Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week, and the first reviews are quite positive. Starring Mickey Rourke, the film centers on a pro wrestler who risks his life by challenging his big rival for one final match. Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei co-star. Here's a summary of what the press is saying about it:

• "Rourke dispenses with all vanity to plumb the depths of this well-meaning but severely damaged man," writes Stephen Farber in The Hollywood Reporter.

• "Physically imposing at 57, with a face that bespeaks untold battering and alteration, Rourke is simply staggering as Ram," says Todd McCarthy in Variety.

• "Rather, it’s tender, finely detailed and moving - aided in no small part by Aronofsky’s feeling for the disorder of ordinary lives, and his elegant visual sense," writes Shane Danielsen over at Times Online.