Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy burn up the screen as a dysfunctional father-son unit, the former a recovering alcoholic trying to make amends for his sins as the latter returns with chips on both shoulders to demand to be trained for a mixed-martial art tournament. The tournament in question eventually sets Hardy on a collision course with his brother, the schoolteacher Joel Edgerton, who is just as estranged from their ne'er-do-well dad as he is.
No radical amendments to the fight film formula, then: blue-collar financial worries, embitterment, hopes of reconciliation and an opponent who is an immovable object are the cornerstones. Nevertheless, the muscular acting lifts it above most other contenders, and the ending packs an unexpected punch.
6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment