DENVER, August 19, 2011—The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) doesn't have a mainstream blockbuster film to call its own.
Yet.
The September 9, 2011 debut of "Warrior" promises to give MMA a publicity boost only a feature film can offer. If "Rocky" helped the sweet science in the 1970s, will a film focused on the brutal trappings of MMA have a similar effect today?
The new film, starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as brothers who compete in an MMA-style fighting tournament, is the most serious attempt to bring the violent sport to the masses.
The timing couldn't be better. Interest in boxing appears has been declining for years. Quick, can you name the current heavyweight champion of the world?
And the Ultimate Fighting Championship just inked a new, seven-year deal with Fox that will bring MMA bouts into the nation's living rooms four times a year. The first MMA fight card will be broadcast Nov. 12 from Anaheim.
Movie goers have already seen MMA-style storylines in "Bloodsport," "Red Belt," "Fighting," "Never Surrender" and "Kickboxer."
Actor Nick Nolte
"Warrior" promises something different and far more polished. Two of the aforementioned films starred Jean Claude Van-Damme, hardly anyone's idea of a great actor. "Warrior" showcases Hardy, the actor slated to battle Batman in next year's comic book epic "The Dark Knight Rises."
And Nick Nolte co-stars as Hardy's alcoholic pappy, a role custom-built for the craggy character actor.
The public at large may not know much about MMA. But if "Warrior" becomes a hit, it could yield a public relations coup for the sport and a TKO of future boxing film projects.
Christian Toto is a veteran journalist and film critic whose work appears in The Denver Post, Box Office Magazine and PajamasMedia.com. His movie reviews are heard on WTOP radio and "The Dennis Miller Show," and he blogs on film at What Would Toto Watch? Read more of Christian's work at Movies in Toto in the Communities at the Washington Times. You can also follow him on Twitter.
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