The Iron Claw

To think I originally dismissed this movie completely and now, after finally having seeing it, it has become one of the best movies I've seen in some time. The surprises are constant, first I had never heard of of the Von Erich, I didn't know the director and I knew Zac Efron. All details that under normal circumstances would have kept me away but. Oh my goodness! What a wonderful movie, beautifully written and directed and then Zac Efron! A performance of such beauty and of such truth that made me want to see the movie again, immediately. I didn't, but I will. It moved me and shattered me because I believed him. He's not alone, Jeremy Allen White is also superb and the last minutes of the movie found me with tears running down my face. Terrific.

Just brutal. Could you imagine your family's story being so depressing they had to tone it DOWN for an A24 movie? Just wow. RIP Chris Von Erich, hopefully your story will be told too someday.

There were a lot of pros to this movie. While Zac Efron and Jeremy White knocked it out of the park, it was a little difficult imagining them as 6'2 wrestlers. But hey I was willing to stretch my disbelief. The Tom Sawyer montage was kickass and I'd be lying if I didn't cry my eyes out at the end. Solid acting and definitely an interesting story.

Having said that, when you read the actual Von Erich story it's far more interesting than what the Iron Claw had to offer. It seemed like the studio wanted more of a basic three act drama than the insanely tragic lives the Von Erich's endured. So many lines in the script were so over the top I basically felt like I was being spoon fed by the director. Almost nothing was subtle that it some scenes felt reminiscent of Walk Hard. Some sections of the movie dragged and it seemed like the director just wanted to get from point A to B without really engaging the audience.

Overall a decent flick, well acted and certainly had some good scenes. If only there were a stronger script and better director maybe a less Hollywood Von Erich story could have been told.

I've watched this movie several times now. It blows my mind that this did not get more attention when it was released! I never paid any mind to Zac Efron except for being a pretty face or in comedies but he truly showed his acting capabilities in this movie! His emotions as Kevin really broke my heart! He truly conveyed how it's like to lose a sibling in their 20s (like I have). He was phenomenal in showing how it affects life when it comes to a spouse, work, etc.

It angers me to this day that this movie was overlooked in terms of awards. This is a very well done movie and all the actors did an amazing job!

I cannot begin to describe how accurate Zac's portrayal of Kevin is. I knew the brothers in the early 80's. This is a heart wrenching account that delivers every high and low of their lives.

The performances are nuanced, with an unexpected depth. This is not a feel good movie. The ending is actually the beginning and that is beautiful. Lily James is stupendous and mesmerizing as Pam, and I simply cannot express my awe of Zac's performance. He deserves an Oscar.

Just know that this story is as close to a documentary as it can possibly be. It was beautiful seeing the actual footage from various match ups. Thank you for making this.

I went into this film not knowing anything about the Von Erich family. I thought this would be a typical sports movie centered around wrestling. Fortunately, this film was more than that. It touched on many topics like brotherhood, father son dynamics and grief. This film was way more tragic than anything I could have thought of and what makes it crazy is that it's all true.

The acting was very good in this film and all the relationships were believable except for how quickly Kevin and Pam got together.

All of the actors playing the brothers had great chemistry. The motives and decisions of all the characters were well executed. The wrestling scenes were well done even though this film was less about wrestling and more about the family.

While I enjoyed this film, I did feel that it could have been longer. Some of the events felt rushed and crammed together. More major wrestling events should have been added to show some of the wrestling politics. The wives in the film played very minimal roles in the film and it was hard to believe that they weren't more involved in real life.

With that said this was still a gripping and memorable film that deserves to be watched.