'Warrior' is the story of two brothers, and their completely different journeys to this giant MMA tournament called 'Sparta'. And while the movie is centred around this sporting event, the plot focuses intently on the two main characters. One has just returned from Iraq and the other is a school teacher. Let me just say right from the get go it's obvious who the victor is. From the moment you meet Tom Hardy's Tommy Conlon you dislike him. He's a jerk, I mean he's obviously a jerk with a HUGE chip on his shoulder, returning home to his formerly abusive and alcoholic father [Paddy Conlon, played masterfully by Nick Nolte] looking for a fight, but he's a jerk nonetheless. Joel Edgerton's Brendan Conlon on the other hand is a devoted family man; married with two girls and is a teacher that genuinely wants to impart knowledge to his students....Mmmm, I wonder who we're going to want to win?
Brendon is a high school physics teacher who used to fight but has settled down for his family. However, despite him and his wife working three jobs between the two of them, they're on the verge of losing their home. After a depressing meeting with a loan manager at a bank he decided to go to an amateur MMA fight to try and win some easy money. While he wins the fight, he also loses in a big way. Apparently the school board frowns on that type of behaviour from their teachers, and he's suspended. This puts him on the path to Sparta, he's an out of shape, former fighter, an underdog that you can't help but cheer for.
An odd subplot of the movie that furthers the 'Go Brendon Go' is that Tommy is an Iraq War hero. I know this sounds like maybe it should endear the audience to him, buuut not so much. He saved a group of soldiers...while he was on his way out of the country, abandoning his post. The character is so cold and awful to his now sober and repentant father that his words and actions in America override any heroism he did in Iraq. While his dad just wants to begin rebuilding a relationship with his son, Tommy only wants to berate him, and get out his anger on a man that doesn't exist anymore. No matter how many times he apologises, Tommy is unrelenting in his complete and utter dislike of his father. The final straw is when Paddy goes to talk to Tommy after a fight and Tommy spews out so much hate that his father falls off the wagon in a big way. How can any audience possibly like a character like that?
While watching Tommy alienate his family was hard, for me the worst part was watching the fighting. Just a personal thing, I don't like seeing people get the snot kicked out of them, even if it means they can win five million bucks to save their family. This made the last twenty minutes of the movie a little hard to watch, but I just had to see how the final battle would play out.
Wellll, that was a bit of a long post for the first one back, and probably a little rambly, but hey, I'm a little out of practice! I'll try and be more concise with the next few, until then: Happy Thanksgiving!
Brendon is a high school physics teacher who used to fight but has settled down for his family. However, despite him and his wife working three jobs between the two of them, they're on the verge of losing their home. After a depressing meeting with a loan manager at a bank he decided to go to an amateur MMA fight to try and win some easy money. While he wins the fight, he also loses in a big way. Apparently the school board frowns on that type of behaviour from their teachers, and he's suspended. This puts him on the path to Sparta, he's an out of shape, former fighter, an underdog that you can't help but cheer for.
An odd subplot of the movie that furthers the 'Go Brendon Go' is that Tommy is an Iraq War hero. I know this sounds like maybe it should endear the audience to him, buuut not so much. He saved a group of soldiers...while he was on his way out of the country, abandoning his post. The character is so cold and awful to his now sober and repentant father that his words and actions in America override any heroism he did in Iraq. While his dad just wants to begin rebuilding a relationship with his son, Tommy only wants to berate him, and get out his anger on a man that doesn't exist anymore. No matter how many times he apologises, Tommy is unrelenting in his complete and utter dislike of his father. The final straw is when Paddy goes to talk to Tommy after a fight and Tommy spews out so much hate that his father falls off the wagon in a big way. How can any audience possibly like a character like that?
While watching Tommy alienate his family was hard, for me the worst part was watching the fighting. Just a personal thing, I don't like seeing people get the snot kicked out of them, even if it means they can win five million bucks to save their family. This made the last twenty minutes of the movie a little hard to watch, but I just had to see how the final battle would play out.
Wellll, that was a bit of a long post for the first one back, and probably a little rambly, but hey, I'm a little out of practice! I'll try and be more concise with the next few, until then: Happy Thanksgiving!
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