This has to rank as one of the best movies I've watched. Period. For anyone who HASN'T yet watched it, this is **not** a WWE movie laden with their (non) talent roster, posing as a movie; this is a very heartfelt drama centered around the fading dreams of a man who has become lost in the world of what he does to the point he's virtually no longer aware of who he is. Mickey Rourke proves that he's "not just another pretty face" (LOL) but the dude has some serious acting chops. Watching this made me regret that Rourke has seemingly been shuffled to back burners and almost-cameo roles instead of having films that could truly portray his ability on the big screen. He was absolutely amazing here. Shout-outs to the supporting cast for also pulling off their roles superbly as well, but if I'm being honest, this was a movie about one man, and Mickey Rourke played that part beautifully. I think the "supporting roles" could have been dead in the water and the film would **still** have been superb. Being a fan of the art of "professional wrestling" for some 50+ years, I've always been fascinated with the world BEHIND the scenes, but _The Wrestler_ takes that story even deeper than most of the "documentaries" or biopics that are floating around out there. What is even more telling is that I recently watched the _30 on 30_ documentary with legendary pro wrestler Ric Flair, and it became sadly obvious that the character "Ric Flair" had eclipsed/absorbed the real person of Richard Fliehr, which is essentially what is portrayed here in _The Wrestler_ . Again, if you've never watched this because you think it's "just a wrestling movie", you owe it to yourself to set your prejudices aside and give this a look. It's a drama about a wrestler, yes, but it's so much more than "just a wrestling movie". Absolutely one of the best movies I've ever watched.

NOTE: Due to the storyline and what it centers around, the language is very coarse and pervasive. This is not a family-friendly movie. I'm just sayin'…