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The Iron Claw

THE IRON CLAW. The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.Named for the signature wrestling move created by Fritz Von Erich, The Iron Claw hits theaters December 22nd.

For a certain generation it is hard not to get nostalgic about this one. Growing up, the Von Erich’s were as much a part of weekend TV as Looney Tunes, He-Man, and heck, even Hee-Haw.


Their story is as tragic as it is iconic. It is no spoiler alert that these five brothers had their share of ups and downs. This movie follows the quick rise of Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and the lesser known Mike (Stanley Simons), in the ring led by their wrestling father, Fritz (Holt McCallany).

North Texas residents will remember them flying through the air at The Sportatorium in Dallas. But their fame was known world wide. One has to wonder where they would be in this new age of the WWE had they remained an unstoppable team. Power, determination, and a love for each other would have carried them far.

The performances in this film by Efron and White take this mediocre script straight off the top turn buckle. That means they are really good. Efron is hard to recognize as he transforms into Kevin. It is a motivation to do some pushups for sure. But it is not just Zac’s physical appearance, but also the passion he brings to the role. How Kevin survived the emotional and family tragedies is harder to comprehend than anything that happened inside the ring.

There are even other tragedies that are left out of this one. As this film obviously focuses on the wrestling brothers. Fans of wrestling will want more, well, wrestling. Though we get a fair dose it isn’t really about that. Even some of the dates and timelines are massaged to create this narrative. Those watching for the family drama will never notice the mild changes.

Sadly this film is too long for a script this thin. A quick google search will give you everything we see here. Granted it is emotional to see it played out on screen, but not to the level wanted or expected. THE IRON CLAW is rated R for language, suicide, some sexuality and drug use.

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