Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Dec 28, 2023 17:22:34 GMT -5
I woke up from my lasagna coma the day after Christmas and went to the theater to see the matinee viewing of "The Iron Claw."
Being born in 1987, I was not around to watch the heyday of WCCW or the Von Erichs. Most of my early knowledge of the family comes from Kerry's WWF stint and some stuff on the old 24/7 network. It wasn't until the Triumph & Tragedy of World Class documentary was released in 2007 that I really understood the magnitude of their popularity in Texas during the 80s and just how tragic of a story it really was. After that, the floodgates opened and I watched other documentaries as well as shoot interviews to the point where once I saw the trailer for this movie, I knew that I wanted to see it immediately
*There may be some spoilers so this is that warning*
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It hit on the same emotional level as "The Wrestler," but since it is based on real-life events and a real family it had a deeper impact.
People seem to be upset that Chris was omitted and while I agree that he deserved to have some kind of acknowledgement, I can see where the director felt like it was too much heaviness for a 2+ hour film. His story has a similar parallel to Mike's in which both felt like they could not live up the the Von Erich standard so it would be kind of redundant to retell the same angle. The pace may have felt a little rushed, but again this was never going to be a 3+ hour blockbuster and when there is so much tragedy to tell it doesn't leave you with a ton of time to catch your breath.
Zac Efron was excellent in his role as Kevin. I tried not to get caught up in the physical discrepancies of the casting. Sure, he was built more like Kerry, but this isn't a wrestling movie it's a movie about family with wrestling as the backdrop. I think a lot of diehard fans are getting too caught up in that kind of stuff which I can understand to a point. This wasn't a documentary though it was a Hollywood dramatization so I did what I've always done as a lifelong fan and suspended my disbelief. One of my favorite characters in the entire movie was Mike. The actor who played him really gave a nice amount of depth to the character and I felt like his death was maybe the most impactful.
Would love to hear some other thoughts from anyone else who has seen it.
Being born in 1987, I was not around to watch the heyday of WCCW or the Von Erichs. Most of my early knowledge of the family comes from Kerry's WWF stint and some stuff on the old 24/7 network. It wasn't until the Triumph & Tragedy of World Class documentary was released in 2007 that I really understood the magnitude of their popularity in Texas during the 80s and just how tragic of a story it really was. After that, the floodgates opened and I watched other documentaries as well as shoot interviews to the point where once I saw the trailer for this movie, I knew that I wanted to see it immediately
*There may be some spoilers so this is that warning*
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It hit on the same emotional level as "The Wrestler," but since it is based on real-life events and a real family it had a deeper impact.
People seem to be upset that Chris was omitted and while I agree that he deserved to have some kind of acknowledgement, I can see where the director felt like it was too much heaviness for a 2+ hour film. His story has a similar parallel to Mike's in which both felt like they could not live up the the Von Erich standard so it would be kind of redundant to retell the same angle. The pace may have felt a little rushed, but again this was never going to be a 3+ hour blockbuster and when there is so much tragedy to tell it doesn't leave you with a ton of time to catch your breath.
Zac Efron was excellent in his role as Kevin. I tried not to get caught up in the physical discrepancies of the casting. Sure, he was built more like Kerry, but this isn't a wrestling movie it's a movie about family with wrestling as the backdrop. I think a lot of diehard fans are getting too caught up in that kind of stuff which I can understand to a point. This wasn't a documentary though it was a Hollywood dramatization so I did what I've always done as a lifelong fan and suspended my disbelief. One of my favorite characters in the entire movie was Mike. The actor who played him really gave a nice amount of depth to the character and I felt like his death was maybe the most impactful.
Would love to hear some other thoughts from anyone else who has seen it.
