Predictable? Yes. But the great thing about the movie is somehow it makes you forget about the predictability and really lets you engage with the characters.
What could have been a by the numbers underdog-makes-good-against-all-odds sports film we've seen a million times is raised to something far better thanks to Hardy, Nolte and Edgerton who all bring real credibility and some brilliant acting to the table - what they do is far better than the story deserves, but they make something fairly straightforward in something definitely worth watching. Nolte in particular should be nominated for this - he's utterly heartbreaking.
On paper, Warrior should not have resonated with me. Boxing movies often all feel the same to me, and making this about mixed martial arts doesn't make the story all that original. Its appreciable naturalistic style certainly confirmed I'm not the audience for actual MMA events (despite that being my actual initials), with grating "sports commentary" like that of wrestling, only more bloodthirsty. The movie contrivance is that two estranged brothers - a war hero and a down-on-his-luck physics teacher - are going to end up fighting each other in the final, one a killing machine, the other a natural punching bag, but the story is so well front-loaded with character drama that it somehow plays out as a family crisis writ large. And its resolution packs a punch. It helps that both men have qualities you want to root for, and that they are tragic figures each in their own way. The fighting is well done, which of course is a must. Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte mumble a lot so I was glad for subtitles, but I was generally surprised at how much I liked this.
this is a very cheesy and predictable movie and definitely does not deserve such high ranks on imdb but is still a very enjoyable and blood-pumping action movie with a good amount of emotion and is pretty well taken.
Intense and captivating. Warrior may have been structured around a formula, but the film is so gripping that you forget some elements in the film have been done ad nauseum before. It takes quite a lot of skill to make cliched drama scenarios utterly involving, but in this film everything just works. Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy provide powerhouse performances.
I would highly recommend this, especially to those who don't particularly care for sports movies. You might be pleasantly surprised.
It started like a good indie movie with quite interesting storytelling, but going further and further it became predictable, losed entirely inside conflict. It was like a Hamlet played by county troop. You failed to believe, you tried hard, but cannot get rid of emotional fakeness. And it became worse and worse and rolled down to fight porn.
This film was just cliches upon cliches.
There may be three very strong performances at the centre of this film, but that does not excuse the film from being a load of trite boxing film cliches.
One of the main issues is how predictable the film is,
there's a big UFC tournament and two estranged brothers both enter, obviously meaning they will meet in the final, and something which is unnatural is that since both characters have something valiant to fight for you want both to win in the final, therefore both to lose, and it takes any emotional response out of the final scene, as opposed to getting you SUPER INVOLVED like the director intended.
I didn't even like the characters all that much, Hardy comes off as a douche and Edgerton comes off as whiny. The only character I really liked was Nolte.
This film also has no business being nearly 2 and a half hours long, that is a sign of bad writing. This story is so simple and run of the mill that you should be talented enough of a writer to use fewer scenes to tell it, because lets face it these characters are pretty stock, and this extra "character development" is not necessary. Surprisingly the fights were not shot that well, instead of letting me see people get beaten up in the ring, I am instead subjected to the film cutting to reactions of characters in their living room. Once or twice is fine, but I don't need to see the teacher who Edgerton worked with's reaction to the fight 10 times just to try to develop the flimsy subplots. And the two commentators were annoying as ****, they were like if the commentators from Dodgeball were real people who found a gig in the UFC.
Could also be titled 'Men In Pain'. Granted, the plot is completely unoriginal, but that's not the point: this film has the heart of a wounded animal. You feel the hurt and sadness, mainly thanks to the central 3 actors, who are astonishing. Nick Nolte is jawdropping, and knowing his past helps add to a screen presence so hypnotically painful you feel yourself sink into his bottomless pit of despair. Similarly, Tom Hardy, along with Michael Fassbender, is going to be in the new class of actors who can portray broken-hearted vulnerable men and root you to the screen in the process, and he deserves every last bit of press attention. This is cliched, yes, but gritty and painful, good medicine for the repressed and gagged emotional state of modern masculinity in this culture, and I hope it can bring some healing to some who need it.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 76
kanoba
Predictable underdog story, but quite entertaining still.Vastly overrated though.
Rigters
Predictable? Yes.But still amazing and very much entertaining and emotional. Tom Hardy was AWESOME!
ozgungenc
Overrated by american imdb mafia. Repeats every cliche of its genre. It has almost nothing above average.twistedthursday
Predictable? Yes. But the great thing about the movie is somehow it makes you forget about the predictability and really lets you engage with the characters.Great film.
greenhorg
I liked the part where punching.ReVision
Didn't expect much going into it, but turned out to be a great movie. Great cast and performances all around! Not sure if it's top250 material though.brainfabias
Yes, clichéd movie alright, and not worthy of top 250 too. But on the whole, it was quite good and compelling.DerekFME
Marginally above average. Rather by the numbers but enjoyable enough. Tom Hardy is certainly an actor to watch. Great screen presence.dombrewer
What could have been a by the numbers underdog-makes-good-against-all-odds sports film we've seen a million times is raised to something far better thanks to Hardy, Nolte and Edgerton who all bring real credibility and some brilliant acting to the table - what they do is far better than the story deserves, but they make something fairly straightforward in something definitely worth watching. Nolte in particular should be nominated for this - he's utterly heartbreaking.Siskoid
On paper, Warrior should not have resonated with me. Boxing movies often all feel the same to me, and making this about mixed martial arts doesn't make the story all that original. Its appreciable naturalistic style certainly confirmed I'm not the audience for actual MMA events (despite that being my actual initials), with grating "sports commentary" like that of wrestling, only more bloodthirsty. The movie contrivance is that two estranged brothers - a war hero and a down-on-his-luck physics teacher - are going to end up fighting each other in the final, one a killing machine, the other a natural punching bag, but the story is so well front-loaded with character drama that it somehow plays out as a family crisis writ large. And its resolution packs a punch. It helps that both men have qualities you want to root for, and that they are tragic figures each in their own way. The fighting is well done, which of course is a must. Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte mumble a lot so I was glad for subtitles, but I was generally surprised at how much I liked this.aniforprez
this is a very cheesy and predictable movie and definitely does not deserve such high ranks on imdb but is still a very enjoyable and blood-pumping action movie with a good amount of emotion and is pretty well taken.The Fable Muncher
Intense and captivating. Warrior may have been structured around a formula, but the film is so gripping that you forget some elements in the film have been done ad nauseum before. It takes quite a lot of skill to make cliched drama scenarios utterly involving, but in this film everything just works. Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy provide powerhouse performances.I would highly recommend this, especially to those who don't particularly care for sports movies. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Deus
It started like a good indie movie with quite interesting storytelling, but going further and further it became predictable, losed entirely inside conflict. It was like a Hamlet played by county troop. You failed to believe, you tried hard, but cannot get rid of emotional fakeness. And it became worse and worse and rolled down to fight porn.MM
This film was just cliches upon cliches.There may be three very strong performances at the centre of this film, but that does not excuse the film from being a load of trite boxing film cliches.
One of the main issues is how predictable the film is,
This film also has no business being nearly 2 and a half hours long, that is a sign of bad writing. This story is so simple and run of the mill that you should be talented enough of a writer to use fewer scenes to tell it, because lets face it these characters are pretty stock, and this extra "character development" is not necessary. Surprisingly the fights were not shot that well, instead of letting me see people get beaten up in the ring, I am instead subjected to the film cutting to reactions of characters in their living room. Once or twice is fine, but I don't need to see the teacher who Edgerton worked with's reaction to the fight 10 times just to try to develop the flimsy subplots. And the two commentators were annoying as ****, they were like if the commentators from Dodgeball were real people who found a gig in the UFC.
Scratch47
Could also be titled 'Men In Pain'. Granted, the plot is completely unoriginal, but that's not the point: this film has the heart of a wounded animal. You feel the hurt and sadness, mainly thanks to the central 3 actors, who are astonishing. Nick Nolte is jawdropping, and knowing his past helps add to a screen presence so hypnotically painful you feel yourself sink into his bottomless pit of despair. Similarly, Tom Hardy, along with Michael Fassbender, is going to be in the new class of actors who can portray broken-hearted vulnerable men and root you to the screen in the process, and he deserves every last bit of press attention. This is cliched, yes, but gritty and painful, good medicine for the repressed and gagged emotional state of modern masculinity in this culture, and I hope it can bring some healing to some who need it.Showing items 1 – 15 of 76