Warrior

Warrior takes the basic sports formula and applies it to MMA. This mostly works. The story follows two brothers who haven't seen each other in 14 years after their mother took one of them across country to get away from an abusive father. The movie picks up with the younger just having gotten out of the marines, and the elder working as a physics teacher in danger of losing his job and house. They each end up entering a winner take all tournament and, in a surprise to no one who saw the trailer, end up on a collision course (literally) with one another and their various demons.

Since there's nothing really that new or surprising in the story, what really matters is execution. Admittedly I have a soft spot for sports films, so I might not be the most objective opinion, but I think that the film mostly succeeds in what it tries to do. The three central characters (two brother and their estranged father) are compelling, and I cared what happened to them. When the film focuses on their relationship is when its at its best. In addition, the fight scenes are well staged and believable (even if, like every other fight film, they make it look like every fight is an all out brawl instead of 20 seconds of flurries followed by four minutes of getting a submission like real MMA fights), and the final showdown was as satisfying as it could have been given the genre's accepted conventions.

That said, it does has its problems. When we get to the tournament things do get a bit out of control, and cartoony, and it feels more like a plot device than something that might actually happen. Additionally, the wife is completely unsupportive and shrill until the protagonist starts winning, and the big emotional denouement between the younger son and the father ended up feeling more like an excuse to get Nick Nolte to cry than anything that moving.

Still, I can't deny that I was generally entertained throughout, and cared what happened in the end (that's what she said). Since that's the most important thing a sports film needs to do Warrior can be considered successful. Or at the very least a solid B. Not close to Hoosiers, but way better than Seabiscuit.