Warrior: A disappointing family drama

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 15 September 2011 10:19

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help parents choose what to watch. This week’s pick is a new film, Warrior.

At some point, hopefully soon, Hollywood will stop making movies about boxing. We have, in the past few years, experienced the highs of Oscar winners Million Dollar Baby and The Fighter along with the lows of Cinderella Man and Fight Night. But enough is enough. No matter how popular this genre may be, there should be a limit. Such films as Rocky, Raging Bull and Requiem for a Heavyweight have just about said everything there is to say about boxing as a metaphor for life.

But never wanting to leave an audience wanting less, enter Warrior, a derivative and meaningless film that again uses boxing (updated, this time around, to Mixed Martial Arts) to illustrate dysfunction in family relationships. The movies have taught us, after all, that families filled personal challenges are most comfortable when addressing their issues than in a boxing rink where the opportunity for bodily injury is so accessible. Somehow, these stories would never be as exciting if placed in the highly dangerous world of, for example, figure skating.

So Warrior — without a “The” in the title it is not confused with The Fighter or The Wrestler, which covered similar ground — introduces us to a miserable family with nothing but anxiety on the Thanksgiving table. Nick Nolte plays a down-on-his-luck father, a former boxer and boxing coach, who has lost contact with his two sons. One son is a down-on-his-luck high school teacher who, because he can’t make ends meet, hires himself out as a would-be boxer; the other son is a down-on-his-luck soldier who saved a buddy, went AWOL, changed his name, and wants to fight again. This down-on-his-luck theme is brought to life in endless closeups of actors who express a lot of pain in place of offering real motivations for the characters to find themselves, and each other, in the Mixed Martial Arts ring.

The problem with Warrior is it had no reason to be made. We do not need to see this story again; we have seen it over and over. The father-daughter relationship in The Wrestler is as potent as any in recent years; here we get watered-down conversations between a father and two sons destined to compete. The Fighter gave us a real look at what makes a boxer want to compete; here we can sense the inevitable conflict an hour before it happens. And Million Dollar Baby taught us the real caring that can exist between trainer and fighter; Warrior, despite the effective performances, only delivers the same “you are fighting for yourself” dialogue that has inspired every boxer in every movie since talkies were invented.

Still, the film offers strong performances from the well-intentioned Nick Nolte, the charismatic Tom Hardy and the haunting Joel Edgerton. Their work is so strong that we can only hope the next ring they enter will deliver an original script.

We have a saying, in our family, that Hollywood only has three stories that it keeps filming under new titles. Warrior proves, again, that one of those scripts is all about boxing. And it’s time for a new movie from Hollywood, The Boxer Film Takes a Vacation.

Film Nutritional Value

Warrior

* Content: Low. This is less a film than a collection of film clichés. Instead of catching Warrior, take a look at any of the many boxing movie classics.

* Entertainment: Low. Sadly, the relationships portrayed in the film come across as tired as the facilities where the boxers train.

* Message: Low. The film could have been an interesting character study that reminds of the importance of family. But it’s not.

* Relevance: Low. Any opportunity to introduce children to important issues of family relationships should be worthwhile. But this misses the mark.

* Opportunity for Dialogue: Low. There’s little reason to share this film. Instead, share one of the much better films that cover the same ground.

(Warrior is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense mixed martial arts fighting, some language and thematic material.)

2-1/2 Popcorn Buckets