Wrestler, The

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The Wrestler is like "Rocky" made by the Scorsese of "Mean Streets." It's the rare movie fairy tale that's also a bravura work of art.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances. An elemental story simply and brilliantly told, Darren Aronofsky's fourth feature is a winner from every possible angle.

Premiere Jenni Miller

Rourke is getting tons of press and award nominations, but Marisa Tomei kicks ass too. Not only does the one-time Oscar winner look amazing and perform her own pole tricks, but she effectively humanizes what could be just another naked chick in a movie.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The Wrestler is a character study, no more and no less, yet it's open-ended enough to function as many things.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The movie has the simplicity and confidence of a Johnny Cash song.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is Rourke doing astonishing physical acting.

Empire Dan Jolin

An emotional smackdown. Rourke's never been better, and the change of pace and texture suits Aronofsky perfectly. "The Raging Bull" of wrestling movies? Oh, go on then.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a raw and honest film, and it keeps its feet firmly on the ground, even as The Ram flies through the air to deliver -- or receive -- another beating in the squared circle of life.

Slate Dana Stevens

The Ram is sometimes--often, even--a manipulative, self-pitying man, but Rourke and Aronofsky paint his portrait with a rigorous dignity.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Like its hero, the movie has a blunt, exuberant honesty, pulling off even its false moves with conviction and flair.

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

What Rourke offers us, in short, is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled portrait of a good man. Suddenly, there it is again--the charm, the anxious modesty, the never-distant hint of wrath, the teen-age smiles, and all the other virtues of a winner.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Aronofsky's directorial style is simple and spare. There are no flourishes or attempts to convince us that he is a master of his craft.

New York Post Kyle Smith

The Wrestler offers something to pretty much everyone in the audience. Much like "The Sopranos," it creates a world that might make you feel utterly at home or exhilarated by strange horrors. Maybe both.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The Wrestler presents a fascinating peek at the workings of the pro wrestling industry (the tenderness and humor the athletes share backstage is the complete opposite of the ferocity they display in the ring).

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The Wrestler works for the same reason "Rachel Getting Married" works. The way they're acted, shot, edited and scored, both films deploy a loose, rough-hewn documentary style to great dramatic advantage. The corn isn't hyped. The performances click without going for the jugular.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

It's a haunting, scary, funny, sad portrayal from Rourke.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

You watch The Wrestler (with a superb title song from Bruce Springsteen) in a state of pure exhilaration. A great actor in a great movie will do that to you.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The film's a little more accessible than "Requiem for a Dream" and a lot easier to understand than "The Fountain," but its low-key grunginess may restrict its appeal to people who have liked professional wrestling and/or Rourke.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's bleak, credulity straining and often stomach-turning, but it definitely works as a heart-tugging character study, and Rourke's performance as the has-been title character is golden.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

Mostly though, the movie feeds off Rourke, who plays a genuinely decent guy who never lets his dawning self-awareness interfere with his responsibility to give the fans a show.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Both Rourke and Tomei bring a tender, lived-in honesty to their sad roles.

The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Farber

Bolstered by a career-best performance from Mickey Rourke and outstanding work by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Director, Darren Aronofsky, and the writer, Robert D. Siegel, have turned the story of this washed-up faux gladiator into a film of authentic beauty and commanding consequence.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

He looks like a truck ran over him, but at 52 he's still ripped enough to get away with the role; in the end the movie is about Rourke's indomitability more than the character's.

Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt

As far as I'm concerned, you can keep your Sean Penns and your Brad Pitts and your Frank Langellas; if there's any justice in the world, this year's best actor Academy Award will be going home with Rourke.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The story has its clichéd and sentimental moments. It's no "Raging Bull," more like "Rocky" shot with a handheld camera. But Rourke's wounded tough guy is undeniably captivating.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The excesses are easy to forgive, both for the humour and charisma of Rourke's outsized performance and Aronofsky's canny low-key direction, which make for a combination that is irresistible.

Washington Post John Anderson

As good as Rourke is, and as willingly as he throws himself on the figurative hand grenade, his performance constantly begs the question of whether the story would be worth telling without him. Marisa Tomei, as Cassidy the pole dancer, delivers a courageous performance, one nearly as ego-battering as Rourke's.

Film Threat Matthew Sorrento

The Wrestler could have been a groundbreaking drama, one that upturns the sensational genre roots from which it stems. With Rourke in such form, it could have been character-driven to the core – if only Aronofsky trusted his character enough to resist screenwriter Siegel's contrived plot thrusts.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Present in every scene, if not each shot, Rourke gives a tremendously physical performance that The Wrestler essentially exists to document.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Whatever Aronofsky did -- or didn't -- do, Rourke's performance comes off beautifully. The Wrestler may not be the "best" Aronofsky movie in any technical sense. But the director clearly feels a great deal of tenderness toward his lead character.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

A heavy dose of corn syrup. Director Darren Aronofsky's herky-jerky, hand-held camera stylistics have a veneer of verity, but don't be fooled. This pastiche, written by Robert Siegel, is purest Hollywood.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

This movie has an aura of forced tragedy, like a fourth-generation version of "Requiem for a Heavyweight."

New York Magazine David Edelstein

The movie isn't as world-shattering as those bouts: It's a regretful-old-warrior weeper.

Time Richard Corliss

Rourke does strong, sensitive work here, which will cheer his old-time admirers and win him new fans...But the movie itself is pretty bad.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

The Wrestler doesn't add up. It's constructed with great care around a lead performance that is everything it could possibly be, but the picture itself is off-putting and disappointing.