Even if “The Fighter” and “The Wrestler” had not come out during awards season in recent years, “Warrior” would be notable for its once-over-lightly sense of deja vu.
This movie mixes gritty detail with family melodrama, plastering the result upon an ancient Hollywood blueprint. And, like tho
se previous films, it’s all very efficiently executed.
This time it isn’t boxing or wrestling that make the bloodsport at the center of the story, but mixed martial arts, a tradition in one Pittsburgh family.
The Conlon brothers have been estranged for years. Brendan (Joel Edgerton) has settled down with a wife, kids and steady job as a teacher; but financial woes have lured him into picking up fighting matches outside strip bars. This is hard to explain at PTA meetings.
Tommy (Tom Hardy) vanished into the military some years before and is back to train for an all-state fighting tournament.
Enrollment in this tournament is one thing the brothers have in common; the other is their dislike of their father (Nick Nolte), now a recovering alcoholic but formerly a real monster, if a darned fine coach, of course.
Dad tutors Tommy while Brendan trains in Pittsburgh. Will the underdog brothers fight their way to the final match? Will anybody triumph over the unbeatable Russian (a Russian? Really?) touted as the world’s best? Will last-minute revelations affect the way fans view this rivalry?
Tom Hardy, who stood out in the funhouse of “Inception,” is an actor from the Brando-De Niro school, and here he creates a muscled brooder who is part man, part armadillo. He’s so wordless and interior-directed that the movie gravitates, by default, in the direction of Joel Edgerton’s conflicted teacher.
Edgerton, an Aussie actor lately seen in “Animal Kingdom” and “The Square,” has been overdue for mainstream stardom for a while now. He lets Hardy do the heavy-lifting acting, which is not a bad choice in these circumstances.
Nick Nolte’s role has “supporting actor Oscar nomination” stamped across it, and the hoarse-throated actor does not stint on the histrionics. If he wins the Oscar, good for him; he’s deserved one for a while. But it should’ve been for something else.
Director Gavin O’Connor did the kinda fun “Miracle” and the frankly excruciating “Pride and Glory.” He doesn’t miss a trick here, and the fight scenes are grueling enough to get an audience lathered up and teary-eyed.
I found myself dry on both counts, which has less to do with the movie’s similarities to its predecessors than with its blunt-object insistence on stacking the deck. If you’re really looking to get lathered, though, “Warrior” will get you there.
“Warrior” 1½ stars
Estranged brothers played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton become rivals in an all-state mixed martial arts tournament, a situation that might remind you of “The Fighter” and “The Wrestler.” The movie hammers home its points with blunt insistence, and Nick Nolte nails a plum role as the fighters’ alcoholic father.
Rated: PG-13 for violence, language, subject matter.
Showing: Alderwood, Cinebarre, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Metro, Pacific Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall.
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