Currently playing in UK cinemas, following its release in the US back in December 2023, is the biographical sports drama, The Iron Claw. Written, directed, and co-produced by Sean Durkin, the movie stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, and Lily James, and tells the story of real-life professional wrestler, Kevin Von Erich and the Von Erich family.
In the movie, Efron plays the role of Kevin, a Texas Heavyweight Champion in the National Wrestling Association. Despite being an adult, Kevin lives at home with his mother and father, as well as his adult brothers, and he spends his days training for wrestling matches.
Having spent his life being looked after by his parents, Kevin is a little inexperienced to the world, and he’s also heavily influenced by his father, Fritz. Former professional wrestler, Fritz looms large in Kevin’s life, and he and his brothers are often working hard to achieve his approval.
As the movie progresses, The Iron Claw looks at the highs and lows of Kevin’s career, his close relationship with his brothers, and his romance with girlfriend-turned-wife, Pam. The movie also details multiple heart-breaking tragedies in the Von Erich family, and the way in which Kevin comes through it all.
No beating around the wrestling ring here, The Iron Claw is a superb movie. From start to finish it is a thoroughly engrossing film, which is packed with plenty of heart, lots of emotion, and some excellent performances.
Chief amongst these performances is the one delivered by Zac Efron as Kevin. For this film, Efron has bulked up and changed his physical appearance so much that he looks almost unrecognisable – like a cross between Lou Ferrigno and He-Man.
As Kevin, Efron is built like a brick shit-house, and he and his fellow actors, Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White, look mightily impressive on the canvas. The Iron Claw features multiple wrestling scenes, and not a single moment of the action is ever less than believable.
The verisimilitude in this movie is off the scale. From physical appearances and wrestling scenes, through to the relationship between the brothers, their mother Doris, and their father Fritz, everything seems so real, so tangible, and so carefully constructed.
While I’m highlighting the strengths of this film, I need to give a nod to Holt McCallany as Fritz. McCallany plays the role of the overbearing father with pinpoint precision and he doesn’t waste a moment.
What’s key about McCallany’s performance is the way he brings a subtle menace to the screen. There’s a darkness bubbling under the surface, which he always keeps in check, but it is there at all times.
Fritz is never shown to be violent towards his children, but he is a dangerous influence on everyone around him. McCallanay makes it clear you wouldn’t cross him, because you never quite know what would happen, and this makes for one stand-out performance in an already excellent movie.
The great thing about The Iron Claw is the way in which it gets its audience invested in the story, irrespective of an interest in wrestling. Even if you’ve never watched a single moment of wrestling, it really doesn’t matter.
My personal knowledge of wrestling largely lived and died during the days of Tugboat and Mr. Perfect, and hasn’t been revived since, but for 132 mins I was completely locked into this movie. It had me in the palm of its hand, through all the good times and bad, and even had me shedding a tear during the final 15 minutes thanks to a touching reunion.
I simply have nothing but praise for The Iron Claw. Nothing at all.
Thanks to excellent performances, smart direction, and an emotionally charged story, The Iron Claw hits the canvas hard and never lets up. It got me in a head lock, threw me against the ropes, and took me down with a triple suplex.
As the movie was released in 2023 in the US, it easily takes the title as one of the best films of last year. But because it is only now appearing in the UK in 2024, all I can says is… it easily takes the title as one of the best films of this year.
__
__
Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
It's A Stampede! 
Leave a comment