Thirteen Lives

Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Sukollawat Kanaros, Thiraphat Sajakul, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Vithaya Pansringarm, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Nophand Boonyai, Paul Gleeson, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
Running Time: 147 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

When a junior football team and their assistant coach were trapped in a cave in northern Thailand following a practice in 2018, almost three weeks elapse before the boys and their coach are rescued, all of them miraculously surviving. Since so many details about the event have already been covered in first-hand accounts, news reports and 2021's documentary The Rescue, director Ron Howard's job of compellingly dramatizing it in Thirteen Lives becomes all the more difficult. And as he probably knows, any recreation pales in comparison to reality or descriptions from those who were actually there. But that's never stopped any filmmaker from tackling true stories before, so in framing this for those who know exactly what happened, the challenge comes in showing it.

Howard's up to the task, and while nearly all the information concerning the rescue would emerge later, families of the trapped kids were often kept out of the loop amidst bureaucratic and political disorganization. And no matter how much we know now, the method utilized to extract all twelve of these kids and their coach is still shocking, the most dangerous of last resorts under exceedingly hopeless circumstances. If the reliable, workmanlike Howard seems to be a sturdy if unimaginative choice for this material, at least he's the right one, giving the actors and story space while delivering a no frills account that's free of the oversentimentalizing many expected going in.

It's June 23, 2018 when the Wild Boars football/soccer team consisting of twelve boys between ages 11 and 16, along with their 25 year-old assistant coach, Ekkaphon Chanthawong (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) finish practice and head to explore the nearby Tham Luang Nang Non cave. With monsoon season arriving early and torrential, heavy rains inundating the area, the team becomes stranded in the cave's tunnels, unable to exit as downpours worsen and waters continue to rise. With day turning to night, parents express concern that their kids haven't returned home, and when the head coach is unable to contact the rest of the team, their whereabouts are soon confirmed by a teammate who stayed behind. 

Upon discovering the kids' muddy bicycles and belongings outside the cave, a team of Thai Navy SEALs divers are called in to find them, but their attempts are thwarted by continuous precipitation. It's only when local caver Vernon Unsworth (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) suggests to the Thai Governor (Sahajak Boonthanakit) they call in the British Cave Rescue Counsil (BCRC), that divers Richard Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) arrive on the scene. The two men make it far, overcoming poor visibility, rising waters and dangerous debris to make a heroic discovery. But that's only the beginning, as the far tougher challenge lies ahead.

The kids are in the cave for an absurdly long amount of time before anyone comes close to reaching them, with the days and hours ticking down until it's well over a week before they're even located, with Thai divers negotiating their way through narrow crevices and rising waters in search of the team. Not as enthralling, but no less important, is the controversy involving how much the families should know and when, as well as an elaborate strategy to redirect at least some of the rain away from the cave onto the fields. Essentially destroying local farmers' crops and livelihoods to give the children a better chance of survival elicits a response you wouldn't expect, reminding us that while William Nicholson's screenplay doesn't sidestep criticisms of the rescue's handling, the Thai people came together and sacrificed when it mattered most. 

Overcoming scrutiny and skepticism, former firefighter Stanton and IT specialist Volanthen prove themselves invaluable in not only locating the kids, but somehow coming up with a plan to get them out. Mortensen and Farrell give the kind of non-showy performances that are easy to for granted because they're so efficient at conveying the skills and demeanor of two professionals who know what they're doing, but could still easily fail. Aiding them in the rescue are Australian cave diver and medical doctor Richard Harris (Joel Edgerton) and fellow divers Chris Jewell (Tom Bateman) and Jason Mallinson (Paul Gleeson), each of whom are necessary to carry out a plan that has no business working, yet somehow does. Without giving too much away, its potential side effects carry its own set of entirely different risks, and watching it be done multiple times is about as suspenseful and nerve-wracking as it gets. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom also excels at taking us inside this underwater hell, creating an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia both above and below the surface.

One of Howard's more impressive outings in a while, it's kind of surprising Thirteen Lives hasn't gotten much attention, but that could be chalked up to just how closely he sticks to the task at hand. Appropriately lacking in directorial flare, there isn't a large amount of character development for the kids and their families, resulting in a relatively straightforward survival tale that doesn't exactly demand a rewatch. The action really kicks into high gear during the film's last forty minutes, as we hold our collective breath in disbelief at the impending rescue. That this was their best option is what's scariest, regardless of how familiar audiences are with how it all turns out.                           

