It is just loud, special effects, and goes from one action scene to another - if there is a story it makes no sense. I had no sense of any of the characters or why they were in the movie except the most obvious ones. The last 20 minutes are better than the whole movie but it is not worth sitting through the rest of it to get there.
And I LOVED the original Terminator and especially T2 and other action movies, Matrix, Mad Max, even Star Trek.
This movie has the feel of an indy film & features good acting by the three leads. Marisa Tomei's body looks too good to be a has-been stripper, and Wood is too beautiful for her part. But Rourke IS "the Ram." He looks scary and inhabits this part completely. He deserves the credit that he's getting from reviews. I enjoyed the story and it had some nice moments between the characters, predictable and slow moving though it was at times. I did not enjoy the many many wrestling scenes and the way Rourke's character abused himself for his version of fame & glory. I couldn't even watch the fight scenes, which is why I wouldn't recommend this movie.