Tommy Conlon is both a protagonist and antagonist of the 2011 film Warrior . Growing up as Tommy Riordan, he was intensely trained in wrestling by his father, Paddy. In high school, Tommy was a star wrestler, breaking records and winning several championship titles. In the film, Paddy refers to the young Tommy as a happy kid. However, due to Paddy&...
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Tommy Conlon is both a protagonist and antagonist of the 2011 film Warrior . Growing up as Tommy Riordan, he was intensely trained in wrestling by his father, Paddy. In high school, Tommy was a star wrestler, breaking records and winning several championship titles. In the film, Paddy refers to the young Tommy as a happy kid. However, due to Paddy's alcoholism and abusiveness, Tommy ran away with his mother, who was dying of cancer at the time. Tommy grew to despise his father, as well as his older brother, Brendan, who stayed behind with Paddy.Tommy's mother passed away while on the run, and being only a teenager, Tommy had nowhere to go, and opted to join the Marines. In the film's intro, Tommy is seen sitting on his father's doorstep, having not seen him for over fourteen years. Tommy is shown drinking throughout the opening scene, meanwhile his father Paddy has ironically become sober. Tommy again trains with his father, hoping to win the Sparta MMA tournament, which awards the victor five million dollars. It is later revealed that Tommy wants to give the money to the widow of his friend in the Marines, who was killed in friendly fire.Tommy fights his way through the tournament without any difficulty, eventually reaching the finals where he must fight his brother, Brendan, who needs the money to avoid bankruptcy and support his family. Tommy speaks quietly throughout the film, and clearly holds no forgiveness for either his father or brother. However, in a scene with Paddy, Tommy shows his true hate for his father while in a casino, causing his father to return to drinking. It is here that Tommy forgives his father, knowing that Paddy truly wants forgiveness.Throughout the movie, Tommy is shown to rely solely on anger and hate when he fights, and often knocks out his opponents in a matter of seconds, beating them brutally until he wins. In his final fight with Brendan, Tommy again goes into a blinding rage and dominates his brother for almost the entire fight, until Brendan manages to grab his arm and break his shoulder. Brendan then grabs Tommy and attempts to submit him, while telling him that he loves him and he is sorry. Tommy taps Brendan's shoulder, allowing him to win, and showing that he forgives his brother as well.
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