Warrior Review By Corey - MovieWeb.com on Astini News

Warrior is a movie that has been done before; in fact, we just something similar to it last year with the Oscar-winning drama, The Fighter. Though the originality of the film falls short, it accomplishes the task of pulling in the viewers and grabbing a sense of remorse with emotion. There have been plenty of inspirational, emotional sports movies in the past but Warrior has got to be one of the best. It is the most emotionally involving film of the year and without a doubt the best. Out of what we've seen this year so far, this film is a strong fighting contender for Best Picture predictions and if it is nominated-it might even be a close winner. That's at this point in the year though; let's not jump into conclusions just yet.

Gavin O'Connor proves himself an excellent director for the genre once again with Warrior. If you don't remember, he was the director of the movie, Miracle. Miracle was also an incredible sports movie filled with power and if you've never seen it than it's your own fault. If you make the same mistake with Warrior, however, your a criminal. It just isn't a movie to be missed, said and done. Some may be waiting for the movie to be available to rent, but if you miss this one on the big-screen then your missing out on an awesome movie experience. No matter how big your TV is or how great your sound-system works, there is no other way to experience Warrior than on the big-screen. The fights are intense and the characters are well-crafted. Why wait when you can see now? It's one-hundred percent worth the money.

I was quite pleased with the way O'Connor shot this movie. The camera is a little shaky at times, but it only raises the bar of excitement and intensity for each fight. Every-time the camera enters the cage you feel like your about to go on a roller-coaster, and you practically do. Don't let the PG-13 rating have you thinking these fights will be calm. The fighting sequences are absolutely fantastic. Filled with grit, intensity, and suspense at its most possible, Warrior is not only emotionally gripping, but damn entertaining due to the sequences. Each fight builds up excitement and you'll root for your favorite brother in every fight almost as it is live. Again, Warrior was such an awesome big-screen experience and the audience I witnessed it with was great too. People were cheering, clapping, and having a grand old time. It couldn't of been more fun.

This movie will mark Tom Hardy's super vehicle to stardom before The Dark Knight Rises. He does a tremendous job and definitely deserves an Oscar-nomination, and so doesn't Nick Nolte who plays the father of the two brothers. Nolte finally returns to the big-screen with a performance fans of his have been waiting for him to deliver for a very long time. An Oscar-nomination would be a great deal to him. Then there is Joel Edgerton who surprised me incredibly with his groundbreaking performance as a high-school teacher looking to do anything to get the cash to support his family, and with that finds himself back in the cage that leads him on to a path fated against a brother he hasn't seen in years. The movie has an amazing cast to work with and I even enjoyed the limited screen-time from Jennifer Morrison, who plays Edgerton's wife. Though the love-interest of the underdog in films like this can be played by many, I was happy to see Morrison on the big-screen and see her do such a fine job in the role.

Great performances can't be great unless the actors have an incredible script to work with. The dialogue is perfect and the writing is remarkable. Warrior has more than a few scenes that'll have you on the edge, due to the intensity between the dialogue that some of the scenes contain. The characters are crafted very well and just about anyone can connect with them and have a heart for them too. You can tell that the writers worked hard to sense a realistic vibe for the film. It's a script well done, very well done. It can't be easy to write something so emotional, powerful, and exciting at the same time.

Not only is it better than The Fighter, but better than Raging Bull and Rocky too. That may be high praise, but if neither of the two films were marked as classics it'd be an easy choice. Since Warrior is a new release, it might be hard to comprehend it as being something better than a classic such as Rocky. In complete honesty, the film is emotionally compelling, gripping, and the instant-classic underdog film of my teens. My dad introduced me to Rocky just like someday I'll introduce Warrior to my kids. That's just how it works and I couldn't be more excited to see this film again come Friday.

Thanks for the read!

-Written by Corey Wood