Warrior (2011)

Cliches and predictability be damned, Warrior still manages to pack one hell of an emotional punch. This film is buoyed by great performances from all three of its leads.

Soldier Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) returns home from the Iraq War and finds his former drunk of a father Paddy (Nick Nolte). Tommy hates his father, but has no place else to stay. Tommy still blames Paddy for his mother's death. While working out at a local gym, Tommy steps into an MMA ring to make some extra cash and subsequently knocks out the gym's star fighter. Once that happens, he instantly becomes a YouTube sensation. Meanwhile, Paddy's other son Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton) is a high school teacher and former UFC fighter. Brendan is struggling financially and starts fighting on the side to earn some extra money. And Tommy hates Brendan, too. Both of those paths eventually lead to a unique NCAA-type MMA tournament called Sparta. Tommy needs his father to train him, while Brendan is forced to give up his teaching job in order to compete. The odds are completely stacked against the brothers, both in and outside the ring.

If you've seen the trailer for this movie, you've basically seen the whole thing. But as I mentioned earlier, the performances from Hardy, Edgerton and Nolte elevated Warrior to another level. Hard to explain, but it's true. Each one of them threw something else on the table to make a very common plotline feel fresher. I also really enjoyed seeing "All-American boy" Kurt Angle in a non-speaking role as a Russian fighter named Koba. This is one film that really needs to be seen in order for you to fully understand where I'm coming from. Tough to say whether this makes my Best of 2011 list, but it will be close. Grade: A-