Movie Review: Warrior

Warrior (2011) 

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

Written by Gavin O'Connor, Anthony Tambakis, Cliff Dorfman

Starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte 

Release Date September 9th, 2011

Published September 9th, 2011

I can imagine the pitch meeting for "Warrior;" it was likely the easiest sell in a long time. Producers likely walked up to a studio executive and promised two "Rocky" movies in one and walked away with a green light. Yes, "Warrior" is two "Rocky" movies in one as Tom Hardy's war hero and Joel Edgerton's physics teacher are both underdogs who overcome the odds for the chance to fight the big fight.

Tommy Riordon (Tom Hardy) is a former war hero attempting to stay out of the lime light. In returning home to Pittsburgh, Tommy seeks out his formerly alcoholic father, Nick Nolte, for a favor. Tommy wants a trainer for a major Mixed Martial Arts tournament and while his father was an abusive drunk who drove Tommy and his mother to run away, he was a great trainer.

Unknowingly on the same track is Tommy's brother Brendon (Joel Edgerton). A popular High School physics teacher, Brendon is facing the loss of his house if he can't come up with some extra cash. Against the wishes of his worried wife (Jennifer Morrison), Brendon returns to the world of Mixed Martial Arts to make some quick cash.

Lingering in the near future is a major Mixed Martial Arts tournament with a multi-million dollar prize. The trailer for "Warrior" has spoiled what happens in the tournament but trust me, you will still be compelled by the action captured by director Gavin O'Connor who makes the action of MMA both brutal and yet safe for all audiences; the film is rated PG-13.

There is a surprisingly soft middle to "Warrior." The family drama involving the brothers and their dad and Brendon and his wife is an easy, pushy kind of drama that states quite clearly how the audience is supposed to react to what is being presented. For me, this type of drama is irksome, others don't mind having movie think for them.

The difference between a good movie and a great movie often lies in the attention to detail. Great movies take care to avoid even the tiniest logical inconsistencies. Good movies allow a few things to slide in the hope that the big dramatic moments will make audiences forget about the flawed moments.

The flaws in "Warrior" prevent it from becoming a great movie. The problems are in the details such as the fate of Brendon's job and Tommy's leaving the military. There are others as well and each of the issues detracts from what could be a very good sports drama.

"Warrior" could have been a contender. A little more care to sure up the minor cracks in the film's logic and we could be talking about a serious Oscar contender.Tom Hardy is so phenomenal and his performance is so authentic that he nearly wills "Warrior" toward greatness. It's a shame that he is undercut by drama that doesn't trust his ability to compel us without needing to signal the audience how to feel.

Movie Review Pride and Glory

Pride and Glory (2008) 

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

Written by Gavin O'Connor 

Starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, John Voight Jennifer Ehle

Release Date October 24th, 2008 

Published October 24th, 2008

The tortured history of Pride and Glory extends all the way back to 2001 when Mark Wahlberg and Hugh Jackman were attached to the script with director Joe Carnahan. The attacks of September 11th and the subsequent stories of NYPD heroism caused the project to be shelved. Revived and rejiggered by New Line Pictures and director Gavin O'Connor, Pride and Glory got the go ahead in 2006 with Edward Norton and Colin Ferrell in the leads.

And then things get murky. Whether Edward Norton went all Edward Norton on the movie or New Line had a disagreement with director O'Connor, Pride Glory completely found itself on the shelf. Two years later the film arrives and it may have been better off on the shelf.

Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) gave up on being a detective years ago. An incident involving his family, fellow cops and a cover up turned on Ray so badly that although he was never caught lying, he couldn't live with the guilt and hid out in a new assignment in missing persons. Now however, a case of four dead cops in his brother Francis' (Noah Emmerich) unit draws Ray back to being a detective.

The four dead cops it seems walked into an ambush as they staked out a seemingly low level drug dealer. The cops went for the bust and the dealer knew they were coming. Someone in the department tipped him off and four cops died. The case is a major headache for Francis as well as his Commander father Francis Sr. (Jon Voight) and thus why they turn to Ray for help.

Things grow much, much worse when a witness links the dealer to Jimmy Egan (Colin Ferrell) , a cop in Francis Jr's unit and Ray and company's brother-in -law. Jimmy married little sister Megan (Lake Bell) a few years back and now he is the main suspect in a corruption investigation that could bring not just the family but the reputation of the NYPD crashing down.

It's a familiar story: corrupt cops, NYPD, family of detectives, blah blah blah. What director Gavin O'Connor does is take these familiar elements and rearrange them into a slightly different form. He has good pieces to work with. Edward Norton  is a tremendous actor who can make the most of even the lamest material. Colin Ferrell has a more limited range than Norton but makes up for a lot with charisma.

These two actors make the most of what is given them but Pride and Glory remains a failure despite their best efforts. The script is just too familiar and Gavin O'Connor's attempts to reform those elements into a new story only serve to find further faults. Worse however, is the repeated moments of what is referred to rhetorically as Deus Ex Machina, the hand of god.

When a screenwriter is stuck he will often let slide a coincidence or two or three. These coincidences work to allow characters to be placed at just the perfect time. They allow characters to hold off on motivations or hunches or memories until just the moment they are needed as if the hand of god were delivering the character to the place they are needed or reminding them of just the right memory at just the moment it's needed.

These plot conveniences in Pride and Glory are groan-inducing to the point of modest chuckles for savvy audience members who recognize them.

What is a real shame about Pride and Glory is that it wastes an Oscar worthy effort by longtime character actor Noah Emmerich. As the conflicted captain of a corrupt unit. Emmerich walks a tightrope between drama and caricature and makes the right dramatic decision almost each time. On top of being the boss and dealing with all of this corruption, Francis has a wife at home, played by Jennifer Ehle, who is dying of cancer.

Many actors would be overwhelmed with so much sorrow to play but Emmerich handles it all exceptionally well. If the movie weren't such a dog overall Emmerich could have been a strong contender for best supporting actor. Thankfully, based on his work in Pride and Glory I have no doubt something like that is still in his future.

If your plot is too familiar you have to do more than just rearrange the elements slightly. Play with the tone, grim sadness and gritty gray skied backgrounds are so done. Play with the characters, make one a woman, give one an unusual quirk, work in some dark humor. Do something to keep the audience from sitting in the dark wondering where they've seen all of this before.

Also, if your script so often needs the hand of god to deliver characters to need locations or revelations, maybe you shouldn't make the movie at all.