Warrior

Editorial

Gavin O'Connor's Warrior balances brutal in-the-ring action with fractured-family drama, fixing on the tensions between two brothers. It's entirely predictable in its sports-film mechanics, but no less enjoyable for it.

Exemplified by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), mixed martial arts (MMA) is a bruising blend of, well, whatever you like, really.

A match can end with an old-fashioned KO, or the contestants can grapple each other down onto the mat with a well-executed submission hold, finishing the fight with a tap-out. Then there's the "ground-and-pound" style, whereby a takedown is followed by a flurry of punches and elbows. MMA offers a wealth of variety that O'Connor uses to maximum effect.

In one corner is elder brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton), an ex-fighter working as a physics teacher, a family man struggling to make ends meet. He's contained, thoughtful and quietly determined. He's more of a technique man, using endurance, will power and submission holds to achieve victory.

In the other corner we have his prodigal brother, Tommy (Tom Hardy), who has been absent from their hometown of Pittsburgh for 14 years. He's an ex-marine, fresh out of Iraq, and is a perfect storm of directed rage — even though, he approaches his recovering-alcoholic father, Paddy (Nick Nolte), to train him. In the cage, Tommy's pure sprawl-and-brawl; a sharp-shock fighter, all tightly coiled power.

Warrior follows both brothers, the kind underdog versus the mysterious bad-ass, dividing the film — and our sympathies — straight down the middle.

When the pair do progress to their inevitable ding-dong battle in the ring, it's tough to predict how the match will actually end up playing out. The build-up to this moment is expertly massaged by O'Connor, who provides a massively uplifting climax. The matches themselves are intensely thrilling, while the emotional peak is air-punchingly stirring. For all its leanings towards obviousness, Warrior goes the distance.

Dan Jolin