Warrior is, without doubt, a boys’ movie, but I have been waiting to see it for it for about a year.

The film is essentially about a father and his two sons. All three men are trying to deal with their own issues, past and present, but find some commonality in a mixed martial arts fighting competition.

Acting veteran Nick Nolte plays recovering alcoholic Paddy Conlon, an ex-boxer seeking to find some redemption for the way he treated his wife and kids.

The movie starts when his youngest son and ex-Marine Tommy, played by Tom Hardy, comes back to his hometown and enlists his father to train him. Tommy’s haunted past leads him to storm his way through the competition, finally putting him in the ring with his older brother Brendan. Hardy has this brooding bad boy down to the mark, a challenging contrast to his recent role in This Means War. His ability to pull off both characters only goes towards proving our suspicions that we are going to see a lot more from this talented British actor.

School teacher Brendan Conlon, played by Australian Joel Edgerton, finds himself in the competition to prevent his family from losing their home. Still estranged from both his father and brother, Brendan initially struggles to find places for them in the lives of his wife and children. However, for me at least, Edgerton’s character steals the show, especially in the final fight scene. His determination and compassion show strength in its truest form. Brendan becomes a real example of a man when he finds the balance between providing for his immediate family and making peace with everyone else.

I was also really impressed with the performance from Frank Grillo who plays Brendan’s trainer. Grillo’s character Frank Campana teaches his fighters using classical music, helping them to learn to remain calm and controlled.

Rated M for the fight scenes and some bad language, Warrior is an exceptionally good movie with some well worked-out themes.

I fully recommend this for all men, and any girls who don’t mind the thud of gloves against skin.