Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is an aging professional wrestler who's desperately trying to hang on to the fame and glory that once surrounded him. Bruised and battered both inside and outside the ring, Randy tries to piece together his life by attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and pursue a relationship with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), an exotic dancer who's facing her own challenges.

Filled with first-rate performances, The Wrestler reminded me a lot of Rocky in its depiction of a former champion who must deal with the harsh reality of aging. I've never been much of a wrestling fan, but the way these men fly around the ring and subject their bodies to brutal punishment shows they have ample athleticism. Rourke's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy, and I think he should have won for Best Actor, but there's something about the man that gives me the willies.

Director Darren Aronofsky wanted to create a self-described "proactive documentary" style of moviemaking and chose to shoot on Super 16 film. The heavy grain remains intact in the AVC encode, and the gritty look is well preserved. Low-light scenes are a bit flat and lack depth, but the daylight scenes look much better. Colors are intentionally muted to capture wintertime in New Jersey, with its overcast gray skies.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack isn't that impressive, but that has more to do with the prosaic sound design than with the audio encode. Dialog, the chief component of the track, is always intelligible and firmly rooted in the center speaker, but unfortunately, so are most of the other front-channel sound effects. The stereo spread is minimal, and the surround channels rarely come to life except during a wrestling match or when Randy ventures into the local strip club to pursue his relationship with Cassidy and the hip-hop and rock songs expand the dynamics.

The blas bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette called "Within the Ring," a "Wrestler Round Table" featuring wrestlers from the 1980s and their take on the film, and finally "The Wrestler" music video from Bruce Springsteen —all in standard definition. Finishing things off is a second disc that contains a digital copy of the film.

Even if you aren't a wresting fan, there are two reasons to see this film—Mickey Rourke's fabulous performance as "The Ram" and Marisa Tomei's scenes as a stripper. Okay, maybe the second point crosses the line, but damn, she looks good at 45! The presentation is unremarkable, but it's definitely worth a look. Recommended.

Release Date: April 21, 2009
Studio: Fox

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics