American Warrior
Streaming and In Select Theaters
Aug. 29, 2025
If America is the melting pot of underdogs and quiet champions it purports to be, Jai Kumar (Vishy Ayyar) is the poster boy: a man knocked down by the world and the choices he has made who pushes himself back up through hard training and mental grit. Throw in a sweet loyal woman (Taylor Treadwell), an overbearing and wealthy family, and some hard time done, and you have the makings of a classic romance redemption story.
The brief hour-and-half-long runtime of the film “American Warrior” is fitting for its concise storyline. We are introduced to our hero Jai via violent encounter at his local liquor store, after which he is unwillingly thrust into the limelight. His quiet existence upended, he chooses to forge a new path from the solitary and slovenly one he has been treading, and to instead pursue some level of personal and professional acclaim. To rise from his ashes and show them (his family, his ex, the world) what he’s really made of.
Set in an MMA gym, the film thrives in the visceral and close-shot fight scenes, effectively translating the intensity and pride the fighters, trainers, and loved ones must feel. Danny Trejo, more crevices and craggy and gravel-voiced than ever, takes an unremarkable but perfectly believable turn as the loving curmudgeon of an old coach, delivering exactly what you want him to: a fresh faced robot of a college student for out-of-shape 45-year-old Jai to spar with, as well as sage fighting advice: “You know it's gonna get dirty, so just keep your distance and wait for the right shot.”
The familial and romantic conversations often feel forced, necessary to move the story ahead or provide important background information. (Jai’s ultimate wrongdoing, that landed him in prison, is revealed bluntly at almost exactly the halfway mark.) It could have perhaps been better shown through flashbacks or more thoughtful interactions, but gave us what we needed to understand Jai’s plight. His love interest (for all the world looking and acting like a 25 year young Catherine Keener) remains bafflingly sweet and loyal and naive despite her own troubles, all wide eyes and gentle encouragement amid his unending grumpiness, but there is enough charm and underdog spirit to eke through even those less successful moments.
A tad melodramatic for my taste and far more of a romance than I anticipated, but a fun watch that will tug at some heartstrings—or at least make you root for the good guy to win—“American Warrior” joins the ranks of fight films with a heart of gold, with an Indian American twist.
