In ten or twenty years, when films from this era are being remade, I think someone needs to really look at Gavin O'Connor's films because he seems to be the king of films that are close to being great but just aren't. "Warrior" is like that; a film that, with a few tweaks, could be a classic and the first great MMA film but it is weighed down by some cheesiness, too many cliches, and a background story that really doesn't add enough and takes away from the main story of the bond between brothers (or lack thereof).

One thing that I will give Gavin O'Connor, however, is that he has an eye for talent. Tom Hardy solidified my belief that he is a potential star and Joel Edgerton did a great job. I'm not sure that he will ever break out but he is a great everyman and has a long career ahead of him. Beyond that, I really like O'Connor's regulars. Frank Grillo is always solid and Maximiliano Hernández is an underrated character actor. He has a small role in Warrior but he was great in Terriers and O'Connor's Pride and Glory and I didn't even recognize him in Thor and the Marvel shorts. Nick Nolte was strong but in a oddly written role.

On a related note, after seeing Drive, I started wondering what the difference between "cliche" and "classic" was. Because while people kind of shit on Warrior for being cliche, they gave Drive a pass despite it being derivative in its story and characters because they were "classic" elements of noir. To a certain extent, those two words are interchangeable, depending on how you bought into the movie. Even within Warrior, there were some part of the story that I could call "classic" sports movie moments but then others which I thought were "cliche." I think critics need to remember that those terms aren't really about the story that is being told but rather HOW the story is being told. In the hands of a hack director, I'm sure Drive would have seemed completely cliche. On the other hand, I think if a stronger director got his or her hands on O'Connor's movies, the flaws might have been fixed.

So I would recommend people check out Warrior but only if they aren't turned off by seeing a boilerplate sports movie that hits the notes you've seen before. There's nothing new in the film but it's an effectively told tale that entertained (it didn't feel at all like 2.5 hours) but didn't achieve greatness.