THE IRON CLAW

Based on the true events of the Von Erich family, the story follows brothers Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Michael (Stanley Simons) following in the footsteps of their father Fritz (Holt McCallany) into the world of professional wrestling. The film follows the boys wrestling out of the Sportatorium in Dallas during the early-to-mid 1980's. Other famous wrestlers are briefly shown as well such as Harley Race, The Fabulous Freebirds, and of course "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Being a wrestling fan, I knew some of the backstory about the family but even those who aren't familiar with the story can still appreciate this as it's a very solid, respectful, and ultimately tragic tale for what happened to this family. Efron gives the best and strongest performance of his career and while I'd personally give him a vote for an Oscar nomination and the film as a whole as well as director Sean Durkin, I'm sure it'll be overlooked for most if not all nominations unfortunately. This isn't the type of film the Academy typically votes for, which is a shame because it's a great film. I'll also mention McCallany gives one of his best performances as well as the domineering father Fritz. I look forward to seeing this again and hopefully soon! 7.5/10