| 100 |
Christian Science Monitor
Stay far, far away unless you can handle the copious amounts of blood--and agonizing psychological problems-- that its participants face on what seems like a daily basis.
|
| 90 |
Variety
A gently and genuinely observed film whose subject is a garish, artificial display of mayhem.
|
| 88 |
Baltimore Sun
Milton Kent
What the film does, brilliantly, is provoke the intelligent fan to wonder if there's a limit to how far the proceedings can go.
|
| 85 |
TNT RoughCut
Chad Damiani
Professional wrestling might not be real, folks -- but, after watching this poignant and simple documentary, you might start questioning where the make-believe begins.
|
| 83 |
Portland Oregonian
Frighteningly, grippingly real.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
All the macho men who let down their guard for Blaustein can be proud of the loving deconstruction of violence-as-entertainment that resulted.
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
You don't have to love WWF scrapping to appreciate this movie.
|
| 78 |
Austin Chronicle
A center ring extravaganza of smackdown movie entertainment
|
| 75 |
Miami Herald
Suggests that professional wrestling is more than a multibillion-dollar industry: It's also a way of life.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
Doesn't shy from the ugly side, though it's far from the no-holds-barred exposé being touted in the ads.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
Wrestling gets in America's face and Blaustein gets in wrestling's face. It's a fascinating tango.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Isn't a slick documentary; some of it feels like Blaustein's home movie about being a wrestling fan. But it has a hypnotic quality.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
The match winners and losers may be preordained, but these modern-day gladiators bleed plenty of real blood.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
A skillful exposition of the pain of pro wrestling, and the high price participants pay in terms of physical and ego injuries.
|
| 70 |
Film.com
Takes an easy target and turns it into something naggingly weird.
|
| 70 |
TV Guide
A behind-the-scenes documentary that manages to be unabashedly sympathetic without being a puff piece.
|
| 70 |
Los Angeles Times
Connects the antics of professional wrestlers with their lives out of the ring with such compassion, humor and perception that the result is utterly captivating.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
Wants to blend thrills and pathos, getting at the many sides of what is, as Mr. Blaustein describes it, a carny act.
|
| 70 |
LA Weekly
David Davis
Blaustein's journey seems not to have shaken his convictions; he still embraces pro wrestling, warts and all.
|
| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly
Often has the rambling feeling of a home movie Blaustein made for his buddies.
|
| 63 |
New York Daily News
Doesn't flinch from the serious stuff.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Tribune
Surprisingly lacking in revelatory moments.
|
| 38 |
San Francisco Examiner
Edvins Beitiks
Trouble is, it's too close-up.
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