The Great Gatsby

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Amitabh Bachchan, Jack Thompson, Adelaide Clemens
Running Time: 142 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

The pressure and expectations that accompany adapting a classic novel for the big screen can be overwhelming. Unless, of course, it was already poorly adapted. Such is the case with F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, which already spawned a 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow lifeless enough to double as an insomnia cure. One thing you can't call Baz Luhrmann's 2013 take is "lifeless," but considering he's the director of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, we could have easily guessed that going in. My reasoning for including it in the runners-up section of the year's most anticipated films had less to do with the fact that I suspected it would be any good (though the potential was there) and more to do with it's potential as an entertaining train wreck with some memorable performances. He specializes in those, each resulting in varying degrees of creative success.

The big surprise is that this is far from a train wreck. It isn't crazy. It's a faithful, respectful re-telling of the original story that fulfills most of the expectations associated with our idea of the quintessential adaptation. In fact, the craziest thing about it is the title character, or rather the mesmerizing, off-kilter, over-the-top performance given by the actor playing him. And yet it feels right in this context. Not only does the movie look tremendous, but the story is absorbing and heartbreaking, working in tandem with the visuals to create a surprisingly rich and rewarding movie experience. Audiences loved it while critics were more mixed, but I'm siding with the former. There's an uncertain first hour, and a bit too much narration for my taste, but the payoff is sensational. Simply put, it's a great film that deserves a spot in the upper echelon of recent cinematic literary adaptations.

In just about the only change from the novel, Yale University grad, World War I vet and failed writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) pens his story in a sanatorium where he's being treated for alcoholism. It was the summer of 1922 when he moved from the Mid West to New York to take a job selling bonds and taking up residence in West Egg, Long Island. His neighbor is the elusive, enigmatic Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a mysterious millionaire who throws lavish parties at his extravagant mansion. Confused by his recent invitation to one and taken aback by Gatsby's sudden interest in him, it soon becomes clear to Nick that his true interest is really in his cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), with whom he had a love affair five years prior. He's only thrown these parties with the hope she'd one day show up. Nick reconnects them, with the only problem being that she's married to philandering, brutish polo champion Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). He's determined to unravel the mystery of Gatsby before it's too late and he loses his wife for good.

The biggest fear I had approaching this was that Luhrmann would use Fitzgerald's novel as a launching pad for a feature length music video or a rough outline for contemporizing it without having to face the backlash of actually contemporizing it. I fully expected this would primarily be a visual feast, with characters served up as appetizers to sell soundtracks. As it turns out, neither comes to pass. While the parties are a crazy visual spectacle employing elaborate use of CGI, over-the-top sets, quick cuts, and contemporary music, it's not a distraction and dovetails surprisingly well with the time period and story. If anything, it's more restrained than we were led to believe from the trailers, and while Jay-Z provides the score and Lana Del Ray an original song, nothing necessarily calls attention to that or takes us out of the period setting. Those concerns are only further squashed when we meet Gatsby, the buildup of which is given the satisfying mystery it deserves, proving that the story does really come first here. The slow, steady introduction of the mysterious Gatsby amongst rumors he's a spy and other far out rumors regarding his past, is the film's ace in the hole. And it's a credit to the script and DiCaprio's charismatic performance that those mysteries never feel fully disclosed even when they eventually are.

The film doesn't really begin until Gatby shows up and he knows how to make an entrance. DiCaprio just owns this from his very first scene, using the character's playboy persona to mask his massive insecurity. The brilliance in his portrayal comes when he subtly gives signs that he may not necessarily be in love with Daisy as much as he's obsessed with holding on to her and the past. That he's been throwing these lavish parties for years with only the hope she'll eventually show is almost proof enough. And when Gatsby eventually starts to crack, we still side with him because he remains so likable and relatable despite the extravagant lifestyle he leads. DiCaprio makes it easy for us to understand how, given his background and personality, the character would behave like this.

At first, Gatsby's using Nick to get to Daisy but the irony ends up being that the bond that forms between the two men might be the only real connection that's forged in the story. Nick's using him too, realizing his cousin is his free pass into a privileged world he may not have otherwise had access to. But because both are so honest and upfront about their intentions a true friendship is eventually formed and it's only toward the end, when all the leaches sucking off Gatsby's wealth have abandoned him, that we realize it's likely Nick was the only friend he's ever had.

