Warrior (2011 film)
| Warrior | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gavin O'Connor |
| Screenplay by | Gavin O'Connor Cliff Dorfman Anthony Tambakis |
| Story by | Gavin O'Connor Cliff Dorfman |
| Produced by | Greg O'Connor |
| Starring | Tom Hardy Joel Edgerton Jennifer Morrison Frank Grillo Nick Nolte |
| Cinematography | Masanobu Takayanagi |
| Edited by | Sean Albertson Matt Chesse John Gilroy Aaron Marshall |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
Production companies | Mimran Schur Pictures Filmtribe Solaris Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release date |
|
Running time | 140 minutes[1] |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million [2] |
| Box office | $19,451,662 [2] |
Warrior is a 2011 American action drama film about two brothers entering a mixed martial arts tournament, and their relationship with each other and their father. The film was released on September 9, 2011 by Lionsgate. It stars Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, and Frank Grillo. The film was directed by Gavin O'Connor and produced by Greg O'Connor.
Plot
The film opens with former Marine Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) visiting his father Paddy (Nick Nolte), a former alcoholic who has become a Christian. Tommy is still upset at the way Paddy raised and left him as a child, and Paddy fails to convince him that he has changed. Meanwhile, Paddy's older son, Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), a high school physics teacher, struggles with the bank to pay the house by three weeks or have it foreclosed. Despite he and his wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison) working a total of three jobs, Brendan risks returning to his former profession as a mixed martial arts fighter battling amateur fighters for money in order to pay the bank in time, which ends up getting him suspended without pay from school.
Tommy enters a gym where he easily beats a professional fighter named Mad Dog Grimes (Erik Apple) within seconds. The fight is filmed via video phone and becomes an internet sensation. Tommy asks the help of his father to help him train for an MMA tournament called Sparta at the request that they do not try to reconcile their relationship. Brendan eventually enters the same tournament, not knowing Tommy has joined as well. Prior to this, Paddy visits Brendan where he tries to reconcile with him but fails. However, Brendan forgives Paddy for all the wrong he has done to him in the past, though he tells him that he still does not trust him.
After joining Sparta, Brendan later confronts his brother and Tommy unloads why he cannot forgive not only Paddy, but Brendan as well. Apparently, when Paddy left Brendan, Tommy and their mother, Tommy was left all alone to take care of their ill mother who eventually died, while 16-year-old Brendan, whom Tommy had kept this piece of information from for years, eloped with Tess and moved out of the life of his father and younger brother.
Meanwhile, the video of Tommy beating Mad Dog attracts the attention of a Marine in Iraq whose life was saved by Tommy months prior. The information and video of Tommy saving the soldier is shared with the press and Tommy becomes a national hero, gaining a massive fan base not only with viewers, but with the U.S. Marine Corps as well. However, his records surface from the Marine Corps and reveal that he deserted the military after he was nearly killed by friendly fire. Over the next few nights, Brendan and Tommy battle some of the toughest names in mixed martial arts, and at the end, both brothers come face to face with each other in the cage and unleash all anger they had towards each other in the cage. Eventually, Brendan manages to injure Tommy's arm and catches him in a rear naked choke. While they both lie struggling on the mat, Brendan apologizes and tells Tommy that he loves him, and after a brief hesitation, Tommy taps out. The film ends with the two brothers exiting the ring, Tommy in tears with Brendan's arms around him.
Cast
- Joel Edgerton as Brendan Conlon
- Tom Hardy as Tommy Riordan
- Jennifer Morrison as Tess Conlon
- Frank Grillo as Frank Campana
- Nick Nolte as Paddy Conlon
- Kurt Angle as Koba
- Jake McLaughlin as Mark Bradford
- Fernando Chien as Fenroy
- Noah Emmerich as Dan Taylor
- Kevin Dunn as Joe Zito
- Denzel Whitaker as Student
- Maximiliano Hernández as Colt Boyd
- Erik Apple as Mad Dog
- Vanessa Martinez as Pilar Fernandez
- Nate Marquardt as Karl Kruller
- Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson as Orlando 'Midnight' Lee
- Josh Rosenthal as himself
- Bryan Callen as himself
- Sam Sheridan as himself
- Rashad Evans as himself
Production
Mogul Minds Studios, (now 31st Street Studios), located in Pittsburgh, was used during the filming, as well as the University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center and the Twin Hi-Way Drive-In. North Hills High School was also used for some interior scenes. Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City was used for the exterior scenes of the main fight venue, along with scenes filmed on the boardwalk and beach.[3]
Hardy went through a demanding training routine for gaining muscle during the film's pre-production, gaining around 28 pounds of muscle and raising his overall weight to 205 pounds (a physique which he also used to portray Bane in The Dark Knight Rises).[4]
Additional filming was shot at the former West Virginia State Penitentiary, located in Moundsville, West Virginia.
Additional scenes were shot around the historic Pitt Hotel and Restaurant in McDonald, Pennsylvania.
Marketing
The Men of Warrior book was released on July 19, 2011.[5] Lionsgate's "We Are All Warriors" project to support the release of Warrior by highlighting everyday heroes was launched August 1, 2011.[6]
Reception
Box Office
Warrior debuted in third place in its first week at the U.S. box office with $5,242,107 behind Contagion and The Help.[7] It dropped down to #8 the following weekend.[8] The film has made $13,651,662 in United States and Canada, and $5,800,000 in foreign countries for a worldwide total of $19,451,662.[2]
Critical Reception
Warrior has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many praising the strong emotional content, acting, and fight scenes. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 'Certified Fresh' rating based on 84% positive reviews from 156 critics, with an average score of 7.2/10.[9] Review aggregator sites Metacritic[10] and IEDb.net[11] gave the film 71% from 35 critics and 3.6 out of 5 stars (72%) respectively. Bruce Diones of The New Yorker commented, "The movie is so skillfully made, and the performances are so convincingly real (Hardy is sensational), that, as it reaches its cathartic, winning finish, it achieves a surprising compassion and honesty."[12] Meanwhile, Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, declaring that "this is a rare fight movie in which we don't want to see either fighter lose," while praising Gavin O'Connor's direction and Nick Nolte's performance.[13] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was also complimentary towards O'Connor, stating that he "comes out swinging in this flawed but fiercely moving family drama."[14] A.O. Scott of The New York Times credited the film for being "appropriately blunt, powerful and relentless."[15]
References
- ^ "Warrior << British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
- ^ a b c "Warrior (2011) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Warrior: Filming Locations".
- ^ "Interview with Tom Hardy". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
- ^ "The Men of Warrior Coffee Table Book!". About.com. July 19, 2011. 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.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for September 9-11, 2011 - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for September 16-18, 2011 - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Warrior at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Warrior Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Warrior (2011)". IEDb.net. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Warrior". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ "Warrior". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ "Warrior". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ "Warrior (2011)". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2011.