Warrior

Muscly tough guys torn by emotions, depicted in brilliant performances by the up-and-coming acting elite. Their display of physical prowess, especially Tom Hardy’s, and commitment to the characters and the story are what make this otherwise simple and unoriginal film so powerful. You believe every word they say and perceive the weight of their disaffection, and thus all the more thoroughly feel the film’s ending, which is impossible to watch without a tear in your eye. Veteran actor Nick Nolte is a worthy teammate to the younger guys and director Gavin O’Connor is a guide with a clear vision. Warrior is a brilliantly cast actors’ film. (01/01/2012)

The most perfect form and absolute pinnacle of sports drama. Every viewer will have several other films in the genre that remain more intense for them in terms of their personal experience (in my case, for example, that would be the Japanese film Gachi Boy), but Warrior represents the incredibly flawless use and fulfilment of all of the elements and techniques of its category. In order to lead viewers to sympathise with both main protagonists, the narrative brilliantly composes and conveys information for the purpose of establishing and deepening their motivations and personal levels. The cast features not only Tom Hardy as a man who anxiously keeps his heart hidden away and the excellent Joel Edgerton, who radiates that captivating combination of intelligence, strength and warmth needed for the role of a likable dad and teacher who also happens to be an MMA fighter. This perfectly tuned emotion-generating machine runs at full throttle right from the start, so it is all the more surprising when it shifts into an even higher gear in the final third of the elimination bout. The tremendously dynamic camerawork and quick editing can be egregiously wild because the precise sound mix, screenplay and directing ensure that everything remains clear. The filmmakers not only make excellent use of the roles of the sporting-event hosts, but they also employ all of the preceding motifs to inundate viewers with stunning physical acts and emotional content. The fact that this film didn’t appear in Czech cinemas at the time, even though the rights to it had been bought here, remains one of the greatest wrongs perpetrated by the local distributor. I’m thus all the more pleased that we were able to right that wrong with at least one screening at the Aero cinema, because on the big screen, Warrior is a truly monumental and intense experience. (21/08/2022)

Deceptively familiar plot template, masculine sweat in every minute, and problems that will forever stare back at you. Warrior is at first glance a kind of screenwriting calculation. It takes elements from various plot premises of famous boxing dramas and wraps everything up in themes that appeal to both audiences and critics. Iraq, heroism, trauma, high school, debts, alcoholism intersect here, with the strongest family values remaining at the center, wrapped around bitter memories. But it works, and it works perfectly. Gavin O'Connor has learned from Miracle that some emotions work better implied and without words, and with each scene that delves into broken family relationships, he escalates the atmosphere of unwavering fandom and desire for reconciliation. And last but not least, it features Tom Hardy in the forefront, who shatters all doubts with his brute strength. It's hard to say why guys so easily succumb in a moment when they hear the characteristic sound of a blow hitting a muscular body, but the adrenaline that surged in me during each significant fight could power a regional power plant. When even the most hidden memories and associated emotions bubble up during the final song, there is no defense against the power of this narrative. (10/12/2011)

An ode to (movie and viewer) joy that is spoiled just by trying to catch too many birds in bushes. To hell with all those clichés, but I would welcome it if it concentrated only on the brothers and father (plus their demons); this does actually happen, but not until the very end. Which means that all of the preceding, subordinate motifs just fizzle out. (14/12/2011)

I welcome making the “I’ll take some – I’ll dish some out – I’m the winner” formula exceptional by dividing attention between the two actors in the final conflict, who also happen to be brothers (thus a bit of biblical symbolism to top it off). At the same time, I find it regrettable to not use the plot to generate greater ambivalence. Through the emphasis placed on the familial subtext and the praiseworthy teaching work, we are subtly directed to clench our fists when Brendan takes a punch, not Tommy, whose system is stolen (which, nevertheless, is not appropriate). The film does not show the desperation arising from the endless carousel of defeats and victories as in The Wrestler. Where Aranofsky's drama was critical, Warrior is pathetic. It does not dissuade from mindless violence, but rather encourages it with aggressive music. Furthermore, voluntary self-destruction has been the only option for both brothers from the beginning to preserve (or possibly improve) their existence. In the interest of its own dramatic functionality, the film does not allow any other option. Brendan fights in order to support his family, whereas Tommy fights because adrenaline gives him strength (this post-combat inability to give up fighting was captured more sensitively in The Hurt Locker), which is another reason to have more understanding for Brendan. Despite that, Tom Hardy’s performance made me feel sorry that the entire film is not focused solely on him. However, the more brilliant actor does not disguise the mechanical construction of the drama: the son does not like the father, the father gets wasted, the son pities the father and vents his frustration when he crushes his opponent in a match. This works in a beautifully simple way in films and perhaps we even long for it somewhere inside, but the emotional impact of this would-be psychological film suffers because of it. Warrior does well when, after approximately eighty minutes, it resigns itself to some sort of psychological dawdling and then only shows from different angles how two guys beat and kick each other and how others watch them. The matches are directed as uninventively as the dialogue scenes, which stultify us with endlessly alternating shots and counter-shots. The camera either remains outside of the cage and/or attempts to imitate the unprepared shooting of television cameramen, thus simulating the experience of at-home or live viewing of similar matches. Unlike Scorsese in Raging Bull, for example, O’Connor does not bring an aesthetic element into the violence, and thus does not make it an action surpassing everyday experience, thereby merely promoting the numbness of the audience and giving the impression that it is something ordinary. In short – and unfortunately – an uncritical film. 70% (09/10/2018)