The Iron Claw

I'm going to review this in two different ways, largely because of the subject matter -- professional wrestling. Cards on the table, I've been a fan of wrestling for almost 40 years. I'm coming into this with far more knowledge of the subject matter than someone who isn't, which makes for a different viewing experience than someone with no appreciation for it or minimal knowledge (like my wife, who I consulted with for the non-fan portion). So, depending on where you fall on the fan-or-not spectrum is what review will be more relevant to you. The review will start with all caps, so you can easily identify it in a scroll. Before I get to that, I'll do a brief set-up of the movie. The Iron Claw is the biographical story of the Von Erich family, a group of four brothers who wrestled in WCCW (World Class Championship Wrestling) in Texas in the late 70's and throughout the 80's. Their father, Fritz, owns the promotion, and pushes his sons towards the NWA World Heavyweight Championship he never got to win. He's also abusive, dismissive, and intentionally plays favorites right in front of them. The family is beset by tragedy, though, almost seemingly cursed. Ready? Let's start with THE REVIEW FOR NON-WRESTLING VIEWER. Unlike some movies based on wrestling, The Iron Claw doesn't require a deep knowledge of the sport (yes, I said sport, if you don't like it, there's the door). There are some things the movie doesn't take time to explain -- the territory system of the NWA, for instance -- but by and large, not knowing the sport isn't a barrier to entry. There are definitely scenes of wrestling, but they are there more to underscore moments to the family; when Kevin, the oldest living brother, gets a shot at the NWA World Champion Harley Race, or when Kevin, Kerry, and David win the NWA World 6-Man Tag Team Championships. You don't have to sit through entire matches, and you don't need to know the difference between a tiger suplex and a dragon suplex. Everything you need to know about this movie is given to you, because it's about how these boys fight the business, fight their dad, fight each other, and fight fate. The acting is, no surprise, a highlight. It is an A24 film, after all, they aim for prestige. Zac Efron continues to bury High School Musical in a deep, deep grave here as Kevin Von Erich, the oldest living brother (there was an older brother who died as a young child). He is torn between his dedication to the business to please his father and earn his respect, and his desire to just be loved and be normal. I don't know that it deserved an Oscar win, but it sure as hell did an Oscar nomination. Holt McCallany is also fantastic as father Fritz, a rough, caustic old man who can't show any emotion weaker than abuse. He does love his boys, but it comes out as drill sergeant levels of cruelty and manipulation, pushing them into things they don't want to do, all to make him happy because he never fulfilled his life's biggest goal. Everybody else is good, but doesn't get as much to chew on, partially because of how the story unfolds (I'm trying to avoid spoilers). And while Lily James gets to shine at first in a way I've never seen her, and I love her to begin with, by the time she and Kevin get married, her role is essentially over. It's hard to have a cast this big and give everybody shine, especially when the tale requires a narrowing of the field, but it still hurts to see good actors fulfill roles rather than bring them to life. It's also not a feel-good movie. The ending does have a sort of triumphant "I'm making my own way, I've made my peace" moment to it, but it hardly balances out what has come before it. It's more of someone being forced to find peace or self-destruct rather than earning their stand-tall moment. Perhaps it's really how things went, I don't know. All I know is it feels a bit awkward after all that comes before. But at the same time, this movie needed a way to go out on a good note, because this movie has enough tragedy to make the devil cry. And it's all real! In fact, there's more tragedy that wasn't included, so it could've been worse! Wrestling is already a hard sport for non-fans to appreciate, and many of the movies -- Ready To Rumble, Nacho Libre -- want to either mock it and the fans of it, or use it as a platform for comedy. The Iron Claw, like The Wrestler, wants to show the human side. These are, after all, human beings in that ring. When us fans go to see the shows, we see them for 10-20 minutes at a time. We don't see the business side, the pressures of celebrity, the burden of family and legacy in the business, the competition within the industry ... the real side of wrestling. It does have a real side, believe it or not, and it can be ugly. The Iron Claw doesn't shy away from that, but it doesn't treat it like expendable grist for a tragedy bone mill either. It is respectful to the sport and the men who participate in it. It may not be an authentic competition like boxing or MMA, but to those men who step through the ropes, it matters just as much as those do. When they step through the ropes, they may seem like cartoon characters or comic book heroes, but