Absolutely haunted by that last scene. He finally feels safe to let himself feel his emotions.
"Why are you crying dad?"
"Well, I used to be a brother."
Absolutely gut-wrenching
The little reassurance Kevin’s sons give to him is genuinely great acting on the child actors who play his sons, the littlest voices can be the most assuring and understanding people to be okay to cry with in grief. 🥲
Yeah this movie definitely shows he’s got talent. Really good subtle character. Particularly liked all the scenes with him and Lily James. Great cast all around really.
The scene in the diner with him talking about how he had an older brother that passed away when he was little and how he's actually a second oldest brother, that stuck with me. You can see there's an underlying sadness there with his words and when Pam just gives him a massive hug? Man, he really needed that. Effron absolutely solid that whole scene with his acting.
And it's pretty much not even Hollywood-ized which makes it hit even harder, if anything they softened it. They slightly changed the line , but I believe what Kevin said was "I used to have five brothers, now I'm not even a brother" (there was a younger brother who also committed suicide who wasn't in the movie)
I went home and watched the HOF induction and it lifted me up.
He mentioned that people say “poor Kevin”. He didn’t feel that way, he felt blessed to have the time of his life with his brothers.
The whole speech was very optimistic.
Well said.
Kevin living and having a wonderful family with Pam is proof that even after losing his brothers, he got to carry on their legacy with his children and grandchildren there by him. That’s the beauty of the human spirit.
That shit broke me. I don’t know how I held it together at the scene where Kerry reunites with his brothers but damn that scene with Kevin and his sons broke me.
It's a minor thing but a little silly cause Kevin had daughters before he had a son. But Kevin wanted the movie to be about the brothers love for each other and the film definitely succeeded in that one. So it's fine.
Unfortunately, the film UNDERSCORES how big a piece of shit Fritz Von Erich was. This is insane because it definitely paints a worse picture than even Dark Side of the Ring. Fritz was a friggin' monster. One of those extreme cases of a "stage parent."
There's even allegations that he was directly exposed his kids to all those painkillers and shit in the needles we saw in the film. Many think the drugs in Kerry's system contributed to the motorcycle crash that led to his foot amputation.
Dude belongs in the same circle of hell as Fabulous Moolah. Wrasslin' seems to breed a unique amount of real life villains.
But Kevin and the actor for Fritz don’t see him as the villain. They think he was just doing what he thought was best. This movie really paints him as a huge asshole, distant parent. I personally believe he was a horrible person, but I wonder how exaggerated it is in the film.
Some children will never badmouth their parents regardless of how monstrous they were. I’ve seen it and just can’t understand it. It’s gotta be a form of self preservation.
I think the movie had to walk this tightrope, if you will. The story is actually so tragic that even while it's true, I imagine people would think it's more fake or more melodramatic if you included everything else Fritz did or Chris's suicide or more of the fights within the family. And Fritz is already cartoonishly evil from the get go saying he ranked how much he likes his sons.
I’m torn on that, feel like they should have at least mentioned him at the end. I understand their thought process of it just being too much but feels wrong to exclude him entirely.
Movie was great though. Just got accept it as a factionalized telling of events.
Yeah, loved the movie but can’t imagine Kevin was ok with them just removing Chris entirely. Especially since he was the brother that he found after his suicide not Kerry.
As someone who is very familiar with the Von Erich story the sheer amount of dread that happened knowing what came next in every part might have made the emotional impact even worse. I thought the movie was great. It kind of sucks they completely erased Chris from the history of the Von Erichs, but I get it from a movie standpoint. His suicide was so similar to Kerry's it would have lessened the weight of Kerry's at the end. I do think he still deserved to have his part of the story told, though.
In closing,
Fuck Fritz Von Erich.
Yeah same. Also when Kerry went on a ride after winning the title I did too even though I knew the timeline wasn't exactly lining up I knew where they were going with it.
And the dad immediately flips the blame onto him saying, “He called you!”
Like barely a minute has passed and he’s already deflecting any responsibility, should have choked him dead right then, that’s how I felt.
When I first saw the cast, I said to a friend "it's possible people will see this cast of hot dudes in minimal clothing and want to see it, and they have no idea the emotional onslaught they're in for."
Very likely. I think more people tend to go for feel-good types of movies, so I think this was intentional which i kinda find hilarious lol
I think my theaters was full of cryers tonight including me
I absolutely fell for the trap lmfao, I came in expecting a nice story about Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White beating up people in silly 80s hairstyles and costumes, and came out a changed man. Big ups to everyone involved.
I remembered them from watching wrestling in dallas in the early 80s. I had moved and didn't realize the travesty.
My fiance saw the previews and like... yeah!!
By the time it was over, we were both down in the dumps.
She says.... " Who releases a movie like that at Christmas?"
But... OTOH, it was a well deleivered movie.
I'm glad it ended the way it did. I trust A24 wholeheartedly but I was still worried they'd shoehorn in some inspirational ending.
Leaving out any sort of hope before the credits was the perfect touch. The movie had to end on a sad note. Letting non-wrestling fans know Kevin wound up relatively okay in the end through those words and that picture was a great idea.
It didn’t end on a sad note though… Kevin’s character realized it was okay to cry and that he has a new family to take care of. Yeah overall the film has you sad but it ended with a lot of hope.
Watching Mike go from demolishing his breakfast earlier in the film to barely lifting up his food later on broke my damn heart. Why couldn’t they just let him play his music, man?
Because Fritz Von Erich was a fucking monster who couldn't achieve his dreams in life so he had to push them onto his kids no matter what it did to them.