Maguire makes for the perfect Nick Carraway since the actor's biggest selling qualities have always been his naivete and wide-eyed amazement at what's happening around him. He's the ideal vessel for the audience in that he's the rare reliable narrator who actually does seem reliable. We believe every word he's saying, even if one of the script's few flaws is that he's probably given too many of them, as the characters' actions are more than suitable in carrying the load. It had to help that DiCaprio and Maguire are in reality very good friends, and it's a credit to them that viewers would probably be able to guess that watching them interact on screen together.

Those expecting Carey Mulligan to make for an unforgettable Daisy should probably consider that the character has always been kind of a cipher or blank slate for Gatsby to project all of his obsessions onto. Even in the book that seemed to be her very specific function so there's really only so much an actress can do with that and Mulligan delivers exactly what's asked of her, but little more. Daisy isn't exactly a woman of agency but it's easy to imagine other rumored candidates for the role like Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson having a much rougher time with it than Mulligan, who possesses a certain type of innocence onscreen that they rarely convey.

Stealing most scenes is newcomer Elizabeth Debicki, who as golf pro and potential Nick love interest, Jordan Baker, nails the period look, manner and way of speaking to the extent that she not only draws attention to herself, but shines the spotlight on her castmates as well. Joel Edgerton gains a surprising amount of empathy for the brutish Tom Buchanan, as his third act verbal showdown with DiCaprio ends up being one of the film's strongest sequences. Rounding out the cast is Isla Fisher as Tom's mistress Myrtle and Jason Clarke as husband George, whose residence in the industrial "valley of ashes," is sensationally visualized by Luhrmann, even incorporating the novel's iconic paperback cover within the setting in an inventive touch.

We shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth as this is as good an adaptation of the source material as we're going to get, or was even possible. It's almost mind boggling that the reaction has been so divisive when Luhrmann stayed so relatively true to the original text. If anything, he could have taken more creative liberties since this is almost restrained for him. But this was the right approach. How he brings it home at the end with a surprisingly emotional wallop should be proof enough that there's a lot more going on here than the impressive production and costume design and cinematography, which will still likely figure in huge during awards time. This was hard to do but Luhrmann nailed it, proving that sometimes it isn't always best to leave well enough alone. By putting a new polish on a familiar story he's succeeded in making it more accessible, while not abandoning any of the original elements that made it work.  

Zero Dark Thirty

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler, Chris Pratt, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Duplass, Frank Grillo, Harold Perrineau, James Gandolfini
Running Time: 157 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

When we first meet Jessica Chastain's Maya in Zero Dark Thirty, she's silently and nervously watching her CIA colleague Dan (Jason Clarke) interrogate a potential Al-Qaeda suspect. It's an interrogation that soon turns to torture when he tells her to fill a bucket of water. She can barely bring herself to do it and we're thinking there's no way this is the same woman the agency nicknames "killer," much less the one who eventually brings down the most dangerous man in the world. It'll be only moment of hesitancy we see because, like everyone else, we've underestimated her.

At its core this is about a woman who's beyond exceptional at her job, steadfastly refusing to take "no" for an answer. Wherever there's red tape, she walks through it. When superiors are in her way, she plows right over them. Operating with an emotionless, laser-like focus and precision, it's impossible for anyone to deter her from her main objective: Finding and killing Osama Bin Laden. In many respects she's the most patriotic, inspirational protagonist we've seen on screen in some time, but Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (again corroborating with Hurt Locker writer Mark Boal) won't let us get all warm and fuzzy about it. In fact, she hardly even gives us a moment to come up for air.

The chain of events start on September 11, 2001 but for the film's purposes the really begin in 2003 when Maya's career-long obsession with Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda leads her to be reassigned to the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan where she witnesses and learns Dan's interrogation tactics and gets a potential lead on the whereabouts of Bin Laden's courier and right-hand man, Abu Ahmed. For all the complaints and controversy concerning the depiction of torture to gain valuable intel one of the more under-reported stories about the film is the sheer quantity of it, as the opening thirty minutes of the film is nearly all waterboarding.

The lead Maya gets isn't concrete (as few are) but it's one that stays with her and she obsesses over as she moves up the ranks in the CIA. Her biggest obstacles and bureaucratic and political as she faces off against the agency's Islamabad Station Chief Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler), who's more interested in adding notches to his belt by preventing domestic attacks than locating bin Laden. He'll learn that you don't stand in Maya's way. So will his boss (Mark Strong) and so will the CIA's director (James Gandolfini). Maya's greatest strength is in how by sheer force of will and determination she can eliminate those who won't fight for her cause and sympathetically convince those on the fence who she needs (like Edgar Ramirez's Special Division officer) to cooperate.