The Iron Claw will remind you they're flesh and bone, people with feelings and hopes and fears and ambitions and burdens. It may not convince you, the non-fan, to turn on Monday Night Raw anytime soon, but it may give you a different perspective on what these men go through. And you may shed a tear in the process. Now we pivot to THE REVIEW FOR THE WRESTLING FAN. If you, like me, come into The Iron Claw looking for a 1:1 with reality, you better dial back your expectations. The Iron Claw does, for the most part, tell the story we all know, but it Hollywood's it up a good 30%. Depending on your tolerance level for Hollywood's tendency to run real stories through the ringer for maximum melodrama, it may frustrate you. For instance, here, Kerry Von Erich's motorcycle accident happens the night he wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It is a compression of real events that is unnecessary, and in fact, makes the drama feel forced. The circumstances surrounding Kerry's death are also massaged, as it never mentions his arrest or impending divorce; he goes from winning the Intercontinental Championship to being relegated to the house show loop to burn off his contract to suicide. You'll also notice the family feels light by one brother; Chris Von Erich just doesn't exist in The Iron Claw. Reportedly, they didn't feel they could include him without making the movie even longer, which, fine, he's not the biggest part of the story in real life, he was there, and he was part of the family tragedy. You also aren't going to get more than a passing glance at in-ring moments we all know about. The Von Erich/Freebird war is given maybe a minute and a half of screen time; Kevin's shot at Harley Race is a match that lasts maybe 2 minutes; Lance Von Erich is shown for a few seconds and out of focus with no mention of how poorly it was received, and Fritz's fake heart attack angle isn't even mentioned. In fact, there is no discussion of WCCW's decline in business; it simply goes from doing well to doing poorly, with no examination of how or why. As a movie, this is poor storytelling ... but I can also excuse it for a couple reasons: 1) for us wrestling fans, we know how and why. We don't need the movie to say it. And 2) if you really want to see the downfall of WCCW, or Fritz's heart attack or Lance or the Freebirds, get a Peacock subscription. The Iron Claw isn't about recapping angles or an expose on the promotion. It's about the family. And to that end, for us wrestling fans, it does a pretty damned good job. It is evident 100% of the time this was written and directed by someone who loves the sport like we do. And while he obviously reveres them, he also wants to give them the respect they deserve as human beings. To that end, the life story of the family is handled respectfully. It never feels exploitative or crass. Given that the story is told through the eyes of Kevin, sometimes the movie feels a little constricted; it would've been nice to dig deeper into how David's death impacted Kerry and Mike, for instance. And while I said before that this wasn't really the place to go all "Rise And Fall Of WCCW", there could've been some passing mention of showing how it affected the promotion, which in turn put pressure on Fritz, who passed that pressure onto his sons to save the territory, bringing it full circle to the emotional core. Still, what is there is done very, very well. Everything I said about the acting in the other section applies here; Efron shines as Kevin, the reluctant son trying to fulfill his father's wishes and win his love while doing the job his dad should be doing and protecting his brothers, and McCallany is the ruthless "win my love" bastard father we all know Fritz was. They are the center of the movie, and as such they get the most character development, which leaves the rest of the cast fulfilling roles and waiting for their moment of trauma. It treats the family with respect, but it also never examines the why of it all. But then again, maybe there is nothing to say but "toxic masculinity is toxic". Maybe it doesn't need a deeper examination; a jerk father torments his sons and makes them compete for his love, and they die trying. What wrestling there is was coordinated by Chavo Guerrero Jr., and looks absolutely excellent. It was filmed in single takes in front of a real audience, like a real wrestling match, and it shows in every move. I don't expect Efron or any of the others to join Logan Paul in making the transition to the ring, but they did damned good. They did the sport well. It certainly isn't glamorized, but if you want that, go watch Raw or Dynamite. FINAL THOUGHTS FOR BOTH Whether you're a fan or not, The Iron Claw is good. Flawed, but good. It is perhaps a little too focused on the tragedy, but it is still a well done, if dramatized, version of the real events. My wife, who isn't much of a wrestling fan but does appreciate what they do, said it was well done and believed her totally-not-a-fan dad would like it as well. And I, a lifelong fan, also enjoyed it. Everything except the guy who played Ric Flair. That failure was the loss of a half a star by itself.