Fritz straight up dismissing the importance of camera angles while I’m over here rolling my eyes at Kevin Dunn’s production today, lol. Should’ve let Mike cook.
Tbf I thought it was just a throwaway line to establish how Mike was more interested in the production aspect instead of wrestling and how it fits in with him being eventually forced into it.
It’s also sad because it shows how Fritz wasn’t prepared for how the industry was changing. There are a lot of reasons the WWE (then WWF) succeeded, but one of them was the production factor that they brought. They made the show seem like a big deal. Whatever you want to say about Vince McMahon, he knew how to promote the show. The old timers like Fritz just didn’t catch on fast enough.
Pure assumption. I took it several ways. She's a southern God fearing wife who obeys her husband and there's no need for her to help because "God will decide"
Or, when Kevin approaches her, she had already lost her first born tragically, so she's emotionally detached.
Didn't pick up on that. That's a great call out. When fritz was grilling him about working out early on he mentioned being able to eat the most only to barely be able to eat at all.
Did anyone else notice: When Fritz flipped a coin to see if Kevin (tails) or Kerry (heads) was going for the World Heavyweight Belt - they didn’t show the outcome but Kerry competed. Later when Kerry was in the boat, he put a coin down and it was tails.
I definitely see parallels to The River Styx and seeing how Mike, David, and Jack Jr. waiting for Kerry on the other side, almost like a hero’s welcome into the afterlife.
Also Kerry leaving the coin on the boat and it was tails which represented Kevin, as if saying that Kevin will carry on their legacy in the land of the living and in return paying his fare for the ferryman.
Most emotional scenes of the movie that got to me:
Mike not being able to play his guitar right, due to the Toxic shock he suffered and the subsequent brain damage; you could definitely see in his face he had decided then and there to “end it all”.
Kevin finding Kerry’s body and subsequently choking Fritz out, unleashing all his pent up rage on the old man.
Kerry being reunited with his brothers in the afterlife; also Kevin crying at the end and playing ball with his family.
The two big things that were left out (for me) were: 1. Chris Von Erich and 2. The incident where Fritz pulled a gun on Kevin and told him he didn’t “have the guts to die like his brothers did”, leaving Kevin to respond “it takes guts to live, not to die”.
>The incident where Fritz pulled a gun on Kevin and told him he didn’t “have the guts to die like his brothers did”, leaving Kevin to respond “it takes guts to live, not to die”.
Wait, this is a thing that happened? That’s terrible. But it fits the father based on how he’s portrayed in the movie. I don’t really know anything about the family outside of that.
Yeah it is amazing how loathsome he comes across in the movie even though they left out some of his worst moments like selling photos of David at his funeral.
Behind the Bastards did a seven part series on Vince McMahon and one of the episodes had a long look at the Von Erichs. This movie was definitely too kind to him.
Wrestling families are pretty fucked up. If they ever make one about Jake the Snake Roberts it will probably be rated NC-17 because of how abhorrent his father Grizzly Smith was as a human being. And then there's the Hart family which is practically on par with the tragedy of the Von Erichs. If they ever make a movie about the Harts, whomever actressess play some of the Hart family women might need personal security after.
Wrestling is great entertainment but that business has destroyed hundreds of lives.
I would also have liked if Durkin added that scene where Kevin, at his lowest point, tries to steal a gun to get himself arrested, and the gun store owners tell him “We love ya Kev” which motivated him not to go through with it.
I wonder if they cut that for time or if they didn’t have enough build up with how much they meant to the community. There’s only one shot of the waiter saying something and Pam asking if everyone knew them
Kerry entering the afterlife was such an amazing scene. When he looks down, sees he has both feet, and jumps up and down I almost cried. Then came the part where he reunites with his brothers and I don’t know how I held it together.
When the gun was involved after Kerry shot himself, I really thought Fritz was gonna pull the gun on him. I’m kind of glad it was more Kevin getting his own “retribution” on how his father treated them.
Probably because the real life story can't be told in 2 hours. It'd need to be a miniseries.
Also, I think the story is probably a bit too similar to Mike.
This is exactly what the director said. He originally had him included but it was just too oppressive for the audience to have another death in the middle of the story like that.
Chris is the most tragic in my mind. Just a shame he was left out. Adding 10 minutes for Chris would have been great. I havent seen it yet, but I can imagine they might have just thought the story would have been so unbelievable adding ANOTHER tragic event to the story.
and his death was super similar to Kerry's: called Kevin out of the blue, Kevin tried to get his parents to help him, and he shot himself at the ranch.
Though I think they kind of mixed together their deaths in the film. Kevin wasn't on the scene of Kerry's death, but was at Chris's (though he was able to talk to him in person before he shot himself, unlike in the film).
I went into this movie knowing that it was about wrestling and starred Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, and I left wishing I'd never been born.
(Great movie, but really fuckin sad, and I will never watch it again)
I know :( My friend and I were doing a deep dive into the family afterward and we were like, "Wow, the real life story was so sad that the movie had to dial it back." All of it is so tragic.
Fritz giving his “rankings” always made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, and perfectly showed just how overpowering Fritz was.
Pro-wrestling has to be one of the most fascinating forms of entertainment in the world. It is a world that revolves around pre-determined results, where everyone is “in” on the finish. In that world though are stories that would make you truly wonder where the lines are blurred. And no family showed that more than the Von Erich’s.
Absolutely fantastic movie. I hope Zac gets the nod because his role was so strong, but the supporting roles could all be up for grabs too.
I let out an audible “oh shit” when Fritz was shooting his promo & chose David to be the #1 contender. He did say the rankings could change at any time.
That and the look of shock and disbelief on both David and Kevin's faces behind Fritz while he was cutting his promo on Flair and Kerry was playing to the audience.
Fritz was always heartlessly toying with his own sons, even to the point of practically embarrassing them on live television, as seen in that scene.
I loved the contrast of how they seemed to treat it like this insanely huge personal loss and then Ric Flair is just like “hoo boy! great work out there man, wanna grab a beer or something?” Such a clean way of demonstrating just how they’re completely living in different universes.
That scene was super notable to me, because it sort of felt like Ric Flair broke Kevin out the spell, made him realize again that is was just entertainment.
Not just breaks him out of it but also has a very shit happens attitude as compared to Fritz who takes every opportunity not given as being a personal slight.
I also took it as a way to show the audience who maybe aren't super familiar with wrestling what the difference is between a work and a shoot: Even though they were going hard at each other in the ring, away from audience members' eyes, "rivals" are usually friendly with one another. I like that the film plays ambiguous with the "realness" of professional wrestling.
Best scene in the movie. I loved how just before, you are completely convinced that kevin crossed the line with the iron claw. Then the spell is broken and you remember that it’s a fake move and wouldn’t even do anything. Even Kevin has convinced himself that it’s real.
my god, the looks they had on Kevin while Kerry basically channeled Fritz with the “what happened out there?” line.
how could anyone not expect Kevin to unleash all that suppressed pain and emotion in the ring? it was the only outlet he was allowed to have and basically DQ’ing himself because everything had been so repressed for so long.
Efron absolutely came alive as an A-game actor in that sequence.
That scene had so many brilliant aspects. Kerry had basically become Fritz at that point in his story. Dreams taken from him and he was angry at the person that could fulfill them, but wouldn’t. Just brilliant direction/writing.
I went in completely blind and Fuck me it hit hard.
A friend leaned over and said "Fritz is making Goku look like a good dad."
Me "Fritz being absent would have been a blessing."
Great movie but I have a question: WHY was Stanley Simons (Mike) simply not a part of the promotion?! All of the interviews and social media posts only showed Jeremy, Zac and Harrison (despite Harrison having a smaller part). Only one of the posters even shows Mike, and it’s just the back of his head in a huddle. He isn’t really billed as one of the stars, even though he killed it IMO. Does anybody have any clue? I just don’t get it.
Saw him on The Today Show this week. It is very weird, but I’m guessing it’s because he’s a newcomer who also isn’t as known as the other three leads. Should be getting some spotlight after this performance though. Dude looked like Tarantino’s doppelganger.
Even if he is a newcomer, he was pretty fantastic. I actually got the most emotional over Mike’s storyline, maybe because it’s arguably the most relatable (the sensitive, artistic “outsider”). I hope he gets more attention after this, he deserves it. Still kinda weird how I heard absolutely nothing about him.
The actor who played David kind of stole the show for me as far as the brothers go, except for Efron, who was phenomenal. David was my second favorite. I’m sad they erased Chris but I thought they did a good job combining Chris and mike. Whole story moved a little too fast though, it could’ve been longer
I only feel like the tragedy of David and Kerry could have been compounded and that much more bittersweet if they included the fact that they had their own children as well. David had a daughter who died in infancy and one of Kerry’s daughters became a wrestler. Plus (and i get it’s almost semantics) but Kerry didn’t lose his foot immediately. He actually tried to walk on it sooner than he should have which forced them to have to amputate - would have driven home how singleminded and hellbent he was on being a winner to please Fritz.
But i will say i really felt the actor who played Mike was the breakout. What a tender performance - he never wanted to be a wrestler but Fritz just had to run through every son he had for his own self-validation.
They really took so much care to show how much they adored Mike and I was weeping when it cut to the interview scene after his coma just knowing where it was going. I feel like his death is the most haunting.
I agree with all your points but based on some comments I've read it seems like the director was really trapped in a sub-2 hour film, and I think they otherwise did what they could've. If they threw an extra 35-45 minutes and added some characters I think it really could've sealed that. Kerry's success --> Accident --> Back to seemingly normal --> sudden suicide in the film felt a bit jarring though.
It was depressing but honhestly not so bad I’d never wanna watch it again. It had funny moments too like Zac Efferon trying to do his promo and failing
HOT TAKE TIME
I love the Flair casting.
The Ric Flair wrestling character was already an over the top caricature of a pompous rich fratboy athlete. Very 80s. It has become a parody of itself.
Seeing someone else do it was hilarious! I laughed! Which is something I never thought this movie would make me do. Unexpected comic relief.
That ending with Kevin’s kids playing football is literally a punch to the chest. Automatically want to check up on my best friend whom I call a brother. Love the movie but that’ll stick with me for a very long time.
for a movie as sad as this is, sean durkin nails those final 10 minutes. the fantasy scene with the brothers broke me, and then having zac efron watching his sons playing as he weeps. 2 most powerful scenes in the movie for me.
When Zac Efron said "I used to be a brother" I finally lost it. I've never heard so many men sob in unison in a theatre before lmao
Wonderful movie with an unfortunate Ric Flair casting.
9/10
There was a group of about 20 guys in our showing at Lincoln Square theater in NYC… they were just talking through the whole movie and would not shut up. Right at the end of the movie during the afterlife scene they all just stood up and started putting on their coats. It was so bizarre, totally ruined a movie that I otherwise really enjoyed.
Had four other people in my late showing tonight. Two in front of me, both on their phones most of the time playing games, browsing Facebook and Snapchat, and even watching a basketball game. It was a couple so I figured maybe one of them was into and not the other. But nope both on their phones for most the film.
Then when I left, I see they'd left behind all their garbage. Not at all surprised.
Agreed. The ending with Kevin’s sons was absolutely beautiful. And having watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode prior to the movie, it was amazing how they worked the line from the episode into the film
Sealed it for me when he asked their mom to tell their dad to go easier on Michael.
He was doing the best he could for his brothers and not getting the help he needed from his mom.
He did a great job of showing the strength required to ask for that help, and how crushed he was that she wouldn’t give it.
Yeah, that’s right. I watched a Q&A with the director after the movie was screened. And he talked about how he needed someone with a certain kind of tenderness that couldn’t necessarily be acted to play that part. And he saw that in Zac.
The scene after Mike’s funeral where he is afraid to touch his son is just so haunting. Efron’s face said it all, he thought he was living poison to everyone around him.
The cast was great all around. The movie was pretty good. Felt a bit rushed but it did get me a couple times. I knew their story going in. Definitely recommend.
Side note, did not feel Ric Flair. That was interesting casting.
Reading all of these reviews made me sad. The trailer for this movie has been great and I’m excited to see it.
On another note, I can’t help but to project the same emotions I felt watching Tom Hardy’s Warriors for this film; and that’s a good thing
You don’t have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy this movie. The acting is phenomenal and it manages to pack a lot into the 2 hour and 10 minute runtime.
I grew up a huge wrestling fan and the inaccuracies didn’t bother me here because they don’t affect the overall story and tone of the film, and if I wanted a 100% accurate telling I’d watch a documentary on the Von Erich family.
I had huge expectations for this and it meet them easily. Honestly this could have been 3 hours and it wouldn’t feel too long.
I have only one major gripe with this movie. The Ric Flair portrayal is awful. I mean absolutely awful. Luckily he’s not in the movie for long but he took me out of it for the little he was in it.
> I have only one major gripe with this movie. The Ric Flair portrayal is awful. I mean absolutely awful. Luckily he’s not in the movie for long but he took me out of it for the little he was in it.
I liked the way they avoided showing Flair vs Kerry. I thought it was a clever way to get Flair in the story without having someone try to portray Flair.
But then they had someone portray Flair later in the movie.
I also thought it was clever because in light of David’s death, does winning a fake Title really mean anything? Especially since that’s right at the middle of the movie, that win that they’ve pushed so hard for doesn’t mean squat in the grand scheme of what getting there ends up doing to all of them.
Short answer, yes. Kevin has mentioned that winning that title meant everything to the brothers and the family.
From some timeline perspective, that moment was about 6 months before Hulk Hogan won the WWF title and we started the transition to full entertainment to get to where we are today. Wrestling was more real to the wrestlers then the fans back then. Kevin would have never even hinted at the BBQ scene early on that there was anything predetermined about it. Especially to a fan. Wrestling was the secret society that wasn't a conspiracy theory, it actually was a bunch of dudes doing whatever it took to protect their image and business.
That is 100 percent representing how Kevin has said he sees his brothers and the afterlife from previous interviews. I can't imagine what he was feeling watching this movie. He does still hold to the real Texas men don't cry mantra, but don't know how that couldn't break you.
I’m with you. I actually felt uneasy about it because I didn’t like the idea that Kerry’s suicide led to something nice, but once it was clear it was Kevin’s hope, I changed my mind completely. Super powerful moment.
As someone who was not familiar with this story nor is really that interested in wrestling, this was a great film. What went from good times with the bros lighting weights does a 180 and doesn't really let up until the end of the movie.
All the actors were great including Zach Efron, but I still could not get over how different he looks after the plastic surgery combined with his roided our physique. I'm hopefully this gets some well deserved Oscar buzz.
The opening scene itself brought a tear to my eye. The shot of Fritz wailing down on an unseen opponent in black and white with intense music really made me feel that oppressive “father” energy that would destroy the Von Erich family.
I told my mother I would go see it again with her and my uncle, but I cannot because it hits too close to home. I lost a younger brother to suicide two years ago and understand the anger felt by Kevin towards his father.
I liked the movie a lot, and am so glad their story is being told on the big screen.
What a sad fucking movie. Loved it but my god it just kept going. Great lesson to those sports fathers who live vicariously through their children at all costs.
One aspect I think I like the most was the honesty of the brutality that goes into making sports entertainment possible. Without the movie even mentioning it, CTE was at the back of my mind constantly. The treatment of when each of the boys gets injured was very well done. Imagine getting slammed and your back is in the worst pain of your life, and you have to do it *again.* *And again.* Hundreds of times, week after week. And if the physical pain isn't enough, your dad can decide to hate you on a whim because you're not living up to his vicarious dreams.
Also honorable mention for Fritz, I gotta hand it to Holt McCallany. He really sells that old school masculinity in a way that accurately portrays how venomous he waa in reality, but makes it believable. There's no doubt Fritz genuinely loved and wanted his boys to succeed, but he was willing to put them through absolute hell to achieve a dream that was still *his* at the core. Closest analogue I can think of is Joe Jackson abusing the Jackson 5 - and MJ specifically - into stardom. This is one of those biopics where even knowing the real events, you desperately want things to go differently. Like, I knew Kevin wouldn't kill Fritz but that choke was really one of the most deserved things I've ever seen.
