It's striking to consider whether Beethoven could have foreseen his “Ode to Joy” being used as music for a brutal story about men violently fighting each other. After experiencing the war, "Tommy" (Tom Hardy) seeks out his father, "Paddy" (Nick Nolte), who is an alcoholic, hoping he’ll help him prepare for a major MMA competition. Their relationship isn't easy; it becomes clear that Tommy’s childhood was consistently affected by his father's unpredictable behavior when drunk. Paddy has been sober for over 1,000 days, so perhaps some kind of healing is possible. Meanwhile, Tommy's brother "Brendan" (Joel Edgerton) is having financial difficulties as a school teacher and is also contemplating reviving his own MMA career. He’s taken on odd jobs to make money, but “Tess” (Jennifer Morrison), who has children to care for, isn’t happy about the prospect of a husband with injuries. The family drama itself didn't resonate with me particularly well; the brothers seem to have as many problems with each other as they do with their father, and those kinds of troubled relationships aren’t exactly original territory. However, it does give Nolte an opportunity to deliver his finest performance since “Prince of Tides” in 1992. The fight scenes are filmed exceptionally well, and both Edgerton and Hardy fully commit to their characters, offering a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by fighters competing with a crowd demanding violence nearby. The soundtrack is impactful, and the ending feels intense, leaving you feeling like you’ve been in that cage yourself; it's much more than just a movie about fighting.

Source on TMDB