The Wrestler

...“The Wrestler” is one the most discussed 2008 films directed and produced by the talented and pioneering director Darren Aronofosky. This movie tells us about the daily life of a middle-aged professional wrestler, his troubled relationship, his mid-life crisis and also about the dilemma he is facing for social acceptance. The central character played the legendary and versatile genius actor Mickey Rourke. His splendid and emotional performance in ...
...Requiem for a Dream and The wrestler. As a director, he did covered diverse subjects as the theme of his films proficiently. He is not typed in only one genre of movies. One of his movies tells us about the mentally disturbed math prodigy and his daily life crisis, another movie tells us about the aftermath of people having drugs and their delusional thoughts and his latest venture “The Wrestler” tells us about a lonely wrestler who is searching ...

Gladiator007 10.04.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

The Wrestler could have been a film that many would be weary of watching due to the title alone; when many think of wrestling, they think of overgrown men fumbling about a ring and falsely attacking one another with poor punches and kicks. The word ‘fake’ will often crop up too; wrestling can be viewed as ‘fake’ because the outcome of the bout is predetermined before the fighters have even gotten to the squared circle so already, by the connotations ...
...only to those who love the sport. However, because I am a wrestling fan I wanted to watch The Wrestle’; I’m not the type of enthusiast that believes the sport to be convincing, not by a long stretch, but I am interested in the lives of the wrestlers away from the glitz and glamour of companies such as the WWE. Over the past couple of years, wrestling fans will have been witness to the web of intrigue surrounding suspicious deaths of wrestlers and ...

MizzMolko 09.04.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

THE WRESTLER == Intro == The role of Randy 'the Ram' Robinson originally belonged to Nicholas Cage, but he quit the job because he didn't think he'd have enough time to get into the shape of a steroid-pumped wrestler. Well thank the Lord that Cage quit, because, without wanting to slate Cage's acting ability, he could have never commanded the role at the same standard Rourke did.up The film was a huge hit, and although it didn't win any Oscars it ...
...managed to watch this at the cinema a while back, and it was worth every bit of my entrance fee (although it's still ridiculously high). == Plot == Robin Ramzinski, or Randy 'the Ram' Robinson as he is known to his many fans, is a professional wrestler who was huge in the 1980s, but now is way past his prime and only wrestles for various independent wrestling promotions in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After one of these shows, a promoter proposes a rematch ...

midpikyrozziy 07.04.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

The Wrestler is the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler now 20 years past his best, his career having peaked with a huge match with "The Ayatollah" at Madison Square Garden. 20 years on, we meet Randy living in the back of his van, having been locked out of his trailer as he owes the rent, working part time in a supermarket, pumped full of steroids and wrestling in school halls in front of meagre crowds at the weekends - far ...
...although he seems to have the respect of his wrestling peers, they offer little in the way of true friendship or support. After one particularly gruelling match, Randy collapses, suffering a heart attack and the doctors are forced to perform a heart bypass, meaning that Randy's wrestling career is effectively over. Without his wrestling career to shape his identity, Randy is lost and alone. The film documents his attempts to reshape his life, working ...

bubblegum_princess 06.04.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...amazed. How naive is that? The names of Jackie Pallo, Mick McManus, Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Sonny Boy Zimba were very familiar in our household and I can still hear the sounds of the referee shouting...Wunaah, toowah, threeyah.... and so on. So it is no surprise to my family that I wanted to see this film. Before I start to review the movie let me tell you that this isn't a sports film as such even though you do see wrestling matches. More ...
...wait and see...... The movie portrays the story of a professional wrestler who reached the top of his career in the 80's. His name is Randy 'The Ram' Robinson. The wrestler he sold out to was no other than "The Ayatollah" in an epic match in Madison Square Garden. Twenty years down the line he is still hitting the ropes but this time to small crowds of about a hundred a time, at venues like High School gyms and VFW auditoriums. Randy and his comrades ...