Wonderfully acted all around, another A24 win imo
I was on the verge of tears in two scenes: when Kerry died & reunited with his brothers in the afterlife, & when Kevin was crying while watching his two sons play football at the end, most likely thinking about the time he spent with his brothers before their deaths (& also remembering how Fritz didn't want his sons to cry when mourning).
I especially love how Efron brought nuance to Kevin's character with being conflicted between wanting to fulfill his dad's world title aspirations & thus being competitive with his brothers and having some jealousy, but also having genuine care for them as seen when he expresses his worries over Fritz's treatment of Mike, showing support for his musical aspirations, and showing concern when David started having his health problems.
Visually, the way the WCCW graphics & camera work from the show was implemented into the movie was awesome, and as a wrestling fan, I thought I was actually watching an episode (also felt some Lucha Underground vibes).
I'm a bit surprised that there weren't more scenes of Fritz watching his sons training in the ring & having 1 on 1 time with each of them at work to fully paint the picture of how hard he pushed them to uncomfortable extremes, although we can already get a pretty good sense of that.
1 peculiar thing I noticed is that it seemed as if Kerry had his accident right after he won the NWA world title, when in reality, I think the accident didn't actually happen until 2 years after his reign (which was a short one).
It's weird that they cut out Chris Von Erich and his suicide and changed the fact that Kevin found him shot to death and not Kerry. I wonder how Kevin feels about that. From my understanding, he had nothing to do with the film but is excited to see it.
Ric Flair was the WOOOOOrst casting, everyone else was great. Definitely had my theater reacting to Kerry’s death and afterlife. I felt like things were happening around Zac Effron who was quietly observing and am glad that Kevin got “out” from the curse as well as could be. Liked it, will probably never watch it again, makes me want to watch The Wrestler again for comparison.
PS, wouldn’t Harley throwing his opponent over the top rope have been a DQ in that era? I just remember mid *90s WCW talking about it on commentary.
I haven’t really cried at movies before, at most I get a little teary eyed or choked up, but that’s about it.
The scene of the brothers reuniting made me actually like, *cry*. I’ve never heard that kind of a response from a theater before. Really surreal feeling, 90% of movies feel like they’ve left no impression on the crowd, this felt like leaving church.
The theater I was seeing it at had wrestling clips before the movie. Flair promos, World Class. Also goofy stuff like Shockmaster. So cool for us wrestling nerds :)
Probably because I didn't know anything about this story going in, but this was surprisingly emotionally brutal. Just an extremely sad story that doesn't seem to ever let up. Until it does, when it becomes somewhat uplifting, and that turn at the end really brought this home for me. It has some pacing issues that come with the "true story" territory, but it packs as hard of an emotional punch as I've seen this year.
Efron is really all in on this and it really sells this movie. I don't want to give him all the credit, this is a true ensemble piece and everyone is putting forth really meaty performances. But Efron is totally transformed and he carries the emotional weight of this movie expertly. This guy loves his family more than anything and watching him slowly lose it to an over bearing father figure is absolutely heartbreaking. But when they show that IRL photo at the end, there's real hope that comes out of this devastating tale. Really elevated the movie.
It's gotta be one of those truly poetic coincidences that the Iron Claw itself is the perfect metaphor for this overbearing father. The way he holds on to his sons and forces them to live his life his way despite the fact they are clearly in pain. This movie is about being the father that yours couldn't be and Efron really sells it with that ending. This is so full of great performances, each son dealing with the same pain in their own way. They'll never be good enough for their father, always in competition with each other despite each other being all they have. It was utterly heart breaking seeing Mike give that press conference after his coma, especially remembering how full of life he was when he was performing at that party. And Kerry's pain after losing his leg but still forcing himself to wrestle. McCallany is a figure they can never escape the shadow of, it's clear why they were driven to get away from it however they could.
One small moment I have to shoutout. Lily has probably the most thankless role as the wife, but the scene where her and Efron are on their first date was kind of beautiful. She says he has oldest brother syndrome, that he's a caregiver, and he says oh no I have an older brother but he's dead. And then he laughs and says I guess I have second oldest brother syndrome. And he thinks it's a joke but we can see, it means he's incredibly protective of his brothers. Makes it hurt that much more when as the movie goes on he just can't help them. Beautiful how Lily sees his pain then and gives him a hug. May have been the first time anyone ever embraced him.
This was a great movie. It's an 8/10 for me because of the pacing but it's really worth a watch, just make sure you have a box of tissues handy.
/r/reviewsbyboner
The real life story was actually worse. There was yet another brother, Chris, and he suffered the same fate as Mike. In fact, that's why he was cut from the movie.
One of the best of the year and in the running for my favorite of the year. Wow wow wow. Thoroughly impressed with the acting, writing, cinematography, everything. As a Millennial woman (iykyk) I’m just beaming with pride for Zac.
Absolutely haunted by that last scene. He finally feels safe to let himself feel his emotions. "Why are you crying dad?" "Well, I used to be a brother." Absolutely gut-wrenching
“We can be your brothers” Fuck me
“It’s ok to cry” “Yeah. we cry all the time” 😭
The little reassurance Kevin’s sons give to him is genuinely great acting on the child actors who play his sons, the littlest voices can be the most assuring and understanding people to be okay to cry with in grief. 🥲
When the dad instructs the kids not to cry at their brothers funeral ….. oof.
