It took me a little while to think over it, and believe me I tried to deny it, but Warrior is one of the best films I saw all summer. The reason why it took me awhile to consider that is because there's almost nothing new brought to the table. I can admit that, but that shouldn't be a requirement for a film to be a success. It's a movie for guys, a crowd pleasing brawler in the vein of Rocky and The Fighter. What sets it apart are the two key performances by Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte, as a son and father duo with a strained relationship marred by alcoholism and divorce. Joel Edgerton isn't bad, either.
It's clear the studio is getting behind Warrior in a major way this awards season, perhaps seeing a window opened up by The Fighter's success last year. I've never seen this many screenings for a film in quite some time, and I hope that means they'll be pushing Nick Nolte at least for Best Supporting Actor, although don't be surprised if Warrior turns up one of the 10 Best Picture nominees. It won't win, but just being mentioned will be award enough.
In this new clip, we see Tom Hardy's character, Tommy Conlon, all muscled up rage, kicking the snot out of one of the world's best MMA fighters, much to everyone's surprise. Check it out below, then look out for Warrior when it hits theaters on September 9th...