Praski 23.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...come club. He was paying the bongo drums and smoking a cigarette that didn't look like normal ones (could have been menthol!). I said hi and shook his hand, complimenting him on Angel Heart and asked if he still had the stunning Lisa Bonnets number, which, in his drunken state and mock Lord of the Manor English accent, bizarrely produced (which I wasn't brave enough to ring!). He then continued banging the drums with a pleasant smile on his face ...
...until his head plopped on the said bongo and he fell asleep, but still smoking that cigarette. I think it's fair to say Mickey has lived the life. They say you get the face you deserve at 40, a face that was punched fairly heavily in the 90s as he turned his back on Hollywood and went on to be a professional fighter for a spell, and unbeaten in 8 fights no less. Well he is New York Irish American after all, one that wears an IRA tattoo and gave to ...

thedevilinme 25.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...it looked excellent from all the trailers on the TV. I will say now that we were not disappointed! Mickey Rourke plays the role of Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson who is an old wrestler. He is now making his living from working a day job behind the scenes in a supermarket and at weekends he goes around schools giving demonstrations and also doing little gatherings for fans with other old wrestlers. Randy gets asked to take part in a wrestling match which ...
...with his daughter or will the lure of one last fight pull him back into the ring and risk his life? Firstly I have to say that this film really did wrestle with my emotions as it was very powerful and moving which was the last thing I expected from a wrestling based film. The storyline was very good but it did in a way remind me of the film Rocky Balboa. I enjoyed how it was not just centred around the wrestling but was also about Randy’s personal ...

sewbizzie 08.07.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...focusing more on that than the movie plot. Mickey Rourke plays aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson as we follow him in his twilight years 20 years past his peak but still wrestling in High School gyms and small arenas. It's a bit of a weird movie, it gives good insight into how wrestling works behind the scenes (Mickey does actually blade in the 1st match you get to see him do it) and there are real wrestlers playing minor parts (I recognised ...
...Silkin] star Austin Aries at the 1st arena). Ram kind of reminds me of former ECW & TNA star Jerry Lynn (from his general look). ROH is mentioned in the film so they are occupying a space in the real world even if Ram isn't a real wrestler. Marisa Tomei plays Randy's stripper girlfriend (I dont really know her from anything apart from The Guru). The issue of drugs is dealt with very openly as Ram is seen both buying, selling and using them. After ...

atytyut2434 29.12.2008 (14.06.2009) · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...sure what to expect of the film The Wrestler. Sure, I had seen some clips of the film but that did not give me much of an insight. Yes I had seen muscled up Mickey Rourke with his long dyed blond hair but that was about it and, even he, was pretty lost on me, as I did not think that I had seen any of his earlier films. Fair enough he had been away from acting for some time, pursuing a boxing career, but it seemed as if the period of time when he ...
...reason I quite fancied watching The Wrestler and I have to say that I was not disappointed. Rourke plays the lead role as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an aging American Wrestling star who is way passed his prime. Life has taken its toll on Randy and circumstances see him still wrestling when he should be retiring from the fight game. His big name professional days are gone and he is fighting in the lesser fights. The film opens with some bizarre wrestling ...

grafter123 17.02.2009 (18.02.2009) · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...and I think this is the first time, since 9.5 weeks, where I have seen him in the lead role where a great deal of focus is on him. I admit: I was apprehensive. There was a lot of hype about the film, and I didn't really know what to expect. I understood there was something about a wrestler (yeah? no kidding!), and there was an estranged daughter, and apparently Rourke's performance was supposed to be awesome. Beyond that, I hadn't a clue. The start ...
...daily/weekly business of wrestling at the weekends and working in a supermarket warehouse during the week. However, none of this has any kind of glamour attached to it, and this seems to be the point, and as such is very revealing. The wrestling we often see on TV with the WWE, with huge arenas, is a far cry from Randy's life, where the 'arena' is little more than a gym, with no stands. The pay is as miserable as the first half an hour depicts his ...

