1. Tommy Conlon (Warrior)
Probably
the most underrated film in this list, Warrior deserved the acclaim it received, but
deserves so much more. With the lowest box office performance of the six films, many might wonder what I'm currently praising so I'll give a brief synopsis of the plot. Tommy Conlon is a U.S. Marine who visits his estranged father, a recovering alcoholic, all in order to train for a mixed martial arts tournament worth $5 million. Tommy's brother Brendan Conlon, is a high school physics teacher who is struggling to financially provide for his family. Brendan eventually decides to train for the tournament as well and hears from his father that Tommy has returned. As the two estranged brothers fight for the prize, the anger that has built up from years of resent and regret culminate in a timeless film. Sound cliché? Don't worry, it was, which makes it all the better. Doing something original takes innovation, but epically redoing something that has been done before, and doing it beautifully, takes
skill - something in this day and age that is as grossly underrated as this film
. The character of Tommy Conlon, who was known as Tommy Riordan, wasn't as dramatic as Bane or as slick as Eames, but man did he work. Tommy had the most to hide, but surprisingly, the least to lose. His motivation for taking part in the tournament is certainly heartwarming, but not as cheer-worthy as Brendan's. In a film that is all about inspiration, Brendan was clearly the hero, while Tommy was the anti-hero. However, that also meant that Tommy had more dimension to his character even if it was all surfaced with grit. His resent for his father and his brother was painfully clear, but his longing for a relationship with Brendan was even more so. The fateful encounter on the beach, the heart-wrenching scene in the casino and the one that followed in the suite, and of course the tearjerker final fight were the true definition of skill, writing, and talent. Let's bring up the checklist for Tommy Conlon. Misunderstood? Horribly so. Slick? Yes, but not in the traditional way. Loner? Obvious. Softy? Like jumping into a bed of feathers. Once again Tom Hardy finds himself in the MSLS type, but can you blame him? He does them so well. But this time, he wasn't relying on an "off-ness" that was present before. He was actually quite on with the film, which once again, makes it all the more impressive. If you haven't watched Warrior, I highly recommend it. So there we have it. His 6 recent roles ranked from worst to best. To me, Tom Hardy's worst was by no means actually bad. Tuck was average at best with Tommy being a sight to behold. With Mad Max: Fury Road waiting in the wings for next year, I can only sit here and wonder if it'll be a MSLS Max. Either way, I'm ready to throw my money at watching Tom Hardy over and over again.