Maya lives, breathes and sleeps catching bin Laden and has little time for others who won't. When her co-worker (exceptionally played by Jennifer Ehle) asks why she doesn't have a boyfriend her response is exactly what you'd expect. She doesn't care, or she does, she sure as hell won't show it.  This isn't an actor's showcase or typically the type of role that lets a performer show off their chops, which is what makes Chastain's work that much more miraculous. The movie may be ice but somehow she isn't, despite infusing the distant Maya with all the characteristics that should make her difficult to root for under other circumstances. Or it could be that we're just not used to having our female characters written this strongly. It's the rare case where you could change the name on the script to a man's and still be able to leave the rest of the screenplay alone. And to think anyone would claim Chastain's performance isn't paramount to the film's success or somehow takes a back seat to the terror or torture sequences. She's in every scene, carrying this whole thing on her back.

This is a cold, clinical, procedural showing its only signs of a pulse in its unforgettable final scene, which is as strong a finish as you'll see in any film this year. But much like the mission itself, it feels meticulously executed, even as plans constantly change. One lead takes Maya to another lead and then to another after that until the SEAL Team arrives at Bin Laden's compound in the final, thrilling hour. Our appreciation of the steps Boal's script takes us to get there and all suspense rests entirely on the fact that we know the ending, but not necessarily everything. Will we get to see him? Will he say anything? Will we get to know who shot him? And yet these are all trivial questions in Bigelow's world, where the cold, hard truth is a far cry from the sensationalistic dramatization everyone likely expected going in.

It's also about risk. In one key scene a character talks about how it's easy measure the dangers of doing something but the risk of not acting is always trickier to figure out. It's all about weighing the options and for Maya it's her skill, confidence and even a little bit of luck that lands bin Laden on her lap. Her problem is convincing everyone there's a shot, including the members of the Team being thrown into the lion's den. The two we meet (played by Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt) express concerns of their own and they're pretty logical ones. The last 40 minutes of the film are unbearably suspenseful and masterfully edited, almost literally bringing us in the compound to experience details we've only partially been privy to or have just wildly speculated on. Bigelow and Boal could have easily called it a day there, but they thankfully keep going, giving us a glimpse of its aftermath.

If there's a single decision that got Bigelow and Boal into the most trouble it's the disclaimer that appears before the film starts, informing us that it's "based on first-hand accounts of actual events."  If only they knew what they stepped into with that statement, however true it may be. And to be honest, I don't particularly care. This isn't a documentary and they can fudge the truth as much or as little as they want. You don't have to like it, but it's the filmmaker's right. Despite allegations, the movie doesn't automatically take a pro-torture stance by showing. And if Boal did embellish, or even if he made the whole thing up (which by all accounts he didn't), I still wouldn't have cared, just as long as the final product on screen delivers.

All the "controversy" surrounding the film feels like a convenient excuse to have political arguments that should be taking place outside the theater. Still, it's tough to deny any film generating this kind of discussion is at all a bad thing, provided that anger isn't directed at those who made it. The focus should be on how Boal's script somehow condenses a decade's worth of intelligence information into a sustainable, compelling narrative and how Bigelow was able to make an even more muscular and unrelenting film than The Hurt Locker. But Zero Dark Thirty's most controversial stance comes in an ending that's anything but celebratory. It's strangely sad and uncertain, bravely daring to ask the important question: What now?   
              

The Thing (2011)

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Christian Olsen
Running Time: 102 min
Rating: R

★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Confession: I've never seen John Carpenter's The Thing. Shameful, I know. But it's better to get that out in the open now than go through the entire length of this review dishonestly pretending I have. We all have those movie knowledge gaps. Classic films we should have seen but for whatever reason just never got around to watching. 1982's The Thing is mine. The oversight wasn't intentional, nor due to an aversion in watching what's widely considered a horror benchmark. And the plan sure wasn't viewing 2011's supposed "prequel" first, despite being chronologically correct in doing so. Now that I have, it's still tough coming up with a reason for its purpose, which isn't a good sign considering my unfamiliarity with the film that inspired it. Call it a prequel or a remake but in the end it doesn't make much of a difference because it feels like an ordinary, but technically handsome, claustrophobic horror exercise that's a slight cut above what we've come to expect from recent reboots. It's aided by a highly effective performance from its female lead that belongs in a better movie. She's a smart, well-written character, even if the same really can't be said for anyone or any "thing" around her.

