It was a really decent movie. I’m not sure I would call it “great”, but it was worth the price of admission.

The plot is pretty straight forward. It’s basically exactly what you see in the trailer. There’s two brothers, Tommy and Brendan Conlon. Tommy however is using his mothers maiden name, so for majority of the film they refer to him as Tommy Riordan. Tommy and Brendan grew up in a troubled home with a father who had an alcohol abuse problem. Tommy and his mom decided to get away from the father and ran away. Brendan chose to stay with his father. Brendan and the father never hear from Tommy and the mom again until now, 14yrs later. Tommy became a Marine at some point during his 14 year hiatus, and Brendan became a school teacher after retiring as a professional UFC Fighter.

The brother’s both have their own personal reasons for fighting. As seen in the trailer, Brendan has a family and the bank is going to foreclose on his house. Tommy has a reason that is revealed half way into the movie. Problem is there’s no real bad guy here, they’re both fighting for noble causes. $5,000,000 is on the line and they’re after it. Tommy’s a bit of a jerk due to resentment of his childhood and war issues. But really both brothers are technically “good” guys. Even the father has turned a new leaf. No matter what the outcome of the movie is you’re not gonna feel bad about it.

The acting in this movie is top notch, very convincing. It was neat seeing the transformation of Tom Hardy (Tom Conlon) from what he was in Inception to who he is in Warrior. Dude is bloody ripped. I think he’ll do exceptionally well as Bane in next years Dark Knight Rises. You believe Joel Edgerton in the role of a highschool teacher and a UFC fighter. And the father, Nick Nolte, he’s just like one of those guys you’d expect to find in a boxin’ movie.

The action was fantastic. I never really got into UFC/MMA fights on tv. But watching them in theater is fun because unlike real life, they can give you that right in your face blow. Like the punch is right there. The crushing sound of the glove is amplified by the surround sound of the theater. While it’s not real, it makes you feel like you’re right there in the ring as opposed to just watching 2 guys beat each other up from a sideline view.

What can you take away from this film? There’s a good message of perseverance. Not being a quitter, not giving up. And forgiveness. That’s kind of it though. It’s not as deep as it could of been in these areas, but it gets the point across.

Overall, good movie. Check it out.