The Iron Claw
The Iron Claw
The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
Finally had a chance to sneak out to the theaters and catch this one. December can be a little hard to make it to the cinema when the kids are out of school and holiday gatherings are happening.
This a such tragic story. Zac Efron gives a career best performance. Loved the entire cast though. Holt McCallany plays such a great hard ass. All of the Von Erich boys (Dickinson, White, Simons, Efron) have such great brotherly chemistry. Maura Tierney and Lily James were both excellent as well, but I wish they had gotten a little more screen time and development—particularly Tierney.
Sean Durkin’s direction is extremely assured, the wrestling segments are well captured and well choreographed. The re-creations of the wrestling broadcasts and interviews are nearly pitch perfect. It’s an really impressive looking film with a warm nostalgic feel as the story opens. But when the tragedies start to mount, the film rapidly descends into a soul crushing journey. Fortunately, soul crushing feels good in a place like this. Definitely one of the years best.