The greatest comeback ever

Rating: 9/10 (14 February 2009)

This is the greatest comeback by any actor on the celluloid, ever. Mickey Rourke hasn't played the part of Randy...He is Randy the Ram. He has taken extreme physical training which saw him put on nearly 30 lb of muscle.Great feat for someone in his 50's.A few minutes into this movie and you forget that this is an actor playing a role. Mickey literally brings to life the once famous and now destitute broken down wrestler who is always struggling to reach to the top. It is Darren Afaranosky's skill that he shows us Randy with all his flaws and shortcomings. It is made clear that Randy is this today because of his own faults. Marisa Tomei does a commendable job as Cassidy even though this film is completely dominated by Rourke.Evan Rachel Wood is effective in her short but important role of Randy's daughter.The wrestling scenes are terrific. The fight which sends Randy to the hospital is brutally effective as it makes the user wince seeing the two fighters pummel each other with barb wire, staple pins, nails and steel chairs. One of the best scenes is when Randy tries in vain to reconcile with his daughter.Thats really heartbreaking.Same is the scene where former wrestlers have to sit on the counter to sell their memorabilia. The climax fight, that is the re match with Ayatollah is a fitting ending to the film which is a saga of a man trying to redeem himself and regain his former glory.The last shot simply blew me away.
The only performance which can compare to this will be Sean Penn's in Milk. It will be a close contest between the two but judging the situation, one feels that Mickey Rourke is this years winner for the best actor.