Two estranged, street-fighting brothers David and Monty square off against each other in a mixed martial arts tournament. Two brothers, two fighters, and one ultimate fight.
The story of estranged sibling rivals cage-fighting in a mixed martial arts tournament dovetails with Bollywood's classic good brother-versus-bad brother trope.
As David's trainer tells him: "The world is cruel, master. It laughs at your pain." And it applauds your pain, too, especially the punishing physical kind. It's up to you to keep the tears flowing.
This story of a fractured family is high on manipulative cinematic tools but fails to make an emotional connection. What stays with you are the no-holds-barred action sequences and the hummable theme tune.
Bollywood. . .culturally adapted remake of "Warrior". . . to the alleys, waterfront, melodrama, and music of Mumbai. . . is surprisingly moving fraternal bonding.
Almost all the second-half drama feels sketchily conceived; that canvas of narrative and thematic groundwork O'Connor set down before his brothers in arms went head-to-head simply hasn't travelled.
Viewers willing to embrace its skillful and emotionally real depiction of a man making impossible choices -- and especially fans of Akshay Kumar ready to see him excel in a physically and emotionally challenging role -- will be well rewarded.
