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The life of a professional athlete may seem glamorous, but many of those athletes struggle with the pressure to perform at their best, day after day. And the biopic The Iron Claw follows a family of wrestlers whose championship titles came with a price.
The Iron Claw tells the true story of the Von Erich brothers—four brothers from Texas who made a name for themselves in the wrestling ring. Pushed by their father, Fritz (Holt McCallany), who was never able to achieve his own dream of winning the heavyweight title, the brothers excelled. The championships and fame came with hardships, though—and the brothers were haunted by what people claimed was the family curse. But in the midst of the pressures and challenges, Kevin (Zac Efron) fought to take care of his brothers—and his own family, too.
While the Von Erichs may have achieved fame and championship belts, their story is a tragic one. You can’t help but feel sorry for these four sweet, subservient brothers. They’re constantly pitted against each other, forced to compete for their dad’s love and attention—as well as the next big-name fight—while their mother (Maura Tierney) sits by in silence, refusing to get involved. Fritz Von Erich is one of the most deplorable movie villains I’ve seen in quite some time—this ruthless competitor who expects his sons to achieve what he couldn’t. He announces at the breakfast table his current ranking of his sons, pushing them to battle each other until they just can’t take it anymore.
Really, it’s a miracle that Kevin is able to push through one tragedy after another. Zac Efron plays him as lovable and earnest, if somewhat dim—a sweet (and distractingly oversized) guy who tried to help his brothers but was ultimately saved by his love for his strong-willed wife (Lily James’s Pam) and their children.
For fans of 1980s wrestling, this film will bring back memories with its old-school style—complete with cheesy graphics and bad hairstyles. But this isn’t a campy wrestling comedy—and the brothers’ time in the ring is secondary to the family’s drama. It’s a brutal story about the pressure to succeed—and a family whose fame came at a tremendous cost.
The Iron Claw offers a look at a legendary wrestling family’s enormous sacrifice for success. It’s a moving drama with a solid cast—but its overall dreariness keeps it from being a truly memorable film.
You can follow the Von Erich brothers’ tragic story when The Iron Claw arrives in theaters on December 22, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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