Warrior

(2011, US, Mimran Schur Pictures/Filmtribe/Solaris Entertainment)

Dir. Gavin O’Connor; Pro. Gavin O’Connor, Greg O’Connor; Scr. Gavin O’Connor, Cliff Dorfman, Anthony Tambakis; Action Dir. J.J. Perry; Cast Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Grillo, Nick Nolte.

140 min.

Supercharged, highly emotive sports movie which makes the logical transition from Darren Aronofsky’s reflective downbeat sucker-punch portrayal of wrestling in The Wrestler (2008), via David O. Russell’s boxing drama The Fighter (2010) to the brutal ground and pound of mixed martial arts. But to cast Warrior as merely a bandwagon jumper does the film an immeasurable disservice. Sure, every sporting cliche is here, from Rocky‘s small town ambition to Raging Bull‘s complicated family ties, before the film reaches a contrived and predictable conclusion. But the film rests on superb performances and a core of convincing characters each battling with a divisive balance of loyalty, pride and responsibility. The MMA tournament which takes up the majority of the final act is utterly compelling, offering both an insight into what motivates the men choosing to engage in extreme full contact cage fighting and the impact their decisions have on those closest to them.

The central drama revolves around a former alcoholic and abusive father, played by Nick Nolte, who cleans up too late to build bridges with his two estranged combative sons. One, played by Joel Edgerton, is a physics teacher and family man who is forced back into the ring due to spiraling debts. The other son is more complex. Played brilliantly by Tom Hardy, he returns to his home town of Pittsburgh after running out on the US Marines, choosing his father to coach him for the upcoming SPARTA tournament – billed as the Superbowl of MMA – but stubbornly refusing to accept his fathers apologies. The two brothers end up in the same competition, so it’s pretty obvious where the film is heading. But it is manipulative enough to get caught up in the emotion, and as an exercise in humanising the brutal sport of mixed martial arts it works very well.

Never Back Down

(2008, US, Mandalay Independent Pictures)

Dir. Jeff Wadlow; Pro. David Zelon, Bill Bannerman, Craig Baumgarten; Scr. Chris Hauty; Action Dir. Danny Hernandez, Justin A. Williams; Cast Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet, Evan Peters, Djimon Hounsou.

115 min.

Concussed teen movie attempting to do for mixed martial arts what Grease did for leather jackets and bubblegum. This is essentially The Karate Kid for The O.C. generation, exonerating the contemporary jock persona by adding metrosexual tendencies and substituting the football field for the sweat and grapple of the MMA arena. This physically happens in the form of Jake Tyler (Faris), an ex-collegiate football star who moves from Iowa with his widowed mother and kid brother to the sun-drenched playboy mansions of Florida. Jake is no ordinary high school beefcake, though. He reads the Iliad, befriends an Xbox nerd and charms the school babe, all on his first day.

The problem is she happens to be dating the school douchebag, Ryan McCarthy (Gigandet, who was actually in The O.C.). He organises bare knuckle brawls at the sort of house parties you find in Kanye West videos, and offers newbie Jake a welcoming gift of a socially humiliating UFC-style ass whopping. Angry Jake quickly enrolls at the local 24 hour mixed martial arts school where he befriends Brazilian jiu-jitsu sage Jean Roqua (Hounsou), discovering a kindred spirit battling his own inner demons.

Throughout the training montages and relentless emo music, Jake is almost ready to confront Ryan at the Beatdown – a no holds barred underground MMA tournament, the ultimate aim of which appears to be the opportunity to get on YouTube.

All of which follows a well worn and wearily familiar path to most high school fight movies. As a PR exercise for the sport of MMA it is more damaging as it possesses a brainwashing accuracy in adding a romantic gloss over the violent fight scenes. But any sane person should have the common sense to run a mile from these godawful characters. Apart from Hounsou’s Mr Miyagi role which is the best thing about the film: convincing, sensitive, highly skilled and played excellently by the Blood Diamond star.