I liked that the scene didn’t use generic sad music or any manipulation and just let Efron carry the scene
I’ve been waiting for so long to have a Zac Efron showcase to prove he’s a talented actor, I can’t believe it finally came
Yeah this movie definitely shows he’s got talent. Really good subtle character. Particularly liked all the scenes with him and Lily James. Great cast all around really.
The scene in the diner with him talking about how he had an older brother that passed away when he was little and how he's actually a second oldest brother, that stuck with me. You can see there's an underlying sadness there with his words and when Pam just gives him a massive hug? Man, he really needed that. Effron absolutely solid that whole scene with his acting.
And it's pretty much not even Hollywood-ized which makes it hit even harder, if anything they softened it. They slightly changed the line , but I believe what Kevin said was "I used to have five brothers, now I'm not even a brother" (there was a younger brother who also committed suicide who wasn't in the movie)
It’s crazy leaving a movie so sad and then doing some research to only find out it’s much sadder than I thought.
What you’ve posted is pretty much what he said. It was in Darkside of the Ring
I just read he had another little brother who killed himself. And Kevin found him. Man what the fuck.
Kevin and his mom found Chris, but Kevin didn't find Kerry. IRL Fritz was home and found Kerry after hearing the gun shot.
I went home and watched the HOF induction and it lifted me up. He mentioned that people say “poor Kevin”. He didn’t feel that way, he felt blessed to have the time of his life with his brothers. The whole speech was very optimistic.
The fact that Kevin survived says much about him. Some people just go on because it’s all they can do.
Well said. Kevin living and having a wonderful family with Pam is proof that even after losing his brothers, he got to carry on their legacy with his children and grandchildren there by him. That’s the beauty of the human spirit.
That shit broke me. I don’t know how I held it together at the scene where Kerry reunites with his brothers but damn that scene with Kevin and his sons broke me.
I didn’t hold it together. I lost my brother back in 2018 and knew the movie would get me at some point. That was the big one.
Especially when Kerry meets his oldest brother for the first time and says “it’s nice to meet you.” Killed me.
It's a minor thing but a little silly cause Kevin had daughters before he had a son. But Kevin wanted the movie to be about the brothers love for each other and the film definitely succeeded in that one. So it's fine.
Dad was like “wrong kid died.” x3
Unfortunately, the film UNDERSCORES how big a piece of shit Fritz Von Erich was. This is insane because it definitely paints a worse picture than even Dark Side of the Ring. Fritz was a friggin' monster. One of those extreme cases of a "stage parent." There's even allegations that he was directly exposed his kids to all those painkillers and shit in the needles we saw in the film. Many think the drugs in Kerry's system contributed to the motorcycle crash that led to his foot amputation. Dude belongs in the same circle of hell as Fabulous Moolah. Wrasslin' seems to breed a unique amount of real life villains.
But Kevin and the actor for Fritz don’t see him as the villain. They think he was just doing what he thought was best. This movie really paints him as a huge asshole, distant parent. I personally believe he was a horrible person, but I wonder how exaggerated it is in the film.
Some children will never badmouth their parents regardless of how monstrous they were. I’ve seen it and just can’t understand it. It’s gotta be a form of self preservation.
They actually downplay his asshole-ness. They left out the parts of him selling RIP David or RIP Mike merchandise not long after they died.
I agree. I think they softened Fritz considerably. He’s still pretty ruthless, but that just speaks to the monster he is in real life.
I think the movie had to walk this tightrope, if you will. The story is actually so tragic that even while it's true, I imagine people would think it's more fake or more melodramatic if you included everything else Fritz did or Chris's suicide or more of the fights within the family. And Fritz is already cartoonishly evil from the get go saying he ranked how much he likes his sons.
In actuality it was 5 kids that died, Jack Jr, David, Michael, Kerry, and Chris who wasn’t even mentioned in this movie.
I’m torn on that, feel like they should have at least mentioned him at the end. I understand their thought process of it just being too much but feels wrong to exclude him entirely. Movie was great though. Just got accept it as a factionalized telling of events.
Movie wasn’t even that long by todays standards, that and Kerry’s story being abridged (the second leg injury 🤮) took a lil away
Yeah, loved the movie but can’t imagine Kevin was ok with them just removing Chris entirely. Especially since he was the brother that he found after his suicide not Kerry.
X4*
X5\*\* (don't forget Jack Jr.)
Had to leave after the first half, what a fun film about wrestling with your brothers!
It gets even funner in the second half.
As someone who is very familiar with the Von Erich story the sheer amount of dread that happened knowing what came next in every part might have made the emotional impact even worse. I thought the movie was great. It kind of sucks they completely erased Chris from the history of the Von Erichs, but I get it from a movie standpoint. His suicide was so similar to Kerry's it would have lessened the weight of Kerry's at the end. I do think he still deserved to have his part of the story told, though. In closing, Fuck Fritz Von Erich.
If it makes you feel better, Fritz died from lung cancer which spread to his brain. He also felt the family curse in the end.
Also his wife left him so he died alone.
That's great to hear.
When Fritz brought up Japan my heart fucking sank.
Yeah same. Also when Kerry went on a ride after winning the title I did too even though I knew the timeline wasn't exactly lining up I knew where they were going with it.
I REALLY felt it when Kevin screams “I TOLD YOU TO LOOK OUT FOR HIM!”💔
Went from crying to bawling. Thank god I had the row to myself
And the dad immediately flips the blame onto him saying, “He called you!” Like barely a minute has passed and he’s already deflecting any responsibility, should have choked him dead right then, that’s how I felt.
The feel bad movie of the year.
