From the first scene of the movie, the pace is set, the meaning of the name behind the film is introduced, and we get a peek into Fritz Von Erich’s iconic wrestling move that he later passes down to his sons. “Iron Claw”, a wrestling move invented by Fritz, is treated like a family heirloom and eventually leads their family to change the wrestling world forever. 

Narrated by the film’s main protagonist, Kevin Von Erich (Zach Efron), the oldest brother of the family is searching for clarity and meaning through wrestling. Kevin, along with his other three brothers Kerry (Jeremey Allen White),, Mike (Stanly Simons) and David (Harris Dickinson) bond in and out of the ring with their father and go lengths to please him. 

Through the magic of the production design, the audience is able to come to their own conclusions on how the boys might have been raised. Multiple gun cases, family photos on every wall as if it were wallpaper, a small intimate kitchen, and many, many trophies. Fritz, along with his wife, seemed to have raised the boys in a very masculine way. As the film moves forward, the themes of masculinity and pride stay consistent. 

David joins his older brother Kevin in the ring under Fritz’s direction to further both of their careers. Their success skyrockets and they soon become an unstoppable duo that attracts people to their events more than ever. Eventually Kerry, David’s younger brother, moves back home and the duo becomes a trio. 

With their raging success, Mike (Stanely Simons) the youngest brother, has local success as well, just in music. Mike Von Erick, unlike his brothers, chooses to stray away from the slams of the ring and creates music with friends instead. 

The movie switches vastly from the Von Erichs’ fortune and fame to tragedy and heartbreak. 

Vanity Fair writes, “…the movie behaves like a film not about entertainers, but about soldiers, harrowed by war…maybe for the Von Erichs, life did feel akin to war; a profoundly unsettled psychology clearly plagued nearly all of them.”

Sean Dirkin, the director and writer of the film displays the brothers and their unbreakable bond, swiftly immersing the audience in their brotherhood. The ultimate tragic story that Dirkin puts on the silver screen, casted perfectly with dedicated actors, creates one of the best biopics of all time. 

Zac Efron gives a performance of a lifetime and sets himself up for being known as a serious and committed actor, despite his popular reputation as Troy Bolten. Not only did Efron spend countless hours reaching the body structure as a professional wrestler, but also researched relentlessly and perfected the role. 

It’s no doubt that any of these actors put less than 100% into this biopic. Since the movie calls for such specificity with everything from costumes to muscles, there was a lot of space for this to be an easy botch. Dirkin pulled off the film by casting talented actors who took us back in time to the world of wrestling in the 80s. 

“The Iron Claw” was one of the most captivating movies of the year and exposed how dangerous too much pride and masculinity can be. Fritz was also far from shy to keep his children in the grip of the iron claw, never giving the boys a chance to come up for air. 

Though it is a movie about winning, it displays defeat especially well. The ill-fated family’s line of events is so tragic it is almost unbelievable. ‘The Iron Claw’ wasn’t afraid to play into the big emotions of the movie, dragging the audience through and grieving along with the brothers. The Von Erich family was and still remains “ wrestling royalty,” changing the world of wrestling forever.