Queen of the Ring

I took more from Avildsen’s commitment to his subject than I would from watching 10 big-budget celebrity biopics combined.

“Queen of the Ring” is more of a montage of the highlights of Burke’s illustrious life, rather than an entertaining film.

An incredibly direct motion picture, and sometimes the limitations of its budget put a strain on the ambitious multi-decade narrative, but it’s a film — and a cast — that demands thunderous applause anyway.

One senses that Avildsen was desperate to pack an emotional punch, but he could have pulled a few instead.

"Queen of the Ring" doesn't measure up; it plays like a soap opera given the ESPN Classic treatment, fine for a career overview, but not quite ready for a title shot.

“Queen of the Ring” [too often] relies on standard elements and comes together like a build-a-biopic. [It] isn’t a film I’ll watch more than once, but it’s a story that resonates with me. The nostalgia lands, but the inspiration sticks.

Burke turns out to be an incredibly fascinating person… who deserves a much better movie made about her.

It’s far from perfect, but it does give off a certain glow.

This biopic of women’s wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke is nobody’s idea of a great movie, but it’s an entertaining cheese-fest with a lot of stagey charm.

A three-time women’s world champion Mildred Burke was the queen of the ring and enjoyed a career that was anything but standard. It’s a shame then, that her biopic, Queen of the Ring is such a straightforward affair.