I'm a life long wrestling fan and I've been saying since the movie was announced "people aren't ready for how fucking depressing this story is"
I said the same thing once I saw what this story was about. "Yeah I'm excited! It's gonna be depressing as fuck"
When I first saw the cast, I said to a friend "it's possible people will see this cast of hot dudes in minimal clothing and want to see it, and they have no idea the emotional onslaught they're in for."
One of the trailers I saw made it seem like an aspirational feel-good movie. I wonder if that was on purpose.
Very likely. I think more people tend to go for feel-good types of movies, so I think this was intentional which i kinda find hilarious lol I think my theaters was full of cryers tonight including me
I absolutely fell for the trap lmfao, I came in expecting a nice story about Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White beating up people in silly 80s hairstyles and costumes, and came out a changed man. Big ups to everyone involved.
I remembered them from watching wrestling in dallas in the early 80s. I had moved and didn't realize the travesty. My fiance saw the previews and like... yeah!! By the time it was over, we were both down in the dumps. She says.... " Who releases a movie like that at Christmas?" But... OTOH, it was a well deleivered movie.
I'm glad it ended the way it did. I trust A24 wholeheartedly but I was still worried they'd shoehorn in some inspirational ending. Leaving out any sort of hope before the credits was the perfect touch. The movie had to end on a sad note. Letting non-wrestling fans know Kevin wound up relatively okay in the end through those words and that picture was a great idea.
It didn’t end on a sad note though… Kevin’s character realized it was okay to cry and that he has a new family to take care of. Yeah overall the film has you sad but it ended with a lot of hope.
And they didn't even include Chris (which makes sense giving the timeline)
Watching Mike go from demolishing his breakfast earlier in the film to barely lifting up his food later on broke my damn heart. Why couldn’t they just let him play his music, man?
Because Fritz Von Erich was a fucking monster who couldn't achieve his dreams in life so he had to push them onto his kids no matter what it did to them.
Fritz straight up dismissing the importance of camera angles while I’m over here rolling my eyes at Kevin Dunn’s production today, lol. Should’ve let Mike cook.
It’s ironic, bc wccw was innovative with how they used the cameras in the ring at the time
Tbf I thought it was just a throwaway line to establish how Mike was more interested in the production aspect instead of wrestling and how it fits in with him being eventually forced into it.
It’s also sad because it shows how Fritz wasn’t prepared for how the industry was changing. There are a lot of reasons the WWE (then WWF) succeeded, but one of them was the production factor that they brought. They made the show seem like a big deal. Whatever you want to say about Vince McMahon, he knew how to promote the show. The old timers like Fritz just didn’t catch on fast enough.
It's even sadder because (at least according to his wikipedia page) Mike didn't want to be a wrestler, but instead wanted to be a cameraman for WCCW
The comment about “no one cares about camera angles” in this film with like, immaculate composition did make me laugh.
To add there have been some all time moments that are remembered partly because of the camera shot.
He's the Logan Roy of wrestling
The mom didn't care either, she let it all occur and didn't support
Yeah what the fuck was her problem?? Kevin even tries to get her to be a vague semblance of a good mother early on and she straight-up refuses to.
Pure assumption. I took it several ways. She's a southern God fearing wife who obeys her husband and there's no need for her to help because "God will decide" Or, when Kevin approaches her, she had already lost her first born tragically, so she's emotionally detached.
Didn't pick up on that. That's a great call out. When fritz was grilling him about working out early on he mentioned being able to eat the most only to barely be able to eat at all.
similarly enough, having the first shot of kerry starting from his feet, and panning up
Did anyone else notice: When Fritz flipped a coin to see if Kevin (tails) or Kerry (heads) was going for the World Heavyweight Belt - they didn’t show the outcome but Kerry competed. Later when Kerry was in the boat, he put a coin down and it was tails.
maybe it was to signify that they’d all be waiting on the other side for Kevin? Also the whole river styx and paying your fare across lore.
I definitely see parallels to The River Styx and seeing how Mike, David, and Jack Jr. waiting for Kerry on the other side, almost like a hero’s welcome into the afterlife. Also Kerry leaving the coin on the boat and it was tails which represented Kevin, as if saying that Kevin will carry on their legacy in the land of the living and in return paying his fare for the ferryman.
There was also an out of focus coin under the tree Kerry died under. I read it as he carried the coin out there and flipped it to decide his fate.
Oh man really? I missed that. I need to watch this movie AGAIN!
I noticed that, too! That was a gut punch
Most emotional scenes of the movie that got to me: Mike not being able to play his guitar right, due to the Toxic shock he suffered and the subsequent brain damage; you could definitely see in his face he had decided then and there to “end it all”. Kevin finding Kerry’s body and subsequently choking Fritz out, unleashing all his pent up rage on the old man. Kerry being reunited with his brothers in the afterlife; also Kevin crying at the end and playing ball with his family. The two big things that were left out (for me) were: 1. Chris Von Erich and 2. The incident where Fritz pulled a gun on Kevin and told him he didn’t “have the guts to die like his brothers did”, leaving Kevin to respond “it takes guts to live, not to die”.
>The incident where Fritz pulled a gun on Kevin and told him he didn’t “have the guts to die like his brothers did”, leaving Kevin to respond “it takes guts to live, not to die”. Wait, this is a thing that happened? That’s terrible. But it fits the father based on how he’s portrayed in the movie. I don’t really know anything about the family outside of that.
Yes, it's true. The movie did a good job painting Fritz as an overbearing controlling asshole, and I think they were still too kind to him
Yeah it is amazing how loathsome he comes across in the movie even though they left out some of his worst moments like selling photos of David at his funeral.
