The Wrestler
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: December 17, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen 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. Read full review
100
VarietyTodd 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. Read full review
100
PremiereJenni 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. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is Rourke doing astonishing physical acting. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The Wrestler is a character study, no more and no less, yet it's open-ended enough to function as many things. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The movie has the simplicity and confidence of a Johnny Cash song. Read full review
100
EmpireDan 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. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianShawn 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. Read full review
90
The New YorkerAnthony 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. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
The Ram is sometimes--often, even--a manipulative, self-pitying man, but Rourke and Aronofsky paint his portrait with a rigorous dignity. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Like its hero, the movie has a blunt, exuberant honesty, pulling off even its false moves with conviction and flair. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames 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. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter 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. Read full review
88
New York PostKyle 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. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael 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. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
It's a haunting, scary, funny, sad portrayal from Rourke. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene 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). Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence 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. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel 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. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam 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. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Both Rourke and Tomei bring a tender, lived-in honesty to their sad roles. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe 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. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.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. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleJosh 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. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia 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. Read full review
75
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. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie 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. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen Farber
Bolstered by a career-best performance from Mickey Rourke and outstanding work by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMatthew 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. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Present in every scene, if not each shot, Rourke gives a tremendously physical performance that The Wrestler essentially exists to document. Read full review
70
Washington PostJohn 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. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter 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. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
This movie has an aura of forced tragedy, like a fourth-generation version of "Requiem for a Heavyweight." Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The movie isn't as world-shattering as those bouts: It's a regretful-old-warrior weeper. Read full review
50
TimeRichard 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. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth 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. Read full review
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