Warrior: Trailer for New MMA Movie Starring Tom Hardy Released

Mixed martial arts may have found its version of “Rocky” early yesterday as the trailer for the upcoming MMA movie “Warrior” was released.

The film stars actors Tom Hardy (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises”), Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton (“Animal Kingdom,” “Smokin’ Aces”). 

Click the link to see the trailer.

The story revolves around a returning war hero (Hardy) who comes home only to face personal and financial troubles. Requesting his father (Nolte), an alcoholic ex-boxer, to help him train, he starts to fight to stave off his debts.  

But when he and his brother (Edgerton) enter the same MMA tournament, they realize that they are destined to face each other in the cage.

Director Gavin O’Connor is no stranger to the sports film genre as he directed the critically acclaimed 2004 hit, “Miracle,” chronicling the gold medal story of the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team. 

O’Connor was also an executive producer for the 2002 MMA documentary, “The Smashing Machine” that followed the careers of such former greats as Mark Coleman, Bas Rutten and Mark Kerr.

Early reaction to the film has been mostly positive. Alex Billington of Firstshowing.net called an early version of the film “incredible.” He goes on to praise the three leading characters, calling their performances “impeccable” and that “Gavin O'Connor has delivered his best movie to date.”  

With a lot of hype surrounding the film, “Warrior” is set to be one of the most highly anticipated films going into the later part of 2011.

“Warrior” is set to be released on September 9.