Last night I watched Warrior with my wife. I am a big fan of renting movies on the iPad and watching on my TV with the HDMI connection. That Steve Jobs was a clever man. Anyway, the movie follows the story of 2 estranged brothers who return to fighting (MMA style) after a long hiatus. They enter a big MMA tournament called Sparta (unbeknownst to each other) and lo a behold, they end up fighting each other in the climactic finale. My spoiler is given away in the trailer below. Anyway, the 2 brothers have serious issues with each other and life, which is understandable since Nick Nolte is their father. The events leading up to the film's climactic conclusion would seem unlikely if it was not a true story. It is true right? That's what I heard prior to viewing the film. I mean it has to be true. Who would make something so farfetched up? Gavin O'Connor would, apparently. The same guy who brought Miracle (a true story) to the big screen decided the USA's unlikely victory against Mother Russia on ice wasn't outstanding enough so he decided to pit a high school physics teacher (Joel Edgerton) against an undefeated Russian UFC fighter. I actually did like the movie. Tom Hardy was incredible and Nolte, shockingly, pulled off the dead beat dad role with flying colors. However, when I found out the film was fictional, it took off some of its mystique. I wanted to believe it was true because it seemed so outlandish. My wife felt the same way. The AWOL Iraq war hero fighting against the high school teacher brother he hasn't seen in 14 years. That's the stuff dreams are made of. I would have given it a 8/10 if it were true, but since it was fictional and a bit too unlikely it gets an7/10 from me.
I loved this movie! One of my favorites of the year. Such strong performances all around from Nolte, Hardy, and Edgerton. While I completely agree that it is highly unlikely that the two brothers would end up in the final bout, the story was so inspiring and the performances so strong (plus the fight scenes were quite impressive) that I was completely engrossed from start to finish. Saw this one in theaters and recently watched it again. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I think having such a close bond wih my twin brother gave me a strong connection to the characters as well. I could relate to the brotherly bond the two central characters had despite being apart for so long and hardly knowing each other.
I agree that the performances were incredible and the film felt much more like a piece of art that films from the same genre. In other words, it felt more like "The Fighter" than "Miracle." However, like movies that feature these too good to be-true sports stories, this plot just so happened to be too good to be true. I loved the film stylistically (muted colors, acting, camera work), but there were just too many moments that seemed too serendipitous.
I loved this movie! One of my favorites of the year. Such strong performances all around from Nolte, Hardy, and Edgerton. While I completely agree that it is highly unlikely that the two brothers would end up in the final bout, the story was so inspiring and the performances so strong (plus the fight scenes were quite impressive) that I was completely engrossed from start to finish. Saw this one in theaters and recently watched it again. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I think having such a close bond wih my twin brother gave me a strong connection to the characters as well. I could relate to the brotherly bond the two central characters had despite being apart for so long and hardly knowing each other.
ReplyDeleteLuke,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the performances were incredible and the film felt much more like a piece of art that films from the same genre. In other words, it felt more like "The Fighter" than "Miracle." However, like movies that feature these too good to be-true sports stories, this plot just so happened to be too good to be true. I loved the film stylistically (muted colors, acting, camera work), but there were just too many moments that seemed too serendipitous.