Peaceful Warrior

I've long been a fan of the book upon which this film is based -- Dan Millman's The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.

If you've read the book, you know its central lesson is learning how to live in the moment.

Filled with memorable aphorisms, the book is part novel, part autobiography, and part spiritual guidebook -- and I have to admit that I was nervous about how the book would translate to the big screen.

But I was lucky enough to catch an advance screening of the film. And for fans of the book like me -- and people who've never read it -- this film delivers.

Nick Nolte's performance as Socrates is one of the best he's ever given. Scott Mechlowicz does a great job showing us the transformation of Dan Millman. And the feeling one has when one walks out of the theater-- of wanting to seize every moment that life offers you-- is a feeling that we don't get often enough. That feeling is worth the price of admission alone.

Peaceful Warrior is that rare film that manages to be hugely inspirational without being cheesy. It's well worth seeing.

I read this book when I was 19 and it actually changed my life. (I even became a Vegetarian. LONG before it became popular in the Midwest.) This movie was just OK. I'm glad I did not have to pay to see it. I took my Wife with me to see it and she, having not read the book, was confused as to how this story could have had such a profound effect on me. The movie is like a rather poor cliff-notes version of the book. The acting is a bit wooden and you never get to know the main character enough to care much about him. There are some significant changes to the plot from the book to the movie. These are major changes that reduce the importance and context of the lessons and reduce this to a "Karate-Kid" (as some other reviewers noticed) without a good script or decent action sequences and only so-so acting. Frankly, Sting would have been a better choice for the casting of Socrates.

My advice would be to read the book and skip the movie unless you "REALLY" like one of the actors in it and will see anything they make just because.

The film can be corny/stereotypical and simplistic at times, but it's highly relatable if you are a young man at the cusp of becoming an adult, and realising your are lost and in despair about your life. Especially if you come from the typical boisterous & proud type A personality that thought everything was possible in your 20s, and then start realising that your life has broken down. In other words, real life hits the arrogant and prideful jock and star.

It's a highly relatable film but also difficult to watch if you are experiencing these troubles. Life is no joke and has some brutal truths.

I saw this movie at a screening,(ironically at UCLA) and I really liked it. The only part I didn't like about it was the odd editing they did to make UCLA look like Cal. Of course, I'm a Bruin, so maybe I could tell the differences more.

The movie itself was sad, but at the same time, inspiring. One of the best parts of this movie is the student-teacher relationship between Dan and Socrates, his mentor. This movie hits home because it almost portrays the classic American Dream and the many people who chase it. Dan Milliman, the main character, is living the good life: he's one of the best athletes on the team, popular with the girls, still gets excellent grades. In all, his life is perfect. Yet, in a strange way, he's not entirely satisfied with his life, and you can see that the way he is living isn't good for his well-being. When he meets his mentor, he goes through an entire mental cleansing that is portrayed with humor and poignancy.

In the end, the point of this movie is not whether he reaches his goal or not, but the process of going there, and thats what makes this movie worthwhile.

As a huge fan of this book, I applaud Nic, Scott and the production team involved in getting this movie off the ground. This story must not have been easy to get made. But this is the most important movie of today, for today. I did find the musical cues to be overly used and not as dramatic as they could've been, but aside from this I was at the edge of my seat, waiting for NIc to add some wisdom to my life, so that I can go out there and be a better person. Nic, as the character of Soc does just that. The movie delivers where it should, straight to your heart. In this day of the much necessary age of awareness I HIGHLY recommend anyone who wants to be better and even be the best they can be to go and watch this film, recommend this film, watch it again, buy it on DVD and support these types of projects in any way you can. Imagine if we can get the kids of today to truly understand the lessons presented in this movie - it could change the world and the medium of film reaches enough people to do just that.