Warrior: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns home and enlists his father, a recovering alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. Tommy’s estranged brother Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to provide for his family as a public school teacher, also enters the competition. Set on a collision course with each other, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense winner-take-all battle of their lives.
I love movies just like this one. It’s a sports film but wrapped in a drama that tells a fantastic story of brothers that are at odds with each other. The plot plays out pretty predictably but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t interesting at all. Hardy and Edgerton are fantastic actors and their chemistry definitely felt raw and real. These two guys gave it their all and even though it was a movie it felt like they left it all out there on the mat. The real surprise came from Nolte. It had been a really good while since I’ve seen him in anything dramatic and I felt like he knocked it out of the park. His demeanor is already very coarse so transferring that over to the film it just felt perfect. If you’re a fan of any of these actors then this is definitely a movie that you won’t want to miss and I highly suggest picking it up if you haven’t already. 8/10
4K Presentation:
It looks pretty good for the most part but it doesn’t look superior to the standard Blu-ray release. There are certain improvements here and there as far as lighting goes but for some reason there tends to be more of a grainy look than usual and that causes those scenes to look very odd. Normally for the causal movie goer it’s a bit tougher to see the differences between formats but it’s pretty evident here.
Special Features:
Full Contact: Feature Length Enhanced Viewing Mode (Blu-ray Only) – An interesting Picture In Picture feature that gives insight on the film with interviews with the cast and crew.
Redemption: Bringing Warrior To Life – The usual Behind The Scenes feature that include interviews from the cast and crew and clips from the film.
The Diner: Deleted Scene – An interesting scene with Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte.
Cheap Shots: Gag Reel – A good collection of flubs and miscues.
Brother vs. Brother: Anatomy of the Fight – A really great look at how they pulled off the finale of the film.
Philosophy in Combat: Mixed Martial Arts Strategy – Real life MMA experts discuss what is portrayed in the film.
Simply Believe: A Tribute to Charles “Mask” Lewis, Jr. – A really cool homage to the Tapout Co-Founder.
Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Gavin O’Conner, Cowriter Anthony Tambakis, Editor John Gilroy, and Actor Joel Edgerton
