Much More Than A Jock Flick

Photo from rottentomatoes.com

I recently watched a video on YouTube discussing some high quality movies that did not perform well at the box office.  One of those films was a 2011 release called “Warrior”, and was a box office failure largely due to poor marketing that made it look like a by-the-numbers “Jock Flick”.  In other words, the marketing gave it the appearance of being a movie largely devoid of substance designed to appeal to men obsessed with sports, kind of like a “Chick Flick” for guys.

Despite the appearance given by the marketing, the critical consensus for “Warrior” on the website Rotten Tomatoes says that while the film relies on tropes within the sports movie genre, it transcends them with well executed action sequences, high quality performances from its talented cast, and heart.  The movie also holds a special place in my heart as being the first movie that I saw at The Great Escape, my favorite movie theater in Clarksville, Tennessee.

At the time the movie was released, I was a big fan of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion UFC (AKA The Ultimate Fighting Championship) and wanted to see this movie based on the MMA plotline heavily emphasized in the advertisements.  The film was one of the greatest surprises I have ever experienced going to the movies as I went in expecting a Sports Movie (maybe even a Jock Flick) and instead found that the MMA tournament was merely a backdrop for a compelling dramatic film telling a story about family, redemption, and forgiveness.

The film primarily revolves around two main characters, Brendan Conlon and Tommy Riordan who, due to a stupidly done bit of the aforementioned marketing campaign, are revealed to be estranged brothers.  At the beginning of the film, Tommy quietly returns to his childhood home in Pittsburgh after a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps.  He greets his father Paddy, arriving home from an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where it is revealed that a now obviously troubled Tommy hasn’t been home for a long time since he and his mother left the formerly alcoholic and abusive Paddy when Tommy was young.

We then see that Brendan is married with two young daughters, and living in Philadelphia where he works as a high school physics teacher.  We also see that Brendan’s wife Tess also works and that they are having financial troubles, later revealed to be due to having to mortgage their home to pay for one of their girls’ open heart surgery.  It is revealed that Brendan is a former UFC fighter and sometimes moonlights fighting local bouts against amateur fighters to earn extra money.  Brendan is suspended without pay from his teaching job after his moonlighting is made known around the school where he teaches.

We learn that Tommy was a very accomplished wrestler, coached by his father, in his younger years and has stayed in shape.  He goes to an MMA gym in his neighborhood and ends up knocking out a top ranked middleweight fighter in a sparring match.  The fight is captured on video by someone at the gym and goes viral.

Both brothers hear about an MMA tournament, called Sparta, being held in Atlantic City with a hefty cash prize for the winner.  Based on the popularity of the video from the gym, Tommy gets into Sparta and asks Paddy to train him on a strictly professional basis as he doesn’t forgive him for his past but acknowledges his effectiveness as a coach.  After his suspension, Brendan seeks out his former MMA trainer and resumes training in order to participate in more local area fights.  Following the fighter his trainer was planning on entering into Sparta getting injured, Brendan convinces his trainer to let him enter as a replacement.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, even making my top 25 list, and is much better than it has any right to be on paper.  It rises above being a typical sports movie or Jock Flick by using well-developed characters and relatable situations to tell a dramatic story in which viewers can’t help but become invested.  I remember showing the movie to my sister and brother-in-law and my sister having to leave the room during an intense part of the Sparta Tournament because she was so invested and concerned with the result.

Similar films would have the tournament be the central focus of the story.  This film however, only uses the tournament as a backdrop for a story that focuses on people.  It especially focuses on the themes of the importance of family, and the power of redemption as Tommy, Brendan, and Paddy move, often reluctantly, towards reconciliation.  One critic praised this movie on its release by saying that it is crafted so well that, when it concerns the two main characters in the tournament, it is one of the few films of its kind where the audience really doesn’t want either of them to lose.

“Warrior” is one of my favorite movies and holds the distinction of being the last movie, to date, to get me emotional while watching it.  Anyone who dismisses this as a mere Jock Flick is missing out.  Personally, I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who enjoys quality storytelling in an expertly crafted package.