Review of Warrior (2011) by Mredzuan — 23 Sep 2011

Best movie of the year hands down. Very unique in that it does not have a clear antagonist. You're rooting for all of them each with their own promises to fulfill. Tom Hardy's Tommy is just outstanding, the level of intensity showcased is unbelievably scary.

Joel Edgerton's Brendan who is trying to make ends meet as a school teacher moonlights as a fighter in parking lots after hours to provide for his family and Nick Nolte's heart-breaking performance as the willing-to-do-anything-to-make-it-right-again estranged father of his two distant sons.

And that barely scratched the surface of their story, the depth of the characters is amazingly rich. The first half of the movie builds the foundation for the brothers, their present lives, their rough childhood and their own motivations to get back in the cage, it's as exciting and entertaining as the fighting scenes itself.

There's about 4-5 climaxes in Warrior it's outstanding. Unlike a lot of sports/boxing movies we've seen you feel the high-octane scenes. You're really immersed in the fighting sequences, you feel every punch, every kick, every takedown and every headlock because you care about the characters, you know the journey of how they got where they are and you know all too well their hopes and promises to the people they care for.