The Iron Claw Review - A Tragic Tale Of The Von Erich Family's Curse

The Iron Claw Review: Sean Durkin's sports biographical drama, The Iron Claw, deserves attention from every cinema lover and wrestling lover. I was a child back then when Ric Flair was ruling the wrestling world, but I have heard a lot about him even without watching the stuff. The same way, what the Von Erich family has given to the wrestling world has been known to me, but today, I got to see those Heard stories come alive on the big screen. It was a pure nostalgic experience for me, a 90s kid, and it will be even better for the 70s and 80s kids. Durkin's flick ticks all the boxes of a perfect biographical in the sense of recreating events, characters, and their looks. The film becomes terribly slow in the last quarter, and that's perhaps the only flaw in the movie, but the rest of the show is tremendously engrossing.WCCW owner Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) is living with his sons, Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron), Kerry Von Erich (Jeremy Allen White), David Von Erich (Harris Dickinson), and Mike Von Erich (Stanley Simons). Kevin is a NCW heavyweight champion and is worried about his father forcing Mike away from his musical ambitions. David joins Kevin in the ring, followed by Kerry, who is pursued by his father to join wrestling after his Olympic chances are almost impossible. Kevin begins a relationship with Pam and mentions the "von Erich Curse." Fritz volunteers David over Kevin to fight current world champion Ric Flair. While Kevin and Pam get married, David falls ill but keeps it a secret from others ahead of the world tour. Just a week before the match, David dies in Japan, and Kevin reaffirms the curse. The plot then follows Mike coming into action and how the curse catches him too, and so on..Based on the Von Erich family and their contribution to the wrestling world, The Iron Claw grabs you into its claws very tightly. The four fingers keep you locked, while the fifth one (referring to the last quarter and the climax) allows you to go out and go away from it. Sean Durkin's writing is vivid, clear as crystal, and lustering. He walks you through the tragic life of the Erich family without making it look like a depressing or serious movie, except for the conclusion portion. Some ideas of changing scenes from one to another are cleverly written in the screenplay. It might just entice you to have a close look at the family you don't even know or find interesting. The brother's syndrome was mentioned intentionally to grab our attention, and the result is highly positive. Durkin didn't have anything left for the ending portion, I guess, and maybe that's why the film seemed boring and dragged towards the end. We have read/heard about the Vin Erich family already, so there wasn't much to excite us. The problem is that it makes that non-exciting chapter much more boring with a slow-paced narrative. A little attention in that zone would have packed a better punch, I believe.The Iron Claw deserves your separate attention for the actors, their looks, their attributes, and their body language. What a great casting unit it is. Not a single person looked indifferent. The similarity was so close and so attractive. Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, and Holt McCallany have lived like Erichs in front of the camera. I would have loved to see some close angles of them in the fighting ring, but sadly, the cameraman was busy with wide-angle experiments there. Rather, I got some unexpected close-ups during the emotional scenes, and they were really wow. Lily James has done well as Pam, whereas Maura Tierney does fine in the supporting role. Kevin Anton brought Harley Race alive on the screen, and a big thanks to Aaron Dean Eisenberg for bringing my childhood hero Ric Flair back on the screen with utter perfection. That scream, man... Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Ryan Nemeth, Brady Pierce, and others deserve equal praise even though their roles were only there for a few minutes.Mátyás Erdély shot some wide angles of the wrestling; I don't know why, but it should have been closer and more clear to give that exact feel of the 80s and 90s. The background score and sound design don't add much to the cinematic experience, but they don't disappoint either. The Iron Claw has a runtime of around 130 minutes, edited by Matthew Hannam, who makes your first 100 minutes worth it while the next 30 only drag you to look at your wristwatch to check when 'the end' is going to appear on the screen. It's the 'story' that restricts many things here, so can't blame just the editor or the director for it. Sean Durkin doesn't miss the tag of an "engrossing drama," despite its predictability. That's one of the strengths here, along with a fantastic production design, costumes, make-up, and passionate performances by all the actors. For those who haven't been aware of the Von Erich family, this would be a new introduction to the legends, while the ones who know them already can find their nostalgia unfiltered and untouched.