Warrior

Make no mistake, Warrior is what I refer to as The Perfect Friday Night Movie: Get a pizza in (preferably thin crust!)wipe your HDTV screen clean, and stick on the blu-ray. For a ridiculously touched-up poster, Warrior didn't have to convince me to see it; the fact Tom Hardy has been referred to as the British Marlon Brando is the reason. With the exception of Christian Bale, I absolutely detest The Fighter: It's riddled with more Irish-American cliches than Far and Away and is oh-so annoying at the best of times. You can understand my trepidation as I awaited for this drama to unfold. As "Tap 'em Out" Tommy Reardon, Tom Hardy is massive. The guy's traps are enormous (he's gigantic!) and given his turbulent performance, one can only wet themselves at the prospect of seeing him kick Batman's ass in The Dark Knight Rises. He spends much of his time brooding,looking mean and makes a great effort with his US accent (which I am assuming is an amalgam of regional US dialects or do the good people of Pittsburgh talk like that?) He makes taking a swig of whiskey seem like an art form and can understand why his character has no sense of ambition any more, which is revealed through a surprise twist, midway. And Mr Hardy is that rare thing since Gary Oldman: He's scary and unpredictable. Tom's dual role not only required a physical transformation, but to convince us he's an MMA fighter (don't worry, I was convinced within 1 minute!)A credit to director Gavin O'Connor, who said Tommy was the only actor who could play the troubled, younger Conlon sibling. This isn't just a film about slugging it out UFC-style; this is a class in heavyweight acting. Tom's scenes with Nick Nolte as his ex-alcoholic father Paddy, are both funny and very moving. If Nolte doesn't get an Oscar nod (and post Oscar hindsight, he did but was robbed), then there's no justice in this world..the old man's still got it and sure he recalled his drunken past for this role of a lifetime. Joel Edgerton is another Aussie who's graduated from the "Time to Fool Everyone with a Convincing American Accent, School of Acting" - as Tom's elder brother, Brendan Conlon. It takes a long time before they meet (think of DeNiro and Pacino in Heat) and when they do, it's intense and explosive stuff. One of the twists is that they fight each other in the ring; how they get there will become apparent as you watch. In what is billed as a man's film, Jennifer Morrison from House is the calming influence as Brendan's missus. She's not just a pretty blonde, she has heart and she's sassy too. I could believe more in her as Tess; than Amy Adams's Oirish barmaid in The Fighter, who, let's face it, was quite the skank! Warrior's' greatest strength is that it takes its time and doesn't overwhelm you and doesn't try to prove anything either. It's great film making and Gavin O'Connor deserves a pint (or three). In much the same way Rocky(1976) was shot on a very low budget, this has that same Everyman approach. In fact, Warrior owes a debt to Rocky in its pre-title credits and the split-screen training montages. The fights are a feast for any UFC fan and kick serious ass. In parts, it's classic Americana: Downbeat and has a lot of charm; on the other, it makes me want to visit Pittsburgh now and to stick Ode to Joy on my iPod! Special nods to the actors who played the students; the always great Kevin Dunn as Principal Zito (you couldn't make it up) and Bryan "The Hangover" Callen as a very funny UFC commentator. And Kurt Angle as a Russian head case! If I have any gripes about Warrior, is that I would've liked to have seen the regimen of training to become an Ultimate Fighting Champion. And more scenes of Jennifer Morrison in her underwear (maybe they'll happen to find some deleted scenes and stick them on the blu-ray). The blu-ray is gorgeous - do yourself the biggest favour and order it from Amazon: I prefer the cover of a lone Tommy with his back to us; than an overpriced high street record store, who uses a different poster and hikes up the price as well. The film looks amazing and the special features are great (nice to see Hardy looking comfortable in an interview as opposed to being interrogated by a second-rate UK chat show host). Since critics have compared Tom to Brando, in which case I'll leave you with his most memorable role as ex prize-fighter, Terry Malloy from On the Waterfront. Yes, I still get the chills re-watching it and yes, I'm sure Hardy drew some inspiration too. An all-time, classic movie moment. [...]

