The world of mixed martial arts fighting gets a moving and memorable showcase on film with Gavin O'Connor’s Warrior. Featuring dual stories, each one as interesting as the other, which culminate in a clash of titans in the cage at the film’s climax, Warrior may not quite reach the depths of characterization that it might have, it’s still, however, an emotionally powerful melodrama featuring decent ring action and a handful of superb performances.
Warrior (Blu-ray Combo Pack)
Directed by Gavin O'Connor
Studio: Lionsgate
Year: 2011
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 140 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.99
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Review Date: December 20, 2011
The Film
4/5
Estranged brothers Brendan (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) haven’t spoken to each other in fourteen years. In that time the older Brendan married Tess (Jennifer Morrison), had three daughters, and abandoned MMA fighting to become a high school physics teacher. The younger Tommy also dropped out of sight joining the marines and saving the lives of a squad before going AWOL in Iraq. Now back in his hometown of Pittsburgh, he decides to take up MMA again with the announcement of a $5 million winner-take-all tournament. He goes to his father (Nick Nolte) to once again become his trainer but has no interest in otherwise mending ties with the alcoholic, once abusive old man. Brendan is also a victim of the sour economy with the bank about to foreclose on his house, and against his wife’s wishes, takes up the sport again to enter the same tournament. Though it’s possible the brothers could conceivably meet in the finals, they each have enormous athletic obstacles to overcome to get there.
In mapping out the scenario for their story, co-writers Gavin O'Connor, Anthony Tambakis, and Cliff Dorfman touch on most of the usual clichés of the genre: the alienated brothers couldn’t be more different: one brooding and almost uncommunicative but with enormous power, the other open and scrappy, a definite underdog; the father a recovering alcoholic who teeters on the edge of sobriety shouldering the disdain both of his boys feel for him; the succession of matches (for Tommy all quick KOs, for Brendan all come-from-behind shockers) leading up to the big one (it’s no spoiler to reveal the brothers do eventually meet for the final match – the film was advertised that way). And, of course, the odds are stacked against both men with Tommy’s marine desertion hanging over his head and eventually coming out in the open and Brendan facing the scorn of his wife who’s against his risking his life for a big payday. All of it feels overly familiar. And yet, with the honesty of the actors taking on these roles, it mostly doesn’t matter. We get caught up in rooting for the two protagonists, and by the time of the final fight, we don’t want either one to lose.
Gavin O'Connor keeps things moving (the film is almost 2 ½ hours long, so zippy pacing is essential making the film's first hour and a half about the backstories and the final hour the contest), but he makes one fundamental mistake not learning from director Robert Rossen: when filming the fight scenes for Body and Soul, he put cameraman James Wong Howe in the ring to bring the savagery and athletic prowess of the actors into the audience’s faces. For the first time, boxing on screen seemed viscerally real. Here O'Connor shoots too much of the fight scenes through either ropes (in sparring sessions) or the wire cage keeping the viewer at arm’s length and preventing us from observing these accomplished athletes in all their bloody element. Knowing how feral MMA can be, the film doesn’t quite deliver all its goods even though, to give credit where it’s due, the matches are all thoroughly engrossing. They just don't have that final jolt that they might have had with more imaginative cinematography.
Tom Hardy’s brooding Tommy and Joel Edgerton’s more optimistic Brendan may be each other’s polar opposites, but the actors commit body and soul (no pun intended) to their parts and make very convincing fighters. We come to care for them as people, too, though here Hardy's Tom gets somewhat less attention than Edgerton's Brendan. Nick Nolte’s showcase scenes have award-caliber acting stamped on all of them. Whether tearfully begging to meet his unseen grandchildren or falling off the wagon while incontinently begging Captain Ahab not to go after Moby Dick, Nolte scores another career high in a role that was tailor-made for him. Jennifer Morrison’s Tess is a typically loyal, steadfast wife in the mold of previous fight films, but she’s grounded and real. Frank Grillo as Brendan’s trainer Frank Campana is the film’s most fascinating character, a trainer who stresses mind as well as body, is committed to classical music for training and living (he prefers Beethoven), and perseveres with his underdog, journeyman warrior. His story might make an even more interesting film, and one we haven’t seen before.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is faithfully reproduced in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Stylistically, the film’s look is all over the map, so consistency between the drab, colorless scenes set in Tommy’s Pittsburgh, the more colorful scenes in Brendan’s Philadelphia, and the gaudy, neon-fused spectacle of Atlantic City is nowhere to be found. Sharpness is not always first-rate; there are scenes that seem soft and ill-defined, and color variances and the amount of grain shown varies throughout as well. Black levels aren’t always top notch, but are overall above average. The film has been divided into 16 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The disc offers DTS-HD Master Audio encodes for both 5.1 and 7.1 systems. The 7.1 audio track does very little with the surrounds even in the combat scenes which in other fight movies have a more harrowing impact than they do here. There is ambient noise in the fronts and rears to be sure, and Mark Isham’s music gets some spread around the soundstage, too, but it’s not as immersive as one might expect. Dialogue has been well recorded and has been placed in the center channel; it’s never drowned out by the sounds of the crowd or the music in the mix.
Special Features
4.5/5
All of the bonus material (apart from a few trailers) is presented in 1080p.
“Full Contact Enhanced Viewing Mode” runs the film mostly in a PiP window while members of the crew and occasionally Nick Nolte participate in a video commentary that is superior to the audio only commentary also offered on this disc. Besides watching the crew talk on camera, there is also plenty of behind-the-scenes footage shown while they’re talking giving an extra dimension to the making-of feel of this bonus feature.
The audio commentary features director Gavin O'Connor, co-writer Anthony Tambakis, editor John Gilroy, and co-star Joel Edgerton in a less interesting, more subdued discussion of the making of the movie.
“Redemption: Bringing Warrior to Life” features director Gavin O’Connor, writer Anthony Tambakis, stars Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, and Joel Edgerton, stunt coordinator J.J. Perry, and advisor Greg Jackson all describing the amount of work which went into the making of the movie. With neither Edgerton and especially Hardy an experienced athlete in the sport, much time is spent showing their training and routine. This runs 32 minutes.
“Philosophy in Combat” introduces us to Greg Jackson whose MMA training techniques were carried into the film by actor Frank Grillo. Both men discuss the extremities of the sport, and Jackson shows with an assistant the various forms of fighting which make up mixed martial arts. This runs 21 minutes.
“Simply Believe” is a 14-minute tribute to one of TapOut’s founders Charles “Mask” Lewis, Jr. (to whom the film is dedicated) with scenes from his memorial service (director Gavin O’Connor’s speech) and video clips featuring the man himself and his friends commenting on his generosity.
The film’s gag reel runs 4 minutes.
”Brother Vs. Brother: Anatomy of the Fight” shows the climactic bout between Tommy and Brendan and in split-screen shows us storyboards, rehearsals, and training with the actors and their stunt doubles in this 12-minute feature.
There is one deleted scene called “The Diner” featuring optional filmmaker commentary. It runs 3 minutes.
There are promo trailers for Brothers, The Expendables, Affliction, and Facing Ali.
The second disc in the set is the DVD copy of the movie. Also included inside the case are instructions on obtaining a digital copy of the film.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
A psychologically satisfying family drama set in the world of mixed martial arts, Warrior isn’t as savage or as bloody as one might expect, and its emotional payoffs are considerable. The Blu-ray package offers a handsome array of bonus material including an enhanced viewing mode which reveals most of the nuts and bolts of the film’s production. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