It's 1982 when a flying saucer is discovered beneath of the ice of Antarctica by a Norwegian research team and American paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is called in by Dr. Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen) to investigate what appears to be an alien body from the crash. When the team takes the creature back to the base in a block of ice, it escapes overnight and begins consuming and duplicating the crew. Taking on a human form, there's little way to tell who's been infected, prompting Kate to conduct tests and investigations with the mostly uncooperative team, as they all take flamethrowers to the beast. And each other. As mistrust begins to mount amongst them, they may just end up offing each other before they can figure out a way to co-exist and defeat this creature.

Early on, the film pretends to have something else on its mind other than being just your standard, by-the-numbers monster movie. It starts methodically, building well and successfully positioning Kate as kind of an underestimated problem solver who has to prove herself on a team full of men. The Antarctic landscape is also well shot by cinematographer Michel Abramowicz and Marco Beltrami's score really draws you in and sets a tension-filled mood. Then the "Thing" escapes and gets to work. Regardless of anyone's feelings on the original or whether this remake posing as a prequel should have even moved ahead, there's no question a lot goes wrong with the execution here. The first problem is team devoid of any type of identity, with interchangeable nobodies lacking distinctive personalities that go beyond their duties. Not to say it isn't a talented cast.  Joel Edgerton and Lost's Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are the helicopter pilots while Eric Christian Olsen plays Dr. Halvorson's assistant. When Edgerton's in your movie and doesn't register at all, something's wrong. And how could he, when the life expectancy of each character is five to ten minutes. After a slow, almost cerebral build initially, the deaths and attacks occur rapidly at a video game level pace, leaving no room for suspense. The reliance on make-up and practical effects as well as CGI is admirable, but it looks too gross and silly to be truly scary. Instead, it creates disgustingly comical effect, with more than a few scenes actually inducing giggles.

The movie's saving grace is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who at first seems to be a purely commercial-driven casting choice, but ends up being completely believable as a brainiac paleontologist who's competent at her job. The best thing about the character is that she isn't depicted as some kind of action hero in the mold of Ripley from Alien, but an intelligent leader who uses her resourcefulness to come up with solutions. Kate is literally the only role in the screenplay developed enough for us to care about, so it's a good thing she's the protagonist and that Winstead give us plenty of reasons to with a controlled, headstrong performance. The movie may make some dumb decisions, but her character doesn't. It seems strange to say this is a giant leap forward for her after her manic pixie role as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim, but taking that did her no favors since she should be moving past older teen and young adult parts. While I was doubtful initially, this proves she's more than just a (very) pretty face and capable of carrying a movie on her shoulders. Even one this middling. But more so, it's solid evidence that if she plays her cards right, she could potentially emerge as a great actress.

It's a shame that things don't start to get interesting until the final minutes. Just as the film's winding down is when it feels like it should actually be starting and my interest level rose. I wouldn't mind a sequel, but the of course the joke is this supposedly already has one. It's called The Thing and it came out in 1982 and stars Kurt Russell. That sparks a question: If this is a prequel, then why does it have the exact same title? That seems strange and confusion does little to help a picture fans of the original couldn't have been excited to see in the first place. But the sequel I want to see isn't that. It would center on what exactly happened to Dr. Kate Lloyd after the credits rolled and the potential fall-out from it. That counts for something. For all this reboot got wrong, it at least got one thing really right.

Warrior

Director: Gavin O'Connor
Starring: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Grillo, Noah Emmerich, Kurt Angle, Kevin Dunn
Running Time: 140 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Not exactly Rocky, but not quite The Fighter either, Gavin O'Connor's mixed martial arts drama Warrior failed to make much of an impact at the box office when it was released in September, despite some surprising critical acclaim. Now, only two months later the film gets a second chance on DVD and its defenders are proven right. The movie definitely deserved better. Fully embracing genre cliches while also subverting them, it's the rarest of competitive sports movies, telling its story with intelligence and restraint. It's preposterous to believe a schoolteacher and marine could enter a mixed martial arts tournament with professional fighters and make it past the first round, much less to the finals. It's even more preposterous to believe that both could. And it's downright implausible that those two men would be estranged brothers with a grudge. But Warrior makes you believe. I never doubted any of it for a second because the film's so upfront and honest about its intentions. It doesn't cheat or play games, supplying instead the kind of implausibility we hope to experience when watching movies.

Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) and Brendan Conlin (Joel Edgerton) are two estranged brothers who share certain similarities, but mostly seem to be cut from a different cloth. Their father Paddy (Nick Nolte) is a recovering alcoholic who physically abused their late mother and neither are ready to forgive him for it. Now sober and seeking redemption Paddy returns home one night to find Tommy on his doorstep back from the Marines and in Pittsburgh to train for Sparta, a winner-take-all single elimination mixed martial arts tournament taking place in Atlantic City. He asks his father to train him under the condition that their arrangement remain strictly professional and he makes no attempt to reconcile their fractured relationship. In Philadelphia, older brother and retired UFC fighter Brendan is barely scraping by as a high school physics teacher, facing foreclosure on his home despite he and wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison) working three jobs to support their two daughters.  Much to his wife's chagrin Brendan starts fighting again and hires his old friend Frank (Frank Grillo) as his trainer to come out of retirement and enter Sparta, knowing the winning purse could get them back on their feet. It's not a spoiler to reveal that the two brothers will clash in the finals and settle their differences in the ring. The most welcome aspect of the script is how it makes no attempt to hide that. It just builds and builds, raising the stakes until we finally arrive at the inevitable confrontation. And what a confrontation it is.

The movie is remarkable for just how little is revealed about what exactly happened to this family. At some point there was clearly a major sibling rift with Brendan eloping with Tess at a young age and Tommy staying to clean up their parents' mess and take care of their ailing mother. They never forgave each other, or their father. Something happened with Tommy in the Marines, the details of which become clear later. Details are unimportant here and other than a brief, heated argument on the beach the brothers are kept apart the entire film and little is actually discussed. There's too much pain in this family to even try that. They do all their talking in the cage. Tommy, the former high school wrestler, is a silent monster. No entrance music. With a single blow he knocks his opponents out and it's over within minutes. Brendan's the scrappy underdog. Beethoven is his entrance music. Every fight is a struggle, taking a brutal beatings until somehow finally squeezing out a submission victory. The dichotomy of their fighting styles couldn't possibly differ more and tells more about them as individuals and their past than any line of dialogue could. Director Gavin O'Connor knows this, wisely holding back to let the matches tell the story. And we do see a lot them. Arguably so many that you'd think you ordered a pay per view. With appearances from real life MMA fighters like Nate Marquardt and Anthony Johnson and pro wrestler Kurt Angle the movie seems like it should be watched with friends at a bar instead of at a theater or on DVD. And if any sport is prone to upsets and shockers it's this one, making the far-fetched scenario of the central premise actually work in the story's favor.

Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton look like they belong in the cage with them, especially Hardy who looks to have bulked up beyond belief for this part and could step in and challenge Brock Lesnar right now. Both he and Edgerton bring an intensity that perfectly compliment and inhabit their characters. Nick Nolte is given his most meaningful role in ages, a performance highlighted by an emotionally uncomfortable but riveting scene in the film's third act that's bursting with sadness and regret, showing the toll this entire situation has taken on him. Jennifer Morrison turns in above average supporting work in what's usually the very average, thankless role of a disapproving wife. But the film's smarter than that. Far from the screaming nag or shrinking wallflower we're used to seeing sports wives depicted as in movies like this, it never feels like she's around for the convenience of the plot. She legitimately fears her husband could be killed and intelligently argues why. And she's right. He could. Even the principal (Kevin Dunn) at the school Brendan works is presented and portrayed with an intelligence uncommon to the genre. He suspends a good physics teacher because it's his job, not because he wants to. And with each victory Brendan racks up, he's cheering as loud as anyone. Who wouldn't think it was cool their teacher's an ultimate fighter? All the little details are spot-on.

If someone told me they couldn't keep it together and tears flowed in the final minutes I couldn't say I'd blame them. All the emotion is earned. O'Connor expertly stages the final fight, where the built-up tension finally comes to a head and explodes like a powder keg when the two brothers face off. It's a prime example of how you tell a story with action. Every move and blow means something and besides being legitimate doubt as to who will win, we're not even sure who to root for. The film takes the well-worn cliche of the "big game" or "final fight" and flips it on its head, presenting a contest between two combatants equally deserving of a victory. How often does that happen? Like Moneyball, the other successful sports film this year, the actual outcome is irrelevant. These guys just have to just get out this out of their system, expressing themselves the only way they can, and with that comes the possibility of moving on. Warrior couldn't be a more accurate title, and the movie lives up to it.