Wrestling legend Randy Savage has died, the victim of a car crash in Florida. According to TMZ:

Savage was driving his 2009 Jeep Wrangler when he veered across a concrete median … through oncoming traffic … and “collided head-on with a tree.”

Like most of us, I grew up watching WWF, and while I never had a favorite wrestler, I’d say Randy Savage came pretty damn close. His flamboyant, constantly animated stage presence reminded me of Yosemite Sam. Even with The Ultimate Warrior’s crazy ass coming up around the same time, I’d say The Macho Man was about five times crazier and that much more unpredictable. Even as a pitchman for Slim Jims, I never lost respect for him, or felt like he was selling out or selling himself short (granted, I finally tried a Slim Jim . . . and it was terrible!).

Seeing well-known wrestlers go before their time is nothing new, but it certainly never gets easier. The Macho Man will definitely be missed.

The life of a professional wrestler can often be a sad and lonely one, a career where countless dues are paid for a chance of stardom, and after the glitz is gone, can be a retirement of pain and loneliness. But for Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), it’s all he knows. At the height of his fame, he forged a rivalry with “Ayatollah” (an Iron Sheik nod), and there was a chance of a rematch some 20 years later, but like all athletes, eventually the body fails you and he has a heart attack in the locker room. The one thing he knows best, taken away from him. His free time is endless now, so he asks his part-time job to see if they can get him something with more hours; which brings him to behind the deli counter.

His solitude often brings him to a local strip joint, there he is a frequent customer of “Cassidy” (Marisa Tomei). She understands him, listens to him, pays attention to the details of his life, but is she really this understanding, or is is part of her performance. She has a personal code of not mixing work with pleasure. Now that he’s sidelined for good, Cassidy suggests Randy spend quality time with his estranged daughter, Stephanie (Ever Rachel Wood) who he walked out on when she was young. Even though he’s as big as a bear, his heart is made of glass – shattered, fragmented in so many pieces and with his second chance on life, he aims to make good on it and do his best to start a new life, a new career, and begin to repair what he had so often broken. But this is no Disney movie, this is the story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson and he’s far from being perfect and you know he’s going to fuck it all up-badly. As much as you want it to work out for him you know it won’t. So he risks his life and turns to the one thing that’s always been there: The Square Ring.

Director Darren Aronofsky comes back with a force with The Wrestler, a gritty look into one performer in one big circus and the pain that that life has brought him. Inspired by real professional wrestlers who scrounge small gyms and arenas for a few measly hundred bucks, punishing their bodies with no health insurance, no pension, and no guarantee they’re going to get out of bed the next morning. Sure there’s acting involved, but the physical ballet and gaudy spectacle of professional wrestling often hides the real men and women playing the roles as well as the physical and mental sacrifices they make.

Eerily chosen for the role was Rourke, whose own career had risen and fallen, much to his own management and yet, he delivers the comeback story of 2008-2009. You cannot take your eyes off him, okay, well except for when the equally accomplished Tomei is on the screen, who just seems to get easier on the eyes and more impressive of an actor with age. They both portray people who understand each other’s desire to have all eyes on them, that they are in the business of performing, and they are two people who know the songs by Ratt, Scorpion, and Cinderella aren’t songs exclusive to Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80′s. They’re just two people who can’t escape their profession enough to enjoy their real lives.

I walk away after seeing The Wrestler respecting the men and women who step in the ring, and knowing how fleeting the success of a entertainer can be whether it be an athlete, a singer, or and actor. But what grabbed me was the story of the underdog, to see a man with a big heart try his damnedest to fix his broken life and a man who is trying to win you over; who is fighting not to be forgotten.

Video: B
The picture is gritty and grainy but Aronofsky and company purposely shot it this way though so there’s no reason to be up in arms about it. Still it boasts a 1080p high definition transfer at 2.35:1 ratio and maintains Arnofsky’s vision of the film. The color palette reproduces well from the drab and dull world outside the ring to the garish spectacle inside the ring with neon outfits, and the harsh lighting. Those bright colors hold up throughout the high speed action of the wrestling. Skin tones look a little on the pink side but otherwise are fairly accurate and shadows appear right for correct depth perception. It isn’t reference material, nor was it meant to be.

Audio: A-
It’s a small film, yes, but there’s plenty of opportunity for The Wrestler to shine in a home theater. First of all the driving sounds of 80′s Rock whether it’s Quiet Riot or Guns N’ Roses, hard driving guitars and drums ring out all around you from the get-go in the English 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. It will pump you up, get the juices flowing, and during the matches, the crowd noise swirls around you, the chanting the shouting, pan around in a very fun way. Dynamic range is excellent as scenes switch from those scenes where the Ram is by himself in his trailer or shooting up drugs in the locker room where all you hear is the buzzing of the lights, to the raucous scenes in the arena. Clint Mansell’s subdued score (with guitars by Slash) is mixed to get that emotional tug at your heart but not pull attention to itself. A Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital track is also included and English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Spanish are available.

Extras: B-
Highlighted by a solid Making-Of special, and a hard-hitting round table discussion with WWF legends (which is a great idea), Arnofsky has been known to put a better effort with his home releases. This release is sorely missing a commentary track but other than those two joints, there’s not much to smoke on here.

