Review of Warrior (2011) by Dawdlingpoet — 27 Nov 2021

This is a sports centered drama film with themes covered including tournaments, martial arts and underdogs. From the start, the family members are depicted as very much being quite distant from one another, with one being clearly a lot more down and out than the other. With quite dour and solemn music playing in the background, its also clear that their both relatively tired (physically, mentally and quite possibly emotionally speaking) as well. There is a certain atmosphere present from this first initial scene, although it sets the tone as being quite bleak, understandably so but I suppose I should say that it isn't the best of films to see if your looking for a constantly wonderfully happy film, put it that way!.

The camerawork is a bit jerky at times - the scenes featuring said martial arts being practiced or during competitions/tournaments are quite frenetic, with many camera angles used. It has quite a gritty, urban feel to it. At times a split screen is used to show one of the brothers training, in the ring, while another is out running. The chronology of the film appears to be quite wide, with it quickly depicting many days or weeks worth of time, hence the pace is relatively quick.

Its fair to say that the plot isn't exactly greatly original - there are some cliches present, with it being a sports related drama film with a heavy emphasis on family and the toll that being a sportsperson can have on you but it is a fairly tense and watchable film regardless. There are clearly unanswered questions from relatively early on but, somewhat frustratingly, as a viewer we're not really made aware of the full background of the brothers and what may have entirely driven such a big wedge between them. Having said that, it did make me feel a bit intrigued and curious to see what we might learn as the plot developed. The characterisation is fairly good but I found myself feeling that it was perhaps a little over 'Hollywood-ised', in that it didn't come across as entirely realistic and believable. There seemed to be an air of exaggerated melodrama somehow, although I'm not sure I can entirely put my finger on it.

Cast wise, Joel Edgerton plays Brendan Conlon, while his brother Tommy is played by Tom Hardy and the father, Paddy Conlon, is played by Nick Nolte. They do certainly look the part of gritty, hard done by street fighters trying to get by but I felt I somehow didn't quite buy in to the full picture. Other cast members include Jennifer Morrison, as Tess Conlon and Frank Grillo, as Frank Campana. Nolte's performance was probably the most noteable for me overall.

I found myself confused by the plot and not able to keep track of precisely what was going on, during pivotal scenes. At times the plot pace is quite fast and slick, while at other times it seemed a little slow. I feel the script wasn't the best overall. There is definitely a depressing bleakness to it but in a way I suppose thats a good thing, as I imagine thats what the filmmakers were trying to convey. I also found myself noticing a role reversal element which was interesting for a while but I won't give any spoilers. The basic concept is nothing new, although in this day and age (politically/culturally/economically speaking) its maybe more relevant than ever, the whole 'people trying to make a name for themselves, to rise above their circumstances' etc. but with various scenes taking place in Las Vegas and there being aerial camera shots used, panning across the many Vegas casinos and other establishments at night, with their lights shining bright, there was a definite tacky-ness to it. There is something sadly profoundly depressing about aspects of this but its not as if it hasn't been done before, numerous times. Content wise, the film contains one or two brief sex references and very brief/partial nudity, plus obviously violence in terms of the martial arts tournaments. There is also strong language and a character is depicted as being an alcoholic, with heavy drink use depicted, although its not really glamorised as such.

No, I wouldn't particualrly recommend this film. There are plenty of other, similar films around - I just didn't think this one was especially memorable.