pmcds 15.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...Robinson (Micky Rourke) was at the height of his career as a professional wrestler, he was worshipped everywhere he went but somewhere along the line he lost everything; his career, his money and his daughter. These days Randy now works in a supermarket which he detests, he visit’s the local strip club often to see his friend Cassidy, known to the outside world as Pam (Marisa Tomei) and he’s desperate to rekindle some form of relationship with estranged ...
...make a heartrending choice between the sport that he loves and has dedicated his life to and the people that mean the most to him… I’m always sceptical when it comes to watching Oscar nominated and Oscar winning films, to my mind they always seem to fit a certain criteria of being overly long, drawn out and ultimately very dull. There have of course been a few exceptions to this rule, the most prominent film for me that comes to mind is of course ...

Great_reviewer07 03.08.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

The Wrestler is an utterly compelling character study of fictional '80s wrestler Randy 'The Ram' Robinson. An underdog story centred upon one man's desire to please other people before himself. A portrait of raw human emotion that contains so much heart it'll make you think twice about calling wrestling fake ever again. Rocky for the wrestling world? It may also be. Indeed, there are elements of Stallone's self-destructive physical stamina in Mickey ...
...has difficulty developing relationships with the people around him. He lives alone, in his van, with very little money. The only sense of satisfaction he gets is entertaining the people through wrestling -and this comes at a price. The constant beatings mean that The Ram's health is under huge threat. He soon has a heart attack and collapses in the dressing room, and doctors warn him that if he enters the ring again he could seriously end up dying. ...

andycarrington 29.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...my most anticipated films of the year had a good premise, a great actor, a great producer, and a promising director. The film was Hancock and it turned out to be one of the greatest disappointments of the year. So bad it was that I thought no films could disappoint me more. Boy was I wrong. For another film would later be released that I thought was a sure-fire Oscar winner. Directed by someone who doesn't let you down, Darren Aronofsky, starring ...
...the always reliable Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, The Wrestler was a film I thought would be brilliant, a film that would garner Oscar attention and be the greatest sports biopic of the year. But it wasn't. This film is known as Mickey Rourke's comeback, and he deserves one. An excellent actor who has given strong performances for more than 2 decades, whether it be a detective in Angel Heart or a brute in Sin City, I have always been excited ...

hollerme 15.12.2008 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...Ram' Robinson was once at the peak of his wrestling career, sure-footed and lucky in life. Twenty years later, it is a very different situation. He struggles to win his matches, having to resort to tricks to come out on top. He has a part-time job that he hates, but needs to pay the bills. And he has no relationship with the daughter who was once the apple of his eye. Then he has a heart attack and is forced to retire from wrestling all together. ...
...moving performance that has just the right mixture of pathos and stoicism. From the moment he appears on the screen, I was gripped by his character - at times I was close to tears, but I always held out hope that things would work out for him. He is not pretty to look at, but then, he is supposed to be a weathered, battered wrestler at the end of his days. And from his physique, it is clear that Rourke put a great deal of effort into ensuring that ...

sunmeilan 11.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler

...wrestling, I knew it was the story of a wrestler who hit the big time in the 80's and 20 years later is trying to piece his life back together. I had heard mixed reviews of the film itself, some people love it and some people don't seem to like it all. One thing I was expecting however was an awesome performance from Mickey Rourke something that everyone seems to think he delivered. Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a wrestler who was at ...
...a eventually defeated by The Ayatollah, 20 years later 'The Ram' wrestles with a group of friends in small venues with crowds of around 100 people. Although he still has fans and is well respected by the group of wrestlers he fights with, when his promoter arranges a re-match between him and The Ayatollah he half believes it is a chance to make it back to the big time. However, before the re-match happens The Ram has a heart attack and is advised ...

oo2bea 01.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Wrestler