Within The Ring SD (42:43) – In this behind-the-scenes special, Aronofsky along with some of the crew walk you through some of the important aspects, the locations, the composition of the score in a nice comprehensive making of although in some areas you’d like the piece to go a bit further. I do favor these types of featurettes instead of the five to ten vignettes that last 5-10 minutes each to mask the quality with quantity. In Aronofsky’s second film, Requiem for a Dream, a similar making-of was made and I think that familiarity is good here. Make sure to stay through the credits though to see the crew partake in some stunt diving out of the ring on the last day of principal shooting.

Wrestler Round Table SD (25:23) – Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Lex Luger, “Diamond” Dallas Page, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine are interviewed after seeing the film to get their reactions, how true the story was to their lives, dispelling misconceptions and the emotional and anguish life outside the ring. After watching the wrestler you think one of the first reactions is how much of this is inspired by true life. Surprisingly, a lot of it is.

The Wrestler Music Video-Written and performed by Bruce Springsteen SD (3:59)- Given that there were three songs (two in Slumdog Millionaire) I am shocked that this song was not nominated for an Oscar. One of the Boss’ finest original songs for a film in his long and storied career.

Trailers for Wolverine:Origins, Slumdog Millionaire, Notorius, and Bruce Springsteen’s new CD.

Overall Shock Value: B+
The Wrestler is a tug of war between the rush of entertaining and the slow, painful burn of the crash away from the stage. Rourke’s performance in Sin City showed he has a much larger stage presence if given the chance. And now that chance has come. No matter what Rourke does from here (he’s slated for 8 films in 2010, including Iron Man 2), I think people will always go to The Wrestler for not only a defining role, but for a glimpse inside the man himself. It’s his vulnerability as Randy Robinson, not The Ram that will leave the lasting impression and Rourke leaves it all on the mat. Because like “professional” wrestling, The Wrestler is not all acting.

Ernie Estrella

PopCultureShock recently headed over to THQ to checkup on the status of WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009. Not only did we thoroughly vet the PS3 and 360 versions of the title, but we also have all the improvements that Nintendo fans should expect as well.

Yuke’s has rolled out the Red Carpet Treatment for this year’s WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009. In addition to the expected graphical and presentational improvements, the hardcore fans are going to enjoy the additional features and modes.

Both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions share the same architecture, with the same changes and features.

The first thing that THQ did this year was listening to the fans’ opinions. Starting with one of the major fan gripes, a new ground based defensive position has been added to counter players who never let other players get up off the ground. By holding the L and R Triggers, when knocked down by an opponent, your WWE Superstar now will now go into a position that allows you to block or counter the opposing players’ strike or grapple. Anyone who played this title online last year was bound to be frustrated sooner or later by someone who wouldn’t let them off the ground, and repeatedly beat them to a pulp. With the advent of the new defensive position, however, strategy will be more important than ever in each match.

The next-gen versions also received some other interesting new features. The Highlight Reel allows you to save and upload your favorite moments from matches, and share them online with the community.

Inferno matches are battles in a ring surrounded by flames. WWE Superstars perform special moves to raise the temperature to 500 degrees. The match is won when one superstar sets the other on fire.

This year, the CPU controlled tag partner is smarter and more involved in each match. From blind tags, to distracting the ref, even pulling down the ropes to injure an opponent; the CPU controlled A.I has never been more dynamic.

In an attempt to make the character customizations even deeper, Yuke’s has come up with Create-A-Finsher. Sure to be a fan favorite, players can select from over 500 animations to create a custom finishing move.

Some of the biggest sports videogames out there have made pushes this year to be more accessible to beginners (i.e. Madden). WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009 is adding more on-screen prompts to help players learn when to block and counter, or attempt reversals.

The Wii version of the game has undergone an impressive transformation as well. It is the first Wii wrestling title built from the ground up, and it shows. The developers had a clear focus on improving the gameplay; interactivity in-and-out of the ring, as well as full featured gameplay modes

Fans of the series rejoice; the Wii version supports an all-new career mode, as well as the “Road to WWE” mode. There is a comprehensive roster editor, to help keep the rosters up-to-date (changing factions, etc) with current WWE storylines.

In regards to gameplay, there is a considerable amount of “Wii-specific” content. Starting with your superstar’s entry into the ring, players are rewarded with the ability to gain momentum points by performing various controller movements. These moments appear at various points throughout the walk to the ring. By performing signature movements the crowd will react to the Superstar, and gradually fill up the momentum meter. This momentum can be used during the match to unleash special moves on your opponent, or stored and used later for a devastating finishing move. This feature is uniquely tied to the Wii version only, and is a shining example of a third party developer creatively supporting the Wiimote and Nunchuk.

In the ring, Wii users will find that the control scheme has been redesigned to encourage a quicker style of wrestling. Not to be confused with being arcadey, this control scheme largely revolves around the use of the A button for various moves. A blue health meter and red momentum bar are also new this year, and having balanced matches between the characters has never been more evident.

The overall game speed has been improved. On top of that, smoother and more varied animations have been added as well giving the game a more organic and natural feel.

Wii gamers now have the ability to block or counter grapples. The analog stick easily allows you to change the opponent focus. The ability to interact with the ref post-match should add plenty of fun moments. And lastly, the Wii will not be left out of online multiplayer matches.

So far, this title is shaping up to be one of the most comprehensive and immersive wrestling titles since WWF Wrestlemania 2000. Features such as the Highlight Reel will bring a community aspect to wrestling games that has been sorely missed previously. The massive improvements, coupled with fantastic presentation and downloadable content will make anyone who loved the Aki produced WWE games of yesteryear proud.