I thought the advertising for the cinematic release of Warrior was slightly off the mark. Making it seem a little too much like a young fight flick, which it most definitely isn't. I think it might also have suffered from being the last of the recent fight genre movies released. This movie, regardless of genre, is quite simply one of the best I have EVER seen. I watched it three times on the roll during a long haul flight and immediately pre-ordered it from Amazon when I landed. Warrior is about two estranged brothers and a family ripped apart by a violently driven alcoholic father who was once a fighting instructor. When the oldest brother finds the cost of saving his daughter from heart disease, is the mortgage on his house, he is forced to return to fighting to make ends meet. Always a greater technician over a great fighter, he now has something worth fighting for, his family. This is contrasted against Tommy, the young brother and prodigal son. A deserter from the army after his platoon were all killed in a friendly fire incident, he is fighting only to raise money for the families of the dead soldiers. As the UFC competition plays out in front of the media, it is these two very personal battles, that drives this emotionally intense and very violent story to its conclusion. The quality starts with the script, it's incredibly well put together, managing the fine mix of violence and drama. This is backed-up by great acting throughout. Some of the key characters do not have a lot of screen time but bring such depth to the character you get them more from who they are over what they say. Tom Hardy combines raw physical intensity with real depth of character, and for me, as great and brutal as his fighting was, the scenes between him and his father and brother were riveting. Joel Edgerton for me though was the star. The underdog that will not give in because doing so will lose his family the roof over their heads. The climax is incredible because come the end, there is no favourite. How it is done is quite brilliant and sends chills down my spine just thinking about it. Quite simply, Warrior is one of the best movies I have ever watched at any level. I can't recommend it highly enough. I hope this review was helpful.

A surprisingly involving film, “Warrior” takes the world of Mixed Martial Arts as the setting for this moving and dramatic tale of two brothers and their estranged father. A film that could so easily have followed the clichéd pattern of so many sports melodramas (particularly the boxing genre) this one manages to add a few twists that carries it above the expected norm. There are fine performances from Hardy and Edgerton as the brothers – one a teacher returning to fighting due to financial difficulty, the other an ex-soldier honouring a promise. The third factor is provided by Nolte, who puts in a very well measured, understated performance as their recovering alcoholic father. What makes the story work so well is in the balance of sympathy the plot gradually builds for each character; In my opinion it is inevitably difficult to take sides, as details of each character`s past and present situations are revealed and as the pair find themselves in the same tournament culminating in their ultimate confrontation. Aside from being a well-scripted piece, the camera-work and editing of the exciting fight scenes - particularly the spectacle of the tournament - is dynamic and effective, making for brutal, but compelling viewing. An emotional and rousing sports movie, well considered and compulsively entertaining.

Great sports movie with phenomenal performances do shine on this 4K UHD release. Sound is great with Dolby Atmos so all the fights at the end sounds great. A must own for fans of this classic. One of the best sports films our there.

This is honestly THE BEST movie I have seen all year and possibly in my life. This movie will not simply toy with your emotions but it will rule them. Two brothers with a bitter past fighting in a MMA tournament to win 5 million dollars. One fights to keep his family in their home and the other keeps his reasons to himself but once you find them out you won't know who to root for. Caught in the between the two is their three year sober father trying to win their love back after their childhoods of drinking and abuse. Nick Nolte is phenomenal and through out the movie it really feels like it's about the father trying so hard to make things right. His struggle at just trying to get his sons to talk to him will pull at your heart strings. The fights are the most realistic and intense fight scenes I have ever seen in a movie and it's amazing that no one was permanently injured making this movie. The story is amazing and builds itself up perfectly by giving us information about the brothers past one piece at a time. I have just finished watching this movie for the fifth time and my heart was still pounding during the intense fight scenes. Even though I know how the movie ends it still feels like I'm watching it for the first time. I recommend this movie to everyone, you, your brother, your sister, your dad, your best friend, their best friend, everybody.

