar nomination. (More on my Oscar thoughts below.)

Warrior opens with Marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) coming home to his estranged father, Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte). Quick character development informs us as to why they are where they are in each other’s lives. We then meet Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), Tommy’s older brother, at his daughter’s birthday party. It is made clear, early and often, that he and his wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison) are hard up for cash. He, too, does not speak with Paddy for much of the same reasons as Tommy.

Tommy then becomes a YouTube sensation after knocking out middleweight (180 lbs) contender “Mad Dog.” Tommy hears of a winner-take-all tournament, called Sparta, with a $5 million purse. He decides to “hire” his dad to be his trainer. This diner scene is one of the best in the film. The dialog and the non-dialog in this scene really made it strong.

In the meantime, Brendan finds out that the bank is going to foreclose on his house in 90 days. To try to combat this, he decides to make money by fighting in local MMA fights. He is a high school physics teacher by day, fighter by night. Word of his afterhour exploits get out, and he gets suspended without pay. This only forces him to train with his old friend Frank and fight more.

After an unfortunate injury to Frank’s fighter for the tournament, Brendan takes his place. Because of his internet exploits, Tommy gets one of the coveted sixteen slots, too. This is a nod to Kimbo Slice, who made a name for himself on YouTube as a backyard brawler. To amp things up, the “best pound for pound fighter” at middleweight enters the grand prix competition. He is a Russian named Koba (Kurt Angle), who is a samba champ and Olympic gold medalist. This is a reference to Russian samba champ and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. This is also a tip of the hat to Kurt Angle himself. Angle won a gold medal in wrestling at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta before becoming a WWE/TNA wrestler.

The sixteen fighters arrive in Atlantic City for the single elimination tournament. This is the first time that Brendan and Tommy see each other. Again, this scene is tremendous. The dialog and acting once again carry this scene to perfection.

The first hour of the film leads up to the tournament itself that consumes the remaining eighty minutes. If you have seen the trailer, then you know who makes it to the final fight. If you haven’t seen the trailer, you should. It doesn’t ruin anything.

Warrior starts off moving slow, as if it is running with a parachute. But once it gets going (the diner scene) it doesn’t look back. The cage fights were filmed with a mix of the steady cam and shaky cam. This hybrid style keeps you in the action at all times. Each fight keeps your heart rate high. As for the fight choreography, it was top notch for a mixed martial arts film. I know that people are going to say that it looked fake. Guess what? It is fake! It is choreographed and practiced so that it looks as real as it can. There was one time, however, that I had to call “Bullshit.” I thought the fighting in Redbelt was great, but this is better. I have touted the writing already, but I want to touch on yet another part. The color commentators had great dialog to work with, and they worked it well. A lot of times, when I watch a sports movie, I groan at the terrible dialog given to the commentators. Too often, they sound like Captain Obvious himself, John Madden.

As for the acting, Nick Nolte plays typical Nick Nolte. He was alright, but nothing special. Joel Edgerton turns in a solid performance as the strapped for cash fighter. He has great chemistry with Jennifer Morrison. Then, there is Tom Hardy. He made a splash in America last year in a supporting role in Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Then, he was cast as Bane in the next Batman film. But, if you want to see what he is capable of, you need to rent Bronson. The question becomes, can Hardy get a nomination?

Let’s look at that closer. Can any sports role get a nomination for an actor that is NOT playing a boxer? I don’t think so. Can any sports movie get a Best Picture bid that is NOT about boxing? Rocky, Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby and The Fighter all got the nominations, and all are boxing films. Rocky and Million Dollar Baby took home the top prize. What about baseball? One nomination: Field of Dreams. Hockey? None. Football? There have been tons of football films, no best pictures. A handful of Oscar winners have portrayed football coaches, but none won for that role, or were even nominated. For some reason, the Academy seems to only like boxing. Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Sylvester Stallone got nominated for playing boxers. Shockingly, only two golden statues have gone to boxers: Robert DeNiro and Hilary Swank. So, simply put, if Warrior can break the trend, I think Tom Hardy will get a token nomination. If the film is not nominated, then Hardy, too, will be forgotten come award season.

So far, I have seen around fifty movies this year. Warrior is one of, if not the, best I have seen all year. You will read a lot of reviews calling it this year’s The Fighter. Or, they will say it is just like Rocky. Of course it’s like Rocky. Stallone’s bicentennial classic set the standard for fighting films. Every boxing movie- Hell, every underdog movie since 1976 has strived to be the next Rocky.

This is the final paragraph. I promise. Warrior is a great film, make no mistake. I loved it. The only real hiccup in the entire film is the slow start. A few UFC faces appear in the film, as well as a few fighters not currently fighting under the UFC brand. I was shocked that the UFC did not promote this movie in the last PPV, but maybe Lionsgate didn’t have the money to promote their film with the UFC. With that said, go see this movie. It is well written, acted and directed. It has much more to offer than just fighting. Hopefully, the award voters give this new sport a chance. This is the year or Warrior. Early predictions have this movie finishing second to Contagion. Warrior is opening on fewer screens in fewer theaters, but here’s hoping for better legs and word of mouth.

RATING 9.5/10