Warrior (2011 film)
Warrior | |
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Gavin O'Connor | |
Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Masanobu Takayanagi |
Edited by |
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Music by | Mark Isham |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release date |
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Running time | 140 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million[3] |
Box office | $23.3 million[3] |
Warrior is a 2011 American
The film was theatrically released in the United States on September 9, 2011, by
Plot
A melancholy U.S. Marine Thomas "Tommy" Riordan visits his father, Paddy Conlon, a recovering alcoholic who has returned to his Catholic faith in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a child, Tommy had to run away from Paddy with his dying mother due to Paddy being an abusive alcoholic, and has never forgiven him. Paddy tries to convince him that he has changed, but to no avail. The next day, Tommy enters a gym where he quickly knocks out Pete "Mad Dog" Grimes, one of the world's best middleweight fighters; a video of the fight goes viral on the Internet. Learning about a winner-takes-all mixed martial arts tournament called Sparta, whose winner will receive $5 million, Tommy asks Paddy to help him train for the tournament, but only under the condition that Paddy does not try to reconcile their relationship. Tommy pledges to win and then donate the entire $5 million purse to Pilar, the widow of Manny, one of his friends in the corps.
Tommy's older brother Brendan, a high school physics teacher and former MMA fighter, is struggling to provide for his wife, Tess, and their two daughters. He had to mortgage his house in
When the brothers separately enter the tournament, it is revealed that Tommy is angry at Brendan for bailing out on him and instead staying behind for Tess when Tommy and their mother left Paddy; Tommy was left to care for their mother when she became terminally ill. Brendan claims that he was helplessly in love with Tess and that he has forgiven his father for the wrong he has done, but Tommy is unconvinced and walks away.
Meanwhile, the video of Tommy beating Grimes attracts the attention of a Marine, who tells the press that Tommy saved his life in Iraq, by ripping off the back hatch of a drowning tank. Although Tommy becomes a national hero, his military records reveal that he deserted after everyone else in his unit was killed in a friendly fire bombing. He reveals his plan for his winnings. The military police will take him into custody but will wait until after the tournament is over.
Over two fights, Brendan and Tommy have contrasting fortunes: Tommy quickly and brutally
The night before the final day, Paddy attempts to talk to Tommy about his actions in Iraq. Tommy angrily dismisses his father, letting out all his pent up emotions. Paddy relapses and starts drinking again. Seeing his father in pain, Tommy calms and comforts him, thus resurrecting their relationship.
In the semifinals, Tommy is matched up with Mad Dog Grimes, knocking him unconscious almost immediately, and the commentators claim this is one of the fastest knockouts in MMA history. Brendan is matched up with undefeated Russian wrestler Koba, who dominates him in two rounds. In round three, Brendan swings for the fences, making the bout a back and forth battle. In the closing moments of the final round, Koba takes Brendan's back from the
Tommy and Brendan's relationship is revealed to the world when they are the tournament's last remaining fighters. Brendan shows desire to reconcile, but Tommy, still in pain, shows no interest in doing so. Tommy wins the first two rounds, but Brendan eventually dislocates Tommy's shoulder with an
Cast
- Tom Hardy as Thomas "Tommy" Riordan Conlon
- Joel Edgerton as Brendan Conlon
- Nick Nolte as Paddy Conlon
- Jennifer Morrison as Tess Conlon
- Frank Grillo as Frank Campana
- Kevin Dunn as Principal Joe Zito
- Vanessa Martinez as Pilar Fernandez
- Noah Emmerich as Dan Taylor
- Laura Chinn as K.C.
- Capri Thomas as Emily Conlon
- Lexi Cowan as Rosie Conlon
- Denzel Whitaker as Stephon
- Carlos Miranda as Tito
- Nick Lehane as Nash
- Charlie Smith as Leo
- Maximiliano Hernández as Colt Boyd
- Fernando Chien as Ian Fenroy
- Kurt Angle as Koba
- Erik Apple as Pete "Mad Dog" Grimes
- Nate Marquardt as Karl "The Dane" Kruller
- Anthony Johnson as Orlando "Midnight" Le
- Roan Carneiro as Marcos Santos
- Yves Edwards as Houston Greggs
- Gavin O'Connor as J.J. Riley
- Jake McLaughlin as Mark Bradford
- Amir Perets as Yosi Haas
- Dan Caldwell as himself
- Bryan Callen as himself
- Rashad Evans as himself
Themes
Described by critics as "heartbreaking and emotionally satisfying",[4] "really gripping",[5] "an unapologetic powerhouse of emotional conflict"[6] and self-described as a "rousing ode to redemption, reconciliation and the power of the human spirit", Warrior has received the most praise for the emotional approach it takes to the themes of forgiveness and "the enduring bonds of family" that it explores. In their review, Common Sense Media cites unconditional love as a major theme, further explaining that "some weighty issues" such as estrangement and alcoholism are also dealt with.[7]
Production
Mogul Minds Studios, (now 31st Street Studios), located in
Hardy went through a demanding training routine for gaining muscle during the film's pre-production, gaining around 28 pounds (13 kg) of muscle (a physique which he also used to portray
Release
The film was released in the United States on September 9, 2011.
