Photo by: film.com

Hollywood’s latest boxing drama ‘Warrior’ encompasses everything that a sports film should – the heart-break of losing and the ecstasy of winning.

It is difficult not to become emotionally attached to the characters as the story follows Paddy (Nick Nolte), a former alcoholic attempting to reconnect with his two estranged sons. This is the human element to the film’s plot, which is  fueled by nail-biting scenes of brutal mixed martial arts.

Tommy Riordan (Tom Hardy) enlists his father to train him in the mixed martial arts as he attempts to rebuild his life after serving in the Marines.

At the same time, Tommy’s brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), turns toward fighting after being suspended from his job as a high school physics teacher.

The brothers are forced to confront unresolved issues of their past as they face each other in an MMA tournament with the highest stakes in the history of mixed martial arts. With each brother fighting for an equally noble cause, the question seems not to be who will win the match, but whether or not the brothers will ever reunite.

Gavin O’Connor masterfully directs this uplifting sports epic, which is familiar territory given that he also directed 2004 hockey epic ‘Miracle.’

“Warrior” is easily comparable to “The Fighter” (2010), a film of two brothers attempting to make it in the boxing world, which received several nominations at the Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture.

“Warrior” includes enough soul-bearing scenes between father and son and brother to brother to keep the moviegoer entertained throughout, as well as a number of adrenaline-pumping sequences to make the few hours well worthwhile.