WARRIOR: No Limits In The Ring

From director Gavin O’Connor, who also directed the sports film Miracle, comes this intense sports drama that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte) is a former boxer who is trying to put his life back together while leaving behind his days as an alcoholic. His addiction and behavior ultimately drove his family apart; especially his two sons: Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) and Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton). Each of them has encountered struggles in their own lives, but while they haven’t seen each other or spoken in 14 years, they are motivated by one thing that could pit them against one another: a $5M reward for the winner of the biggest mixed martial arts tournament in the world.

There are three elements of this film that give it plenty of reason to be in included in this series. The first is the message that in life and in the ring, the strongest can succeed. The next element to observe is that all the central characters have a compelling story behind them to follow, which creates exceptional character development. Finally, the action and the drama balance out to bring you a very entertaining experience while watching this movie.

Only The Strongest Survive

A big part of this film’s story is the dysfunction of the relationship between Paddy, Tommy, and Brendan. Each one has his own battle to fight, figuratively and literally, and yet they never quit. Even if the next fight means fighting your own family, each of these characters has an instinct that pushes them to fight even harder until they have achieved what brought them to the ring to begin with. There are no limits on the intensity each character brings to the ring because they are all fighting for something bigger than themselves.

There are pros and cons in every decision that these characters make, but they also realize that sometimes, certain sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve their goals. Facing these decisions headfirst gives them all the strength to survive the physical and mental obstacles that they must endure in order to win the tournament. They will all realize that the journey to win the tournament is tougher than any match that they will ever fight. Luckily for them, they are driven by their survival instincts.

Champions For The People

Brendan (Edgerton) is the oldest of the brothers, but in many ways, his character is like the underdog that everyone wants to root for. He is not the strongest or the most physically gifted fighter, but he makes up for it with his determination and more importantly, he never quits. Brendan is also one of the most selfless characters in the film because he is more than willing to sacrifice everything in the ring. Rooting against him makes you look as though you are rooting for the villain. Is there really a villain though?

Which brings us to Tommy (Hardy). To put it simply, he is a street fighter in every sense of the word. He does not follow any rules, and he answers to no one. Once he has made a decision, there is no turning back; which makes him ferocious in the ring. As cold as he may seem, there is a lot more to Tommy than what he wants you to see. You want to root for him because he is also fighting for something greater than himself, and like many of us, he is on a mission and will not stop until he succeeds.

The most central character in the film, however, is Paddy (Nolte). You have to tip your hat off to him for his valiant efforts to change his lifestyle. We have all heard this expression countless times: you have nothing to lose. This expression could not be any further from the truth for Paddy. He has everything to lose in this phase of his life because he already lost what is dear to him: his family. He may be too old to fight in the ring now, but you cheer for him to fight to get his family back because it is never too late to try.

Twelve Rounds Of Entertainment

As the anticipation for a championship fight builds within you, so too does your curiosity about this: how in the world will this film come to a heart-pounding end? There is plenty of action to keep you entertained, and there is plenty of drama that unfolds from the story to keep you wondering and questioning why these characters do what they do. No, you will not sit through 12 rounds of fighting, but the intensity and conviction is there from every character in every scene.

There is a very even distribution of action to dialogue in Warrior. Not to mention the fact that each of the central characters have something for you to relate to. In other words, as you think about when you are going to watch Warrior, you can expect to be entertained, but you also expect to take a message with you once it has finished. Most likely, you will want to watch it again!

So where does this film belong in the series of best knockout films of all-time? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: it belongs in the list because it has certainly withstood the test of time so far. Sometimes you come across films that you find great, and then time passes and you never think about them again. That is not the case here. There is always something new to look for when you have the pleasure of watching this movie again.

Now it’s time to hear your input: Where would you rank Warrior in the knockout films genre? What is your biggest takeaway from it?

(top image source: Lionsgate)