Marketing
The Men of Warrior book was released on July 19, 2011.[12] Lionsgate's "We Are All Warriors" project to support the release of Warrior by highlighting everyday heroes was launched August 1, 2011.[13]
Home media
Warrior was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on December 20, 2011. The Blu-ray release includes a DVD copy of the movie, as well as a downloadable digital copy. With the exception of the Blu-ray including an additional Feature Length Enhanced Viewing Mode, extras are similar between both releases.[14]
Reception
Box office
Warrior debuted in third place in its first week at the U.S. box office with $5.2 million behind Contagion and The Help.[15] It dropped down to #8 the following weekend.[16] Overall, the film made $13.7 million in United States and Canada, and $9.6 million in foreign countries for a worldwide total of $23.3 million.[3]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 195 reviews, with an average score of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Warrior relies on many of the clichés that critics of the genre love to mock — and it transcends them with gripping action, powerful acting, and heart."[17] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
Bruce Diones of
Andrew Pulver of The Guardian rated the film 2 out of 5 stars stating, "This mixed-martial-arts fight movie has received bafflingly high praise considering its lunkhead plot and rudimentary characters".[23]
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "For an "entertainment," Warrior accomplishes a lot. The family drama resonates strongly with a resolution that, in retrospect, seems like the only way the brothers could have rediscovered blood ties."[24]
Some critics, including Philip French from the UK magazine The Observer, have noted similarities to other sports drama films such as Rocky (1976), The Wrestler (2008), and The Fighter (2010).[25]
Accolades
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Academy Awards | February 26, 2012 | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nick Nolte | Nominated | |
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 12, 2012 | Best Supporting Actor | Nick Nolte | Nominated | |
Satellite Awards | December 18, 2011 | Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture | Tom Hardy | Nominated | |
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Nick Nolte | Nominated | |||
Satellite Award for Best Editing | Warrior | Nominated | |||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | January 29, 2012 | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Nick Nolte | Nominated |
Soundtrack
Warrior: Original Score | |
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Lakeshore | |
Producer | Mark Isham |
Warrior: Original Score is the
- "Listen to the Beethoven"
- "Paddy & Tommy"
- "Sparta – Night One"
- "I Can't Watch You Fight"
- "Koba"
- "Hero"
- "Brendan & Tess"
- "The Devil You Know"
- "Stop the Ship (Relapse)"
- "Warrior"
- "Brendan & Tommy"
- "About Today" (performed by The National)
Adaptations
The film had an Indian adaptation titled Brothers (2015) starring Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra in lead roles.[27]
A film with the same title and similar plot was made in 2015 in Russia.
References
- ^ 'Warrior' Co-Financier Mimran Schur Pictures Makes Multi-Picture Lionsgate Deal
- ^ "WARRIOR". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Warrior (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Simon Miraudo (October 25, 2011). "The fight stuff – Warrior review". Quickflix. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
- ^ David Edelstein (September 9, 2011). "Movie Review: The Clichéd, Great Warrior". New York Magazine.
- ^ a b Bruce Diones. "Warrior : The New Yorker". The New Yorker.
- ^ a b Sandie Angulo Chen. "Warrior - Movie Review". Common Sense Media.
- ^ 2011 Awards. San Diego Film Critics Society. 2011
- Post-Gazette. May 8, 2009
- ^ Pittsburgh's 'working-class poetry' drew 'Warrior' here. Triblieve. September 8, 2011
- ^ "Interview with Tom Hardy". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
- ^ "The Men of Warrior Coffee Table Book!". About.com. July 19, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ^ "We Are All Warriors: FIRST LOOK: Exclusive Photos from the Action-Drama Movie". iVillage. August 1, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ "Warrior Blu-ray". Blu-Ray.com. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for September 9–11, 2011 - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for September 16–18, 2011 - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ "Warrior". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ "Warrior Reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "Warrior". CinemaScore. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ^ Roger Ebert. "Warrior".
- ^ Peter Travers (September 8, 2011). "Warrior". Rolling Stone.
- ^ A.O. Scott (8 September 2011). "Warrior (2011)". The New York Times.
- ^ Warrior – review. The Guardian. Andrew Pulver. September 22, 2011
- ^ Warrior: Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter. Kirk Honeycutt. September 8, 2011
- ^ Philip French (September 24, 2011). "Warrior – review". The Observer.
- ^ Soundtrack album
- First Post. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
External links
- Warrior at IMDb
- Warrior at Rotten Tomatoes
- Warrior at AllMovie
- Warrior at Box Office Mojo
- Warrior at Metacritic