Kaleem Aftab The List Apr 13, 2019 3/5

There's no need to be a fan of American wrestling to enjoy Beyond the Mat. Blaustein concentrates on the idea of people living out dreams rather than the life of a wrestler, and in doing so succeeds in showing the brutal reality behind the pantomime.

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Oct 14, 2010 4/5

WWF documentary is OK for older teens.

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Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com Jan 3, 2010 3/4

Am engrossing watch, but it's far from the most fascinating and incisive look at its subject.

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Richard Luck Film4 Jul 31, 2008

Blaustein, Foley and Funk layeth the smack well and truly down.

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Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Mar 23, 2007

Documentaries are almost always more interesting if the filmmakers fess up about their relationship to the subject, as unabashed pro-wrestling fan Barry Blaustein does in this naively made, compelling homage to the sport.

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Robert Koehler Variety Mar 23, 2007

A gently and genuinely observed film whose subject is a garish, artificial display of mayhem.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid May 26, 2006 3/4

A very good film that both wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans will enjoy.

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Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Apr 9, 2005 B

Barry Blaustein takes a long, hard look at pro wrestling and, while not making me a newborn fan of the sport, he taught me the intensity and sacrifice of those who enter the ring.

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Jeanne Aufmuth Palo Alto Weekly May 14, 2003 4/4

A hilarious and heartbreaking documentary.

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Merle Bertrand Film Threat Dec 8, 2002 4/5

Surprisingly riveting.

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Fiona Morrow Sight & Sound Dec 3, 2002

Unfortunately Blaustein isn't an experienced enough film-maker to make much of such material.

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Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Aug 28, 2002 B-

...an easygoing, straightforward film without too many surprises

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James Sanford Kalamazoo Gazette Jun 21, 2002

turns out to be less interested in the cartoonish brutality of pro wrestling than it is with the lives of the people who make their living in the ring.

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Liam Lacey Globe and Mail Mar 19, 2002 3/4

Entertaining and twisted.

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Tom Block culturevulture.net Sep 18, 2001

Blaustein and his film have at least put a human face on those monstrous countenances that snarl out from our television sets on Saturday afternoons.

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Chuck Rudolph Matinee Magazine Mar 24, 2001 B-

The real meat of the movie comes in the many intimate moments that Blaustein's camera catches.

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Kim Williamson Boxoffice Magazine Jan 1, 2000

Beyond the Mat thoroughly evaluates the non-sport from a fan's point of view.

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Steven Rosen Denver Post Jan 1, 2000

Beyond the Mat transcends its subject, pro wrestling, to become a wrenching, sobering, emotional glimpse at the lives of some men trapped by the aging process.

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Chad Damiani TNT's Rough Cut Jan 1, 2000

For the first time in the history of our sport, a filmmaker has finally had the foresight to focus on the very contradictions that make professional wrestlers so damn interesting.

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