I was quite excited to see The Wrestler after hearing all the rave reviews. While I really liked the movie, I was a little disappointed because it did not live up to my expectations.

Mickey Rourke does a wonderful job, as advertised but they don't give him a ton to do. He brings the character to life but just like Stallones "Rocky" his character Randy "The Ram" is a man of few words.

It has a few things that are hard to watch and you do sympathise with him and one of the other characters, but it has one of those endings that leaves you wanting a little more. I can't explain without giving anything away.

The movie is generally about a beat up old wrestler and a beat up old stripper trying to hang on past their respective primes. And the things they subject themselves to and how they really can't find happiness. I think there is also a subtext in the movie about perhaps the viewer, and that there are people who punish themselves or degrade themselves in such professions merely for our entertainment. But I am not sure if that was what was intended or if I took that out of it by accident. The movie certainly provokes some thought, and it is hard to say that about most movies these days.

Anywho, very good, but short of great in my opinion. Its got WAYYYYYYYY too much old heavy metal for a soundtrack, and Mickey has had some disasterous facelift that makes it really distracing to watch him. His face is pulled so tight his lips hardly move and it make him look like a ventrilloquist when he is delivering a line. But I digress..........