Once in a while an actor comes along that just makes folk perk up and pay attention. Tom Hardy is one such actor. For many, his breakout role was starring in 2008's Bronson, playing the violent titular character. For the more canny it was his appearance a year earlier in the BBC drama Stuart: A Life Backwards that had ears truly pricked.

He's clearly done enough to have Hollywood knocking on his door, with his role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, and his forthcoming turn as the baddie Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

So with his stardom in the ascension, he's decided to take the lead in this dreary straight-to-DVD fighting fodder. What was he thinking?

War can do strange things to a soldier and Tom Conlon (Hardy) is no exception. He's mentally frazzled from his experiences in the army, so returns home in an unstable state. The only way he knows how to confront his demons is by fighting. This isn't just bar brawling though, as he has a speciality in the full contact combat sport of MMA – mixed martial arts.

In an attempt to get back to the level he reached before joining the army, he decides there's only one man who can help him; Paddy (Nick Nolte) is an old alcoholic who not only used to be his trainer, but also his father. His alcoholism tore their family apart, for which Tom has never forgiven him, but if he wants to get back on top of his game, he's come to the conclusion that he needs him back in his corner, if not his life.

Elsewhere physics teacher Brendon (Joel Edgerton) is struggling to make ends meet. With the bank threatening a foreclosure on his home, he is forced into looking at alternative ways of making a fast buck, so he turns to MMA.

It turns out that both men know how to look after themselves in the ring. So much so that they both qualify for a tournament in Atlantic City: the Super Bowl of MMA. With a rich prize pot, both men have a lot to fight for. That's not the only thing they have in common though, as they happen to share the same blood; yes Tom and Brendon are actually brothers. But if we've learnt anything from these kinds of showdowns, it's that there can be only one winner.

Sorry mate, but we all have to take a fall in our career at some time. I've got a sneaky feeling that this is mine.

It almost belies belief how disappointing it is to see Hardy in this film; his performance makes almost every role that Van Damme has done in his career Oscar-worthy in comparison. The film desperately wants to be a cross between The Fighter and Rocky, but ends up more like a dodgy MMA DVD you're likely to pick up from some scruffy type in a car boot sale.

Every single aspect of it is predictable. Within the first ten minutes you don't have to be a fortune teller to know the film's ending. And brothers fighting each other? Really? Was that their best shot at originality? At one point they even have an evil Russian fighter enter the ring that simply stinks of Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV.

Considering his obvious talent, it's difficult to comprehend what Hardy brought to this project other than being moody and broody. There is one brief scene where Nolte scores a TKO when he acts Hardy off of the screen, but it's all too fleeting.

Director Gavin O'Connor's career to date has been nothing short of unremarkable, and Warrior does nothing to change that fact. His film is one very long predictable cliché that thinks it's way tougher than it really is. In truth the first Rocky film could take this on with one gloved-hand tied behind its back and a puppet of Sooty in the other and still win. And all without resorting to kicking like a girl.

If Hardy's got any sense he'll quickly get the Tipp-ex out and erase this one from his otherwise impressive CV.