Le scénario distille les révélations au fil du métrage ponctué de scènes de combats de MMA très bien filmées. Bien entendu, la dernière demi-heure laisse la place à la rage des combats mais l'histoire est intéressante et a véritablement quelque chose à raconter. De surcroît, tous les acteurs sont au top (Tom Hardy fondu dans son personnage) autant hors que sur le ring et malgré des physiques bien carrés, l'émotion est toujours latante. Mais, Bon sang, les trapèzes et les muscles du cou de l'excellent Tom Hardy sont vachement impressionnants pour un garçon qui aurait taillé ce physique pour ce film ! Excellent film vraiment. Transfert blu ray : AU début du film, le grain affiché fait tout de même peur. Ca fourmille beaucoup ce qui amoindrit visiblement la définition. Le grain présent tout au long du film se fait ensuite plus discret et même très retenu sur le tournoi final. La colorimétrie terne des début laisse souvent la place à une belle palette de couleurs plus vives en fonction des séquences et des endroits filmés. Il s'agit comme déjà mentionné du choix artistique mais les adeptes des images lissées et d'une netteté absolue ne seront peut-être pas toujours au anges. Toutefois, la définition se défend pas mal et le transfert propose de très beaux plans bien détaillés. Surtout le tournoi final très aiguisé avec des plans nocturnes de la ville de toute beauté. Il faut également mentionner l'appartion furtive d'un bruit vidéo assez visible lors de certaines coupes de plans surtout au début du film. Cet effet (qu'il est possible d'atténuer en diminuant un peu le curseur de netteté de la TV) est difficilement expliquable par un choix artistique et résulte plus vraisemblement du transfert. Au final, compte tenu des particularités du film, le résultat en terme d'image est très satisfaisant. Niveau son c'est excellent sur toute la ligne tant en VO qu'en VF en DTS HDMA. Les bonus répondent présents avec des modules dont un making of intéressant. Malgré une section vidéo parfois un tantinet bruitée, la qualité du métrage vaut largement les cinq étoiles.

This movie was well written and acted. It was one of those movies that had to go in my video arsenal. classic

