The Iron Claw on my emotions

"The Iron Claw" movie review

The latest sports biopic, “The Iron Claw,” hit theaters this past December and is touching the hearts of moviegoers everywhere. On the surface, this movie is about a family of wrestlers and their desire to rise to the top. However, digging below the surface, “The Iron Claw” is simply a story about courage, loss, and mainly, brotherhood. Inspired by the true events that occurred to the infamous Von Erich family, “The Iron Claw” provides an in-depth look at the family through the lens of the oldest brother, Kevin Von Erich played by Zac Efron.

As I mentioned, “The Iron Claw” is based on the tragic events that happened to the Von Erich family in the 1980’s. According to Wrestling Inc., it all started in 1959 when the oldest Von Erich brother, Jack passed away horribly at the young age of five after being electrocuted and drowning. From there on, the Von Erich family curse began. Flashforward to 1984, when David Von Erich was found dead in his hotel room, suffering from a ruptured intestines. David was on his way to wrestle at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when he sadly passed away. Soon after this, Mike Von Erich was in the ring when he suffered a brutal shoulder injury that would require surgical attention.

The Von Erich Family (Wikipedia)

During the surgery, Mike’s fever skyrocketed and he went into a coma. Mike eventually woke up, however, suffered from severe brain injuries that would end his career in the ring forever. Mike’s story does not stop there, being mentally damaged from the coma took a great effect on Mike, to the point where he would eventually end his own life. Kerry Von Erich was often viewed as the most successful brother. He had won the title for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, dethroning popular wrestler at the time, Ric Flair. Kerry was the first and only Von Erich ever to win this title. Shortly after this life-defining accomplishment, Kerry was rear-ended while riding his motorcycle. Kerry suffered a dislocated hip and lost his right foot. Therefore, ending his wrestling career for good. Kerry’s life began to spiral, and he took his life shortly after turning 33. The tragedies don’t end there, there is one last brother who died. Chris Von Erich wanted little to do with his family name. Chris Von Erich was the youngest and lacked the physical strength to become a wrestler. However, he did attempt to wrestle alongside his brother Kevin, however, it was soon made clear he wasn’t cut out for wrestling. The pressure and lack of skill in the wrestling world, caused Kevin to end his life. Out of the five brothers, only one is still alive today, Kevin Von Erich.

The infamous story of the Von Erich family is a tragedy that leaves the world wondering if the Von Erich family is cursed. Walking into the movie, I had no prior knowledge of who the Von Erich family was, or what had happened to them. I had merely known they were just a family of wrestlers. So going into the movie, I had yet to learn how their story went or the emotions I would endure.

Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White for "The Iron Claw" (A24)

Jeremey Allen White for "The Iron Claw" (A24)

I went to see this movie due to multiple TikToks coming up on my feed of people bawling their eyes out. I thought to myself, ‘How sad can a movie about a family of wrestlers be?’ I also am a fan of Jeremy Allen White for his roles in “Shameless” and “The Bear.” I also was curious to see Zac Efron in a dramatic role, as opposed to Troy Bolton in High School Musical.”

The watcher is introduced to the father character initially. Played by Holt McCallany, Fritz Von Erich is a world-renowned wrestler and the 1970’s. The film does not focus much on his storyline, other than establishing his significance in the wrestling world and later on, a hard hat of a father. It is established early on in the film the story will be told through the eyes of Kevin Von Erich, the only one who is currently alive. The movie portrays Kevin as a family man who cares and takes care of his brothers. He is also portrayed as a hard worker, striving for the Heavyweight Title.

Throughout the movie, you are introduced to all of the brothers except one: Chris. According to Variety Magazine, allegedly Chris was originally supposed to be included in the film, however, the director, Sean Durkin, cut Chris out of the movie due to overlapping storylines. The movie already displays a tremendous amount of grief, so cutting out his storyline didn’t affect my watching experience. While what happened to Chris Von Erich was a tragedy, the movie might have gotten too long and repetitive if he had been included.

I think the best thing about this movie is how well it is written. For me, this does not apply, but with someone very familiar with this story, I think they would be very pleased. The choices the director made: what to include, what not to include, and how to tell their stories, were all chosen correctly. I was never disengaged or bored with any storyline. While you might not get completely attached to every brother, you are certainly attached to Kevin Von Erich. While there are strong acting performances all around, Zac Efron shines through. Efron does a phenomenal job of portraying the role of Kevin Von Erich. His love for his brothers is unconditional and watching as his heart breaks as his brothers slowly die off is gut-wrenching. However, I don’t think this movie is perfect. As I mentioned, with the family having so many brothers, even with one cut out, it was a lot of death. Because the other brothers passed at such a young age, it was somewhat challenging getting attached to their characters, in comparison to Kevin. However, every storyline was engaging enough. Luckily, my critiques didn’t overburden my positives.

(Imb)

(IGN)

All in all, I think I definitely would recommend this movie to anyone who loves sports or just loves films in general. Although it is not for the faint of heart, I do think everyone should watch this movie to understand this family’s tragic and somewhat unbelievable story. Going in blind, I believe, was to my advantage because the story of the Von Erichs is almost unbelievable. For sports fans, the movie is loaded with wrestling action tied with a compelling story; and for film fans, “The Iron Claw” contains beautiful cinematography, powerful acting performances, and a strong message about brotherhood. Overall, I would give “The Iron Claw” 3.5/5 stars.

By: Harrison Mullin