Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton feud as estranged brothers at the Pentagon. Nick Nolte plays a rehabilitating father with deep-seated demons. From these dynamics emerges a family drama that on the surface dances to the usual Rocky schema - but again, not at all. Warrior is, in fact, a very special sports film. Not just because of its specific sport (MMA is unlikely to play a role on the big screen anytime soon), but the storytelling of how director Gavin O'Connor manages to weave together the emotional facets of this masculine world.

For both Tom Hardy and especially Joel Edgerton, this film was their big breakthrough. Since then, Hollywood has been hot on their heels for almost everything. After seeing this flick, one has to honestly say that this is totally fine. Although I don't think too much of Edgerton's rather stoic and monotonous acting, he fits the role of Brendan perfectly. A "reasonable" family man with clear principles, but who has never lost his passion for fighting from his younger years. Even more on the nail, however, is Hardy's embodiment of his character Tommy. Although he is actually sullen and taciturn for the entire 130 minutes of running time (just a typical Hardy), you always have the feeling that there is so much more to this loveless-looking person. When you learn more about his background in the second half of the film, the other character traits clearly come into play. In that respect, Hardy was of course given the more interesting and diverse character, but his rousing performance never really makes you dislike this fundamentally unlikable person after all. The acting masterpiece of the film, however, goes to the account of a gentleman who had long been considered an icon in Hollywood at that time: Nick Nolte. After he had disappeared into oblivion for some time before, Nolte returns here in absolute top form. The role of the recovering alcoholic is tailor-made for Nolte. He plays everything from totally grumpy and distant to empathetic and highly emotional, and in the final part he provides one of the most memorable individual scenes in recent memory, at least in my opinion. You understand this man, want to hug him for his crumbling relationship with his sons, but can still understand why they want to avoid him.

At first glance, the film's unwinding seems generic and genre-oriented. However, if you venture beneath the surface and get involved with the not-uncomplex plot, you are completely caught off guard and left wondering. If I weren't a cold hearted person when it comes to crying at movies, I probably would have shed enough water for ten. Warrior gives you so much more than just half-naked men beating the crap out of each other in a pointless martial art. It's about passion, revenge and reconciliation. These elements are conveyed by O'Connor and the cast in such an incredibly authentic and profound way that you almost can't believe that the declared genre of this film is "sports movie". Rather, it is a breathtaking roller coaster of emotions with a lot of heart with an admittedly slightly exaggerated ending.

At first, I thought, "man, should have shown a little more backstory, why so much hate among the family and whatever". But then I understood, that would have made it just another family drama movie, which it cannot be. This movie is about the raw unsaid emotion of a family that always remains there. No matter what.

Joel was perfect in the role as a passionate, loving and fierce boxer and family man. Hardy was also great in the little convulated army-disgraced man who just wanted to do right by his fallen comrade. Nick Nolte did most of the magic with his eyes. And the last 20 minutes of the movie can make any grown man AND woman cry.

Cheers.

There aren't many fight movies I'd rate as high as a '10', and by fight movies I'm talking about boxing as the subject. "Rocky" and "Million Dollar Baby" are the only two I can think of off hand. But this movie transcends the genre and is so much more than a film about a pair of brothers reaching for the gold ring in the arena of mixed martial arts. There's a lot of human drama on display, and the three principals in the story pull off some of the most incredible performances one is likely to see in a film like this.

I was taken aback a bit by the number of other reviewers on this board who admitted to shedding a tear over parts of the story line. Some of the scenes affected me the same way and it's a little difficult to explain why, but the characters are so anguished and real that one can relate to them on some visceral level. I was especially heartened to see how the students of Sparta High School got behind their physics teacher, Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) during the War at the Shore. That just showed a whole lot of loyalty and civic pride for the school to turn out the way they did.

The entire backdrop to the fight story of course is the anguished and disrupted home life of Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte), an alcoholic on the mend approaching a thousand days of sobriety, but with the inability to connect with the sons who abandoned him. I was a little surprised that the resolution to the story didn't involve Nolte's character engaging more purposefully with either Brendan or Tommy (Tom Hardy). It's left open ended, just as Tommy's status with the military is left open ended, though if you follow your instincts, the outcomes wouldn't necessarily be rewarding.

As for the fight scenes, I'd have to go on record stating that this movie has the best edited action in the ring I've ever seen. Though the pace is often relentless, none of it looks staged or phony, a credit to all the players involved and the principal photographer. Regarding the outcome of the final match, well before ring time one's brain scrambles trying to guess the outcome, as this is one film and one battle where you don't want either brother to lose, and you can't imagine the twist that will make the final verdict worthwhile. I won't spoil it here either, you'll just have to see and judge it for yourself.