Right off the bat, let's get something straight.
I'm sure there are some of you who look at the title and subject of this post and are saying, "'Warrior' isn't a new movie! It came out in theaters months ago!"
I rarely make it out to the theater. There are select, few movies that I will actually leave the comfort of my home, brave the elements and put up with annoying people in order to see.
You see, I just don't have to. Like many Americans, I've constructed a home theater. It consists of a 46-inch LCD flatscreen TV, complete with installed-by-me, surround sound. It's not top of the line, but it's nice. And you know what my theater doesn't have?
Other people.
So unless a preview for a movie totally knocks my shoes and my socks off, I'm gonna wait a few months and just watch that sucker in the comfort of my home theater.
"Warrior" is one such movie that I waited for. Here's what I thought of it:
First off, let me be forthcoming and admit that I'm a massive mixed martial arts (MMA) fan. I watch every UFC pay-per-view event. I even am employed to write for a prominent MMA website, on the side.
Because of my knowledge of the sport and my affection for it, it was hard for me to overlook some key inaccuracies in this film.
MMA has been fighting some harmful myths and flat-out untruths for years. This movie, unfortunately, did much to further some of those myths.
In addition to those harmful missteps, there were a handful of other details that made me wonder why they didn't involve more MMA minds in the making of this movie. Someone should have stepped in at multiple points and said: "Hey. We need to change that. It isn't truly reflective of the sport of MMA, today, and it's going to bug real fans."
To summarize, if you are a real MMA fan, you are going to be bothered by a lot of things in this movie.
That's out of the way now.
Let's talk positives.
Tom Hardy was brilliant in this film. That shouldn't be surprising. He's been brilliant in pretty much everything he's ever been in.
Doing a Boston accent can really come off as over-the-top and too much. Especially when it's coming from someone who has a very different accent in real life, as does the very-British Hardy.
The storyline was suspenseful, fun and something that anyone can rally around. My wife doesn't like action movies, but she seemed to really enjoy this movie.
Not all the MMA aspects were bad. It could have been much worse. They used some actual professional MMA fighters, which, as a fan, I appreciated.
Language was not deplorable, but I will say there was a decent amount of the "s-word" and one use (that I remember) of the "f-bomb."
I have to admit, language doesn't usually bother me, but I figured I should make note of it, in case you are not in my boat.
All in all, I walk away from this movie saying it was "okay." I wouldn't buy it, but I'm glad I watched it.
Have you seen 'Warrior?' What did you think? What's the best movie you've seen within the last month?
I can understand not wanting to leave the home theater! I love going to the movies, but I normally only go once a year because it cost so much, and I'm basically a hermit.
ReplyDeleteCurious, since I'm not a hardcore MMA fan (it's entertaining but I just don't follow it closely)- what are some of the myths of the sport that the movie perpetuated? Just wondering.
Too bad they didn't involve more insiders to come up with a better flick (since as far as I can tell, this is the first movie of it's kind) to represent the sport.
The "myths" are mainly in relation to sportsmanship, the way the sport is presented and the safety of the fighters.
ReplyDeleteMultiple times, a fighter deliberately struck another fighter after the bell/horn. The fighter was basically warned, but nothing was done. If this were to happen in the UFC (and practically any other MMA promotion, as well), a point would be deducted from the fighter, which is a huge deal if a fight goes to a judges' decision.
There were multiple fights where a fighter was not intelligently defending himself. He was just laying there getting punched, repeatedly, and the ref did not step in and stop it. This would never happen in the UFC.
A fighter refuses to tap, has his arm broken and is allowed to continue fighting. First off, rarely do you ever see a fighter suffer a broken limb in the UFC. It happens from time to time because a fighter is stubborn (like the one in the movie), doesn't tap and the ref doesn't have time to step in and stop it before it goes south. That said, it's the exception, not the rule. Regardless, there is NO WAY a fighter would be allowed to continue after it happened. No athletic commission in the world would allow the fight to continue. It makes for good movie drama, it just isn't real.
It just bothers me because MMA has been trying to shed the stigmas: "MMA is human cockfighting." "MMA is just a street fight that happens to be sanctioned and televised." "MMA is just like professional wrestling!"
All of this is patently untrue. MMA fighters are protected, at great length. MMA athletes are not bar-room brawlers. They are some of the best athletes in the world. MMA is not like pro wrestling. Two men fight in a ring or cage. That's where the similarities end.
Sorry for the novel, but you asked. :)
I gotcha! That makes sense. Yeah... the fact that safety is important to the MMA wasn't as good for the storyline, ha. But I can see how if you're involved with the sport this would be off-putting, the fact that they're adding fuel to these misconceptions.
ReplyDeleteIt just takes away from the purity and legitimacy of the sport. So many people think it's just a bunch of big meatheads and go out there throwing drunken haymakers until one of them connects and someone gets knocked out.
ReplyDeleteIt's so much more than that. It wouldn't bother me if people had all the facts, watched a high-level and well-regulated MMA match and THEN decided they didn't enjoy it. To each his own. I just hear so many people say things like: "I don't like MMA because ________." and then the thing they place in the blank in a completely falsehood.
I loved this movie for the father-son aspect of it. However, I could see where the MMA stuff could detract someone who actually knows about the sport. I tend to be the same way with the sports I'm involved with.
ReplyDeleteThe Father-Son portion was pretty intense. Lots of emotions. Some if it was pretty sad. I did think the non-MMA parts were well written.
ReplyDelete