“Throwing in a bonus write up. Well, it’s a bonus based on how you look at it. We’re really way past the point where I’d typically bother, but I enjoyed this movie so much that I owe it to the film to at least do something.
The day that I went to see this, I knew I could see one thing and would likely not get a chance to go back for about a week. The 2+ hour run time almost deterred me, but for some reason I was drawn to it. You know what? Those two and a half hours did not feel like it.
Yes, the movie was flawed. Top of the list was how predictable it was. Also, some of the back stories didnt feel as fleshed out as they could have been, or at lesat like they could have been tackled sooner. Ask me how much I care about the flaws? Zero. Know why? The rest of the movie redeemed it: the characters, the cast, the fighting.
While the plot part of the screenplay was straightfoward and easy to figure out, it was the characters that drove it. I loved brothers Brendan and Tommy so much. They were some of those rare characters that you just wanted to sit down to dinner with and get to know and spend time with them–and the two were so different. My previously mentioned Messiah complex (wanting to save someone) kicked in with Tommy, and I had a strong admiration for Brendan. Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy (who has really become one to watch lately) executed those roles flawlessly.
What really made this movie extra special is that it sparked a new interest for me: MMA, mixed martial arts. As much as I love action and fight scenes in movies, I really hadn’t given a second thought to this sport. When I heard about UFC, I just in my head sorta lumped it into the same category as boxing or wrestling–sports that I didnt take much interest in. But it only took one fight scene in this movie to hook me. As a sport, I get why it makes sense. For me as a potential spectator, I can see how this would be far more exciting to me than the other fighting types. Granted, it was movie-fied here, but I am certainly interested to learn more.
Warrior – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/