Jason KingWARRIOR: A Review
November 20th 2011 04:19
:
Sensational Film
Category: Reviews
Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for SPARTA, the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan's unlikely, underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart, facing off in the most soaring, soul stirring, and unforgettable climax that must be seen to be believed.
This one just came out of nowhere - the trailer really did nothing for me and I while I got invited to the premiere I was more excited about seeing the screening of The Thing I was seeing first with a friend. But by the end of this film I had to scrape my jaw off the ground - it was........just brilliant.
Not only is this so sensationally written that you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen but it is one of the best acting trios onscreen this year. It is co-written and directed by Gavin O'Connor who has made such brilliant films as Miracle (he knows how to pull those heart strings), Pride and Glory (he knows how to combine deep action with dramatic orchestrations). His co-writing partners are Anthony Tambakis, who is not a film writer but a multi award winning short story writer. You will know what he looks like as he plays one of the fight officials and director O'Connor is the fight promoter in the film. The fight promoter was originally written for TapouT founder Charles "Mask" Lewis however unfortunately Lewis was killed by a drink driver a few weeks before filming commenced - the film is dedicated to him. The final writer is actor Cliff Drofman who wrote for Entourage back in 2005 (my god has it been going that long!).
Now for the acting - JOEL EDGERTON just got internationally discovered with this film and I now consider him up with Jackman and Crowe as an Australian leading man. He has always been brilliant in Australian films but now the world will notice and his pay cheque will be significantly larger. He is just brilliant as the calming presence of the family who is facing financial struggles and a family nightmare. TOM HARDY is even better and if the two of them go head to head for an Oscar I would give it to HARDY, he is just superb. Twice the size as he normally is and about four times the size as the first character I remember him as - PICCARD'S clone from STAR TREK: Nemesis. His character is the internally struggling man who hates everything and would normally end up beaten to death for getting drunk and starting bar fights - he is just damn lucky he had a Marine training and is a world class fighter. His portrayal is one of the best in any fighting film I have seen.
Then there is Nick Nolte, the character was written for him as O'Connor is his next door neighbour in Malibu, and while the production company fought against having him in the film, no doubt due to his unreliability, the writers stuck by who they wanted and honestly, I think this is Nolte's career film, it is his THE WRESTLER and hands down he gets my vote for best supporting actor at the Oscars. Apparently at the end of his first shoot on the film, which was set in a diner and was unfortunately cut from the cinema release - it's on the DVD/ BLU RAY, the entire cast and crew gave Nolte a standing ovation for the performance. He was just perfect.
There is some HUGE hits and rough fighting in this film, the guy's training must have been extraordinary, and there is some huge hitters in the film. When the announcer is quoting Koba's credentials, he states that he is an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling. Kurt Angle, the actor playing Koba, won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in the 220lbs/100 kg weight class for freestyle wrestling. He was also a world champion in the same style and weight class in 1995.
These three leads make this film along with the writing - you can tell there is so much belief in the characters and the story that the guys all literally become their characters. This one is out now and while it's been out for a while - if you can get into a cinema for this one then do it, but have no fear, it's out soon on Blu Ray and DVD. Worth an easy 9 out of 10.
This one just came out of nowhere - the trailer really did nothing for me and I while I got invited to the premiere I was more excited about seeing the screening of The Thing I was seeing first with a friend. But by the end of this film I had to scrape my jaw off the ground - it was........just brilliant.
Not only is this so sensationally written that you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen but it is one of the best acting trios onscreen this year. It is co-written and directed by Gavin O'Connor who has made such brilliant films as Miracle (he knows how to pull those heart strings), Pride and Glory (he knows how to combine deep action with dramatic orchestrations). His co-writing partners are Anthony Tambakis, who is not a film writer but a multi award winning short story writer. You will know what he looks like as he plays one of the fight officials and director O'Connor is the fight promoter in the film. The fight promoter was originally written for TapouT founder Charles "Mask" Lewis however unfortunately Lewis was killed by a drink driver a few weeks before filming commenced - the film is dedicated to him. The final writer is actor Cliff Drofman who wrote for Entourage back in 2005 (my god has it been going that long!).
Now for the acting - JOEL EDGERTON just got internationally discovered with this film and I now consider him up with Jackman and Crowe as an Australian leading man. He has always been brilliant in Australian films but now the world will notice and his pay cheque will be significantly larger. He is just brilliant as the calming presence of the family who is facing financial struggles and a family nightmare. TOM HARDY is even better and if the two of them go head to head for an Oscar I would give it to HARDY, he is just superb. Twice the size as he normally is and about four times the size as the first character I remember him as - PICCARD'S clone from STAR TREK: Nemesis. His character is the internally struggling man who hates everything and would normally end up beaten to death for getting drunk and starting bar fights - he is just damn lucky he had a Marine training and is a world class fighter. His portrayal is one of the best in any fighting film I have seen.
Then there is Nick Nolte, the character was written for him as O'Connor is his next door neighbour in Malibu, and while the production company fought against having him in the film, no doubt due to his unreliability, the writers stuck by who they wanted and honestly, I think this is Nolte's career film, it is his THE WRESTLER and hands down he gets my vote for best supporting actor at the Oscars. Apparently at the end of his first shoot on the film, which was set in a diner and was unfortunately cut from the cinema release - it's on the DVD/ BLU RAY, the entire cast and crew gave Nolte a standing ovation for the performance. He was just perfect.
There is some HUGE hits and rough fighting in this film, the guy's training must have been extraordinary, and there is some huge hitters in the film. When the announcer is quoting Koba's credentials, he states that he is an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling. Kurt Angle, the actor playing Koba, won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in the 220lbs/100 kg weight class for freestyle wrestling. He was also a world champion in the same style and weight class in 1995.
These three leads make this film along with the writing - you can tell there is so much belief in the characters and the story that the guys all literally become their characters. This one is out now and while it's been out for a while - if you can get into a cinema for this one then do it, but have no fear, it's out soon on Blu Ray and DVD. Worth an easy 9 out of 10.
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Comment by K @ the Lair
Comment by Jason King
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Still, a change is a good sign for an actor/actress, especially if they want to try out something "different" on the big screen.
Comment by Jason King
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Hope you are well