Physics teacher Brendan Conlon finds himself in desperate enough circumstances to turn back to his old profession of mixed martial arts in order to support his family, while his brother Tommy Conlon arrives back in town after returning from Afghanistan and the mysterious events which took place there. Both brothers soon find themselves training to enter the Sparta mixed martial arts tournament, their father Paddy Conlon a recovering alcoholic wants to make up to his sons and so he starts training Tommy and also tries reaching out to Brendan. The brothers have to face not only the strong fighting capabilities of their opponents but also the events of the past and a broken family life, in order to come out on top of the tournament and finally resolve their issues in the ring.
Filling the roles of the battling brothers our Joel Edgerton as Brendan Conlon, who while not being the biggest name in cinema plays the part of struggling family man and teacher well, often at best though when playing the emotional aspects of the film and using them to his advantage. Playing Tommy Conlon, is a considerably bigger name in the cinema these days Tom Hardy, who gives the ex-soldier the gruff and cold nature that makes his story work so well even up against an already emotional tale of Brendan's reasons for joining the tournament. The only other real stand out performance comes from Nick Nolte as the siblings struggling father who in desperation wants to put his family back together and gain a second chance, the actor is brilliant in making you actually feel for someone so broken and it builds again along with the other actors the emotional level where this film really shines.
This film may look like just another fighting film where winner takes all, they raise their strained arms and the camera circles them in a moment of victory but this has more than that, it has quite the heart put in. The film's choreography to the fighting may make it a spectacle but the real area the film works is in the story behind the martial arts from the reasons they enter, a struggling family and seeking redemption. While the emotion is piled on early on it's hard to feel for the characters something just doesn't click, until the halfway point where suddenly all the actors click and the emotion really stands out and makes you care about the characters and their struggles. This film works in the same way as 'The Fighter' it's not just about two grown men punching each other it's about the men themselves and the personal struggles they face. While it may never be a major gem in the genre, it's a film that sticks out for 2011 and in that a film i'd recommend to see for the story alone while the actual mixed martial arts gives the film an over all appeal for everyone.
7 / 10
FIN.
Filling the roles of the battling brothers our Joel Edgerton as Brendan Conlon, who while not being the biggest name in cinema plays the part of struggling family man and teacher well, often at best though when playing the emotional aspects of the film and using them to his advantage. Playing Tommy Conlon, is a considerably bigger name in the cinema these days Tom Hardy, who gives the ex-soldier the gruff and cold nature that makes his story work so well even up against an already emotional tale of Brendan's reasons for joining the tournament. The only other real stand out performance comes from Nick Nolte as the siblings struggling father who in desperation wants to put his family back together and gain a second chance, the actor is brilliant in making you actually feel for someone so broken and it builds again along with the other actors the emotional level where this film really shines.
This film may look like just another fighting film where winner takes all, they raise their strained arms and the camera circles them in a moment of victory but this has more than that, it has quite the heart put in. The film's choreography to the fighting may make it a spectacle but the real area the film works is in the story behind the martial arts from the reasons they enter, a struggling family and seeking redemption. While the emotion is piled on early on it's hard to feel for the characters something just doesn't click, until the halfway point where suddenly all the actors click and the emotion really stands out and makes you care about the characters and their struggles. This film works in the same way as 'The Fighter' it's not just about two grown men punching each other it's about the men themselves and the personal struggles they face. While it may never be a major gem in the genre, it's a film that sticks out for 2011 and in that a film i'd recommend to see for the story alone while the actual mixed martial arts gives the film an over all appeal for everyone.
7 / 10
FIN.
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