Movie Review: Warrior

Release Date: September 9, 2011

Two brothers face the fight of a lifetime - and the wreckage of their broken family - within the brutal, high-stakes world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting in Lionsgate's action/drama, WARRIOR. An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father. But when Brendan's unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives.

I don't normally do movie reviews, but I had some strong emotions after watching this movie and I thought I would share them with you.

My brother’s birthday was on September 11th and for his birthday he wanted to go see the movie, Warrior.  Considering I have not seen any trailers or heard anything about it, I went into this movie having no idea what it was about.  Let me just say that this was one awesome movie and by far one of my favorites.

I practically went through every emotion possible - from angry, sad, to ecstatic - during the duration of the movie.  I loved each character for their uniqueness; the main characters had so much depth and realism to them. I felt so much sympathy for each character for many different reasons. The father may not have been the best father figure when the children were young, but it broke my heart to watch the boys threat their father the way they did. Everyone makes mistakes and I truly felt that the father was trying to make an effort to make up for his past mistakes. He lost the respect of his two boys, but I still think he deserved another chance. Tommy was the mysterious younger brother. I didn’t quite have him figured out until three fourths into the movie and even then I wasn’t sure if I was even close to the truth. Brendan was the oldest brother and he was trying to take care of his family. With the treat of losing his home hanging over his head, he enters a fighting completion where the winner takes home five million dollars.

This movie had it all - action, suspense, family issues, betrayal, love, and loss. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. There were times I was angry, there were times I literally jumped out of my seat cheering because I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer, and then there were times I had tears in my eyes. I definitely recommend this movie!