Brydon on MMA: Heart of a Warrior

Two brothers are on a collision course to meet in Atlantic City in a 16-man, winner-take-all, mixed martial arts tournament featuring the best fighters in the world to ultimately determine who is the baddest man on the planet.

Far-fetched? Yep. About as unlikely as seeing the Diaz brothers oppose each other in the UFC. Or teammates Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald, for that matter.

But that’s exactly what transpires in Gavin O’Connor’s new motion picture “Warrior,” set to hit theatres Friday. And even though you see it coming, you’re not bothered by it. In fact, you’re incredibly moved.

The siblings’ duel on-screen is a pre-cursor to a possible battle off it when the Academy Award nominations are announced in a few months’ time, because the performances of Tom Hardy (Inception, Dark Knight Rising) and Joel Edgerton (Smokin’ Aces, The Great Gatsby) could provide us with a truly tight decision for Best Actor.

The movie is reminiscent of The Fighter — last year’s Oscar-winning film about boxer Micky Ward and his former brawling brother.

But in an apropos sort of way, in that MMA can be looked at as boxing with added dimensions, Warrior makes The Fighter seem simplistic: While the latter was quite succinctly about a down-and-out pugilist returning to prominence and becoming a winning fighter again, while secondarily providing redemption outside the ring for his screw-up sibling, the new release is far more complex — not only does it feature the fighting paths of two brothers, it is filled with multiple motivations and needs for redemption that go well beyond personal pride.

Tommy (played by my new favourite actor Hardy) has a past that involves not just competing on wrestling mats but time in Iraq as a Marine and whose backstory is quite effectively revealed to the viewer only a bit at a time. It’s unclear at first why he both needs to enter the tournament and at the same time remain as anonymous as possible. But we soon learn how important a win is for him, both personally and for the sake of someone else.

Meanwhile, the surface motivation for Brendan (portrayed admirably by relative unknown, Edgerton) is simple — he needs the money to prevent the bank from foreclosing on his house. But it goes well beyond that. The physics teacher is a former UFC fighter who stopped battling in the cage to save his wife and two daughters the worry. But clearly the “warrior spirit” inside him remains and he isn’t satisfied just teaching high-school kids Newton’s three laws of motion; he would rather be showing opponents inside the cage what mass times acceleration equals.

At the same time both are visited by their formerly alcoholic and abusive father (played quite touchingly by a, well- seasoned, Nick Nolte), who’s seeking his own reconciliation. But ultimately the plot boils down to a battle between brothers with an unavoidable clash in the cage. Sibling rivalry to the extreme.

The dialogue-heavy film is one of the most intense, edge-of-your-seat motion pictures I’ve ever seen. (And that’s not even including the fight scenes.)

If you thought the infamous Rampage-Rashad staredown was intense, you ought to catch a glimpse of the stars-in-the-making, Hardy and Edgerton, flexing their acting chops as their characters interact with one another, their repentant father, or anyone who presents a challenge to the achievement of their goals.

There were many moments when I really wondered — no, feared — that one or the other (or both) was going to resort to blows outside the cage. It would have been so clichéd — not just for Hollywood but also for the stereotypical view of MMA fighters. But I was thankful that never happened — the intensity only grows as it is left to the imagination, keeping the viewer captivated.

The cinematography also does that, with constant closeups of actors’ faces and well-produced tracking shots, giving you the impression you are intimately close to the action. And the fights scenes are also nicely executed on camera (which can sometimes be a concern in martial arts movies). Further, the intertwining of the drama and action is done with excellent pacing by O’Connor (Miracle, Pride and Glory).

I love the cameos by fighters (e.g. Anthony Johnson, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans, Stephan Bonnar), commentators (ESPN’s Jon Anik), and perhaps the least recognizable of the oft-used UFC referees, Josh Rosenthal, playing himself and referred to only by first name by the characters.

And of course former Olympic and WWE wrestler Kurt Angle, who plays “Koba” — a legendary and undefeated Russian superstar who had never before fought on U.S. soil (quite obviously a play off “Fedor”… too bad the previously untouchable Emelianenko lost three straight fights since the movie started production.)

There are some cheesy lines and frustrating comments — such as one character referring to MMA as “cockfighting” and the fighters as “animals.” And of course full-time mathematics professor and UFC veteran Rich Franklin would object to the suggestion it’s ludicrous that a physics teacher could be successful as a mixed martial artist.

On the other hand the movie doesn’t dumb down MMA as past such movies have (Redbelt, Never Back Down, for example) and provides very realistic fights.

Overall, Warrior is a complex film less about grappling on the canvas and more about battling personal demons and family drama. It may be littered with knockouts, submissions and plenty of bruises, but more importantly it’s filled with heart.

Big Game’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars