Way of the Warrior

I’ve been working my way through my Blog’s “Drafts” folder in an effort to try and finish some of the many half-completed entries I have there. At the time of writing I still have 226 left… :-/

In looking through these drafts I came upon two entries, both concerning movies for which I was fortunate enough to see advanced screenings. The first movie was Warrior and the second was The Way. I’ll write about at The Way later this week, but today I’d like to look at Warrior.

The Warriors

The story of Warrior concerns Paddy and his two sons. The film begins with Paddy leaving church after Mass. We soon find out that Paddy used to be a horrible husband and father as well as an abusive drunk, but now, many years later, has found God and is 1,000 days sober.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” –  Proverbs 17:17

Paddy’s two sons, Brendan and Tommy are both talented athletes who are soon set on a collision course towards the same Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament.

I went to watch Warrior with a group of friends, some of whom are real MMA nuts. I think it’s safe to say that we all enjoyed the movie greatly. The camera work was superb and there were lots of “ooghh!” sounds coming from the audience as the different tournament competitors got punched, kicked and slammed to the floor.

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1

The action in this movie though is really just the backdrop for examining the relationships between the different characters. Paddy is desperate to reconnect with his sons, but neither of them want this, both still carrying the wounds of their childhood. Both sons are embittered, Tommy especially so. Brendan and Tommy’s relationship itself is tense, stemming from when their parents separated and Tommy went with their mother and Brendan stayed with their father.

“A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel” – Proverbs 18:19

Tap Out

The central theme of Warrior is forgiveness. Paddy is fighting to try and reestablish a relationship with his sons and receive their forgiveness. Throughout the movie we see Paddy listening on cassette to Herman Melville’s book “Moby Dick”. The meaning behind this becomes clear in a scene in which Paddy, the Captain Ahab figure, is overwhelmed by the suffering he has caused to those around him, all because of his consuming passion, in Paddy’s case, his enslavement to alcohol.

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” – Mark 11:25

Another theme woven into the film is the idea of fighting for what is important. Brendan is in financial trouble with his mortgage. The bank advise him to declare bankruptcy, but he refuses to “tap out” and enters the tournament, risking his own health in an effort to provide for his family and save his house from foreclosure.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” – Ephesians 5:25

Tommy, on the other hand, is driven by something else, much deeper, which we begin to discover over the course of the film…

Knock Out

I didn’t find the ending of this movie as satisfying as I had hoped it would be, but if you like MMA or action movies I’d thoroughly recommend it. Some may find the fighting rather unpleasant to watch, but it is a superb metaphor that the film uses really well, showing the emotional, spiritual and psychological battles of the protagonists.

“The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name” – Exodus 15:3

If you want to get a guy to talk about his relationship with his Dad, I’d say that this is a good movie to make him watch. I read in The Southern Cross that, at a screening in Santa Barbara, in the Q&A after the film, a woman told the director that she hadn’t spoken to her brother for over twenty years, but after watching the movie she was inspired to get back in touch. Let’s hope that we hear many more stories like that in the coming months…

“Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged” – Colossians 3:21