oh have i been waiting a long time for you, you beast of a film, please dont be a waste of my time.
Yes it is time for fighting with my family at last. I have waited for over 2 years for this film & was very worried we were never going to actually see it & it would be a straight to DVD kind of film. But here it is in the cinema in screen 1 of the odeon & 5:15 on a friday bring it on.
Trailers we had Detective Pikachu pika pika, Dumbo, Captain Marvel, What Men Want & there was one more no idea what it was. It was something cool tho. However there was a special Captain Marvel Trailer about not being on your phone or pager & we see how she gets her pager. Surely thats a spoiler thats what we’ve all been waiting for. Dont give it away for free MCU.
Cinema was half full & an odd mix of people. There were two older ladies who came & sat behind me who apparently as i was evs dropping on them, take it in turns to pick a film each friday & one of them had picked this as they like Stephen Merchants writing & directing on TV so thought theyd give this ago.
& then the film started… but first i need to admit something which may make my review for some of you completely useless.
I am a wrestling fan. I remember being about 8 watching the Rock beat Kurt Angle & Triple H at Summer Slam & thinking wow thats cool. & then in recent years the phenomenal AJ Styles holding every major title around the world & then being world champion for a whole year. Its stunning what they do. We’ve all used a meme of Big E with popcorn or an RKO out of nowhere to stun people or have woooed with one of the flairs even if you dont get the reference. So i knew this story. I have watched it play out on the screen & seen the documentary & know about Paige’s life. So im really interested to see what non wrestling fans think of it.
right where was i oh yeah review time
It was stunning. It really really was. It did not miss a beat. It was heartwarming & sad & quite grim & bad spirited in places but it was honest & true & showed the good & bad sides of wrestling & egos & everything that comes with it.
Even though i knew the outcome i found myself sitting there wanting to get up & scream go on girl you can do it. Go go go. proof that it was done correctly.
Everyone is brilliant in this film. Fantastic acting. Pugh does a really good job as Paige she really does, properly shows her vulnerabilities & just goes for it. Accent could do with a little more work to get to the actual voice but it was good.
Lowden despite it not actually being his film does steel the show when he is on the screen. He goes through so much in it & has a real roller-coaster of a journey. He is going to win an oscar one day im sure of it. The man has come of age.
The Rock obviously has a cameo his production company put up the money to make this & his put down speech was just stunning. I really hope in the DVD extras we get the whole version of this that goes on for 10mins as apposed to the 2 min version the film gives us. Its effortless. But cameos by Cena, Big Show, Shamus, The Miz (awesome) & Pete Dunn who is rejected try out person is brilliant. Good on the for doing it. Made it feel more real.
There were some stunts that were done at some bits that as someone who watches this know that its all okay, but i heard other people in the cinema going oooohhhhh or ouch, which means the film made them believe it was painful.
Cinema loves to give us an under dog story it really does, but its not often we get one about a woman who defy the odds to achieve her goals. But its so refreshing to see this.
I was properly laughing at some bits, so clever with the writing & the delivery’s & it just was so fun.
I am stupidly bias but i loved this film. I really really do. It had everything. It made me well us it made me smile & it made me want to get involved. Its a golden buzzer contender for me & will be one of the films of the year for sure.
You know those two older ladies i mentioned earlier sitting behind me, well after the end credits when it goes on to tell you what happened after the film ends. & we have the documentary in the credits. Well they both sat there & went wow what a film, that was inspiring. One of them even say they were going to go home & google the womens wrestling revolution. I think thats two more converts to the business & my answer to if non wrestling fans will like this film or not.
Go & see it people whoever you are you will enjoy this film. Thanks you Stephen & Dwayne.