--- Zur Blu-ray (Steelbook) --- Die Blu-ray wird in einem ebenso edlen wie leider auch kratzeranfälligen Steelbook geliefert. Die Bildqualität fällt mit Absicht so durchwachsen aus. Bei den Szenen mit Tommy rauscht es mehr als in jenen, die seinen Bruder Brandan zeigen. Dies ist offensichtlich als filmisches Mittel zu verstehen um die charakterlichen Profile beider Protagonisten zu trennen. Brandan als Familienvater, der finanziellen Nöten ausgesetzt ist, führt die Kämpfe mehr des Preisgeldes wegen aus, weswegen die Bildqualität bei seiner Anwesenheit ziemlich klar wirkt. Tommy auf der anderen Seite macht MMA. um sich abzureagieren und er hat quasi eine dreckige Leidenschaft für die Kampfduelle. Das Bild wirkt bei ihm sehr unruhig und beizeiten schrecklich krisselig. Die Rauscheoptik in diesem Maße zu nutzen um die gegensätzlichen Beweggründe der Brüder aufzuzeigen ist äußerst ungewöhnlich. Im HD-Format macht sich diese saubere Trennung jedenfalls brutal bemerkbar, was sicherlich nicht jedem gefallen wird. Der Ton ist allerdings allen Zweifeln erhaben. Sowohl der englischen als auch der deutschen Tonspur hat man ein 5.1 HD-Master gegönnt, das sich in beiderlei Fällen hören lassen kann. Die hinteren Lautsprecher und der Subwoofer haben nämlich gut zu tun. Untertitel stehen in Deutsch (für Hörgeschädigte) und Englisch zur Verfügung. --- Zur Sonderausstattung --- Die Extras verdienen gesonderter Erwähnung, weil sie die gesamte Präsentation der Blu-ray noch einmal emporheben. Nicht nur, dass sie alle in knackigem HD gehalten sind, sie nehmen eine anspruchsvolle Lauflänge von fast vier Stunden ein! Das schließt den ENHANCED VIEWING MODE in Filmlänge mit ein, welcher einen zusätzlichen Abspielmodus von WARRIOR darstellt. In diesem Modus, der eine Art visuellen Audiokommentar darstellt, läuft das Actiondrama meistens in einem kleinen Fenster unten rechts ab, während Regisseur Gavin O'Connor mit wechselnder Verstärkung (z.B. Nick Nolte) die einzelnen Szenen analysiert. Zudem werden Aufnahmen vom Dreh eingestreut. Dieses Special ist sozusagen ultimativ informativ und lässt eigentlich keine Fragen offen. Die restlichen Extras vermitteln jedenfalls weitere tiefe Einblicke in die Dreharbeiten und deren Vorbereitung. Diese sind teilweise deutsch untertitelt, was jedoch jederzeit ausgeblendet werden kann. Empfehlenswert ist das etwa halbstündige Making-Of und das rund zwanzigminütige Featurette PHILOSOPHY IN COMBAT: MIXED MARTIAL ARTS, in welchem man tief in die Materie der MMA steigt und ihre Ursprünge und Ziele erklärt. Interessant ist zudem BROTHER VS. BROTHER: ANATOMY OF A FIGHT, welches einen Bild-in-Bild-Vergleich zwischen den Vorbereitungen mit Storyboards bzw. Choreografien und der endgültigen Szene liefert. Einen rührenden Abschluss bietet der viertelstündige Clip A TRIBUTE TO CHARLES MASK LEWIS, JR. über den Mitbegründer der Kleidungsmarke Tapout Charles "Mask" Lewis jr., der wesentlichen Einfluss an der Entstehungsgeschichte von WARRIOR genommen hat und zu Drehbeginn plötzlich verstarb. --- Kritik/Fazit --- Charismatische, gut gebaute Männer kämpfen im Mixed-Martial-Arts-Style ums Überleben. Wem die nötige Tiefe in FIGHTING mit Channing Tatum gefehlt hat, der sollte sich unbedingt WARRIOR anschauen. Die unglaublichen Leistungen von Tom Hardy und Joel Edgerton, die so aussehen, als würden sie auch im wirklichen Leben Brüder sein, sorgen schon dafür. In zwei Worten ausgedrückt: erstklassige Besetzung. Tom Hardy, bekannt geworden durch INCEPTION und DAS GIBT ÄRGER, musste sich für seine Rolle sogar zusätzlich Muskelmasse antrainieren um der visuellen Authentizität eines MMA-Kämpfers nachkommen zu können. In einer bedeutenden Nebenrolle ist im Übrigen Nick Nolte zu sehen, dessen Darstellung als Vater der beiden Brüder für den Oscar nominiert wurde. Mehr als zwei Stunden Action und Emotionen pur ohne Längen... WARRIOR ist wirklich ein erstaunliches Sportlerdrama mit doppeltem Boden. Obwohl die Bildqualität nur als eine Frage des Geschmacks bezeichnet werden kann, überzeugen Ton und Ausstattung auf vollster Linie, zumal das Steelbook auch noch sehr ansehnlich ist - Kratzerempfindlichkeit hin oder her. Deshalb gibt es fünf volle Sterne von mir.

まず、言うまでもなく輸入盤なので日本語吹き替えも字幕もありません。 内容についてはスポ根のようなお話ではなく、家族愛みたいなヒューマンドラマの色が強いかと思いました。ロッキーよりも。壊れた兄弟関係、親子関係がどう変化していくのがこの映画の魅力かと思います。 トム・ハーディやニック・ノルティの迫真の演技は気迫がすごく見ている方も息が詰まる用でした。 もちろん試合シーンもリアリティがあります。ある程度、展開が読めますが、それでもいいんです。 全体的に重厚感のある映画なのに、何度も見返したくなる作品だと思います。