by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s the biopic Queen of the Ring, by Ash Avildsen.
Synopsis
The biopic of Mildred Burke (Emily Bett Rickards), the first ever million dollar female athlete and champion pro-wrestler who pioneered the sport in a time when all girl wrestling was banned in most of America.
The Good
Joseph: Queen of the Ring is a feel-good drama that can be appreciated by both wrestling fans and non-fans alike. For a film that runs 2 hours and 14 minutes long with credits, it sure starts off with a bang, as the first 7 minutes or so sets up the rest of the film extremely well. Rickards is terrific in her lead role, and Josh Lucas is solid as Billy Wolfe, Burke’s husband and promoter. The supporting players all give fine performances, with special mention going to all of the women who play grapplers (I don’t want to give away some surprises regarding those roles) and to legendary pro wrestling manager James E. Cornette, who gives an admirable performance as the National Wrestling Alliance commissioner.
Mike: I consider myself a pro-wrestling fan; however, I am not what you’d call a die-hard, or a “historian”. As such, I know about things, but not ABOUT them. Like, my knowledge of Mildred Burke was limited to something along the lines of “Oh yeah, she was a woman wrestler back in the 50s, right?” So Queen of the Ring was something that really caught my eye - a chance to learn a little wrestling history is always welcome - and when we got a screener, well we jumped on it.
As a fan of professional wrestling, I found the film quite entertaining, shedding light on a pioneer of the sport that I knew of by name only. The wrestling was good, if a little sporadic, and as someone who watches AEW wrestling it was neat to see a few of their female stars in supporting roles (I won’t mention any so they can remain a surprise for viewers).
Although nobody stood out from the rest, the entire cast did a fine job with their roles, with special shoutouts to the cast who had to learn the basics (and then some) to come across as believable in the ring.
The Bad
Joseph: The film at times plays fast and loose with history. Anyone who is already even a little familiar with Burke, Billy Wolfe, and some of Burke’s opponents (no movie spoilers here), or those who read about these wrestlers after watching Queen of the Ring, will find major differences between what has been reported as fact and what is shown on the screen. But hey, those differences can be seen in just about any biopic. The anachronistic music threw me off. Though not “bad,” it felt odd. For example, an instrumental passage from Kansas’s “Dust in the Wind” at a poignant moment had me thinking as much about the use of the song as what was happening in that scene. The use of wrestling slang seemed forced, as if to appease “smart fans” (professional wrestling fans who enjoy following the behind-the-scenes goings-on in the sport) more than to educate non-wrestling fans about the terms. The wrestling styles also cater to more modern tastes, but understandably the far slower-paced
Mike: The only real knock on the film was that it runs a little long and feels a little longer. The interesting thing is that it didn’t take the filmmakers long to set the scene and do some basic worldbuilding so I wonder what happened to their watches when it was time to make a couple of final edits. While it seems like every subplot was important to the overall narrative, I am sure fifteen minutes (give or take) could have been chopped to bring the runtime down to something a little more palpable.
The Verdict
Joseph: In turns dramatic, action-packed, heartwarming, and sometimes a bit corny, Queen of the Ring is overall a fun, entertaining watch. As I stated earlier, you don’t need to be a pro wrestling fan to thoroughly enjoy this spirited feature.
Mike: Despite running — and feeling — a little long, Queen of the Ring is an entertaining and informative biopic about barrier breaking womens athlete, Mildred Burke. With a great cast mixed with actors and actual wrestlers, the action comes across as legit and the story itself is engrossing. Highly recommended for fans of professional wrestling who might be looking for a little lesson in the history of the sport.
Queen of the Ring
Directed By: Ash Avildsen
Written By: Ash Avildsen, Jeff Leen
Starring: Walton Goggins, Josh Lucas, Deborah Ann Woll
Run Time:
Rating: NR
Release Date: October 25, 2024 (United States)
No trailer was available at the time of this review
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