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It's been said that there are no new ideas in how to tell a story, it's how the story's told that matters. That could be the case of the mixed martial arts fighting movie Warrior. Released in a year with two other movies of note (The Fighter and even Real Steel) both showcasing the idea of using fighting to heal old wounds and bond back together families that were formerly torn asunder, Warrior doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. It does manage to stand on it's own, telling a story that, while it might echo or even boldly wear it's influences and clichés on it's sleeve, is worth caring about.
Warrior tells the story of two estranged brothers:Tommy Riordan and Brendan Conlon. Tommy Riordan (played by Tom Hardy) is suffering from his own demons. Showing up on his dad's doorstep with a bottle of whiskey, Tommy holds his father, Paddy (played by Nick Nolte) to blame for the hardships he's faced after Paddy's violent alcoholism drove him and his mother as far away as possible. Channelling his anger in the gym, Tommy gets in the ring with a professional MMA fighter and manages to knock him out in no time, surprising everyone at the gym. Riordan hears of a big MMA competition called Sparta set in Atlantic City and goes to his father, who he still hasn't reconciled with, to ask for his help in training.
Meanwhile, Brendan Conlon (played by Joel Edgerton) is a popular high school physics teacher who also moonlights in amateur mixed martial arts matches in order to help his family make ends meet. The mixed martial arts matches don't sit well with Brendan's wife (played by Jennifer Morrison) and his boss, Principal Zito (played by Kevin Dunn). When the high school suspends him for his choice of after hours employment while also under the threat of losing their home, Brendan decides to pursue fighting as a chance to keep bringing money in and keep the family afloat. Brendan turns to his old trainer to help him prepare for his fights and trains, but when one of the fighters training for the Sparta competition gets injured and can't compete, Brendan asks his trainer to let him enter the tournament.
The setup alone implies the obvious, that both brothers will go head to head against each other, probably at the climax of the movie, letting their aggressions and frustrations out in the ring and on each other. Still, the underlying story of both men makes their journey and the tournament all the more compelling to keep an active interest in. It's not really a redemption story for the brothers. It's a story of rebirth, with their relationship and even themselves having to hit rock bottom and be, practically, destroyed at points in order to rise from the ashes.
All three of the lead actors give effective performances both in and out of the ring. With the direction and script co-written by Gavin O'Connor (who is no newbie to sports movies having directed Miracle for Disney), the opening scenes between Tommy and his father can have as much drama as a scene with Tommy in the ring swinging at an opponent with so much anger that they drop in seconds. Another scene between Brendan and his father, who comes to Brendan's house to let him know he's 1,000 days sober as well as Tommy's back in the area, is just as powerful and emotional as any of the fights Brendan must endure to get to the prize fight.
It's hard to watch Warrior and not try to run down the list of comparisons to boxing movies from the past, the most recent from my mind is The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. For my money, Warrior, which isn't a boxing movie but a UFC movie actually, is a better movie. While The Fighter was based on a real story, so fans of boxing will already know the outcome of the movie, Warrior is based in fiction so while it does hold some clichés dear, you still won't know what will happen until the minute the credits roll. Not only that, but Warrior features three performances that will draw you into it's story. Not taking anything away from Christian Bale's performance as Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, because he WAS the most interesting performance in that movie, but it helps to give the audience not just one but two characters who you would care about for different reasons when the final fight happens. And those characters will also stick with you long after the roar of the crowd has quieted down.
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