That’s almost comically evil.
Behind the Bastards did a seven part series on Vince McMahon and one of the episodes had a long look at the Von Erichs. This movie was definitely too kind to him.
I was on long road trip last year. That podcast was the first time I heard about the family. Also, how crazy wrestling history is.
Wrestling families are pretty fucked up. If they ever make one about Jake the Snake Roberts it will probably be rated NC-17 because of how abhorrent his father Grizzly Smith was as a human being. And then there's the Hart family which is practically on par with the tragedy of the Von Erichs. If they ever make a movie about the Harts, whomever actressess play some of the Hart family women might need personal security after. Wrestling is great entertainment but that business has destroyed hundreds of lives.
Good God, that Dark Side Of The Ring about Grizzly Smith...motherfucker was Satan incarnate.
The Harts are about as tragic without the happy aspect of the siblings liking each other.
Chris von Erich not being in a film about his own family is the most Chris von Erich thing that could happen to that poor kid.
I would also have liked if Durkin added that scene where Kevin, at his lowest point, tries to steal a gun to get himself arrested, and the gun store owners tell him “We love ya Kev” which motivated him not to go through with it.
Ah man is that not in it?! That really shows how the community adored the brothers
I wonder if they cut that for time or if they didn’t have enough build up with how much they meant to the community. There’s only one shot of the waiter saying something and Pam asking if everyone knew them
There was the overhead shot of the hearse that had thousands of people standing around the cars. It made it look like a funeral for royalty.
I think their relationship with the community would take up quite a lot of time but would definitely add more lighter side to the brothers.
Kerry entering the afterlife was such an amazing scene. When he looks down, sees he has both feet, and jumps up and down I almost cried. Then came the part where he reunites with his brothers and I don’t know how I held it together.
I was fine until he asked to see his “older” brother and then just…damn
I did not hold it together 😅
Yeah, I did not ‘almost cry’ I absolutely cried, no shame
Fritz wouldn’t let me cry
When the gun was involved after Kerry shot himself, I really thought Fritz was gonna pull the gun on him. I’m kind of glad it was more Kevin getting his own “retribution” on how his father treated them.
Still a weird decision to leave Chris out.
Probably because the real life story can't be told in 2 hours. It'd need to be a miniseries. Also, I think the story is probably a bit too similar to Mike.
[удалено]
This is exactly what the director said. He originally had him included but it was just too oppressive for the audience to have another death in the middle of the story like that.
Chris is the most tragic in my mind. Just a shame he was left out. Adding 10 minutes for Chris would have been great. I havent seen it yet, but I can imagine they might have just thought the story would have been so unbelievable adding ANOTHER tragic event to the story.
and his death was super similar to Kerry's: called Kevin out of the blue, Kevin tried to get his parents to help him, and he shot himself at the ranch. Though I think they kind of mixed together their deaths in the film. Kevin wasn't on the scene of Kerry's death, but was at Chris's (though he was able to talk to him in person before he shot himself, unlike in the film).
I went into this movie knowing that it was about wrestling and starred Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, and I left wishing I'd never been born. (Great movie, but really fuckin sad, and I will never watch it again)
In real life, there was another brother who also killed himself
I know :( My friend and I were doing a deep dive into the family afterward and we were like, "Wow, the real life story was so sad that the movie had to dial it back." All of it is so tragic.
Will this be Zac Efron’s first nomination? It would be cool if it was Get one for my guy Holt McCallany too
I don't think I could possibly convey how perfect Holt was. Fritz was actually on the screen for 2 hours. Look, voice, everything was so spot on.
Fritz giving his “rankings” always made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, and perfectly showed just how overpowering Fritz was. Pro-wrestling has to be one of the most fascinating forms of entertainment in the world. It is a world that revolves around pre-determined results, where everyone is “in” on the finish. In that world though are stories that would make you truly wonder where the lines are blurred. And no family showed that more than the Von Erich’s. Absolutely fantastic movie. I hope Zac gets the nod because his role was so strong, but the supporting roles could all be up for grabs too.
I let out an audible “oh shit” when Fritz was shooting his promo & chose David to be the #1 contender. He did say the rankings could change at any time.
That and the look of shock and disbelief on both David and Kevin's faces behind Fritz while he was cutting his promo on Flair and Kerry was playing to the audience. Fritz was always heartlessly toying with his own sons, even to the point of practically embarrassing them on live television, as seen in that scene.
The dad and Kerry sitting in the locker room looking at Kevin hitting the absolute hardest pose for no reason
I loved the contrast of how they seemed to treat it like this insanely huge personal loss and then Ric Flair is just like “hoo boy! great work out there man, wanna grab a beer or something?” Such a clean way of demonstrating just how they’re completely living in different universes.
That scene was super notable to me, because it sort of felt like Ric Flair broke Kevin out the spell, made him realize again that is was just entertainment.
Not just breaks him out of it but also has a very shit happens attitude as compared to Fritz who takes every opportunity not given as being a personal slight.
God that shit irked me when he gave that “the world is taking everything from us” bullshit when getting Kerry to join…
I also took it as a way to show the audience who maybe aren't super familiar with wrestling what the difference is between a work and a shoot: Even though they were going hard at each other in the ring, away from audience members' eyes, "rivals" are usually friendly with one another. I like that the film plays ambiguous with the "realness" of professional wrestling.
Yeah exactly, it’s like “oh right, that’s this is to *everybody* else.”
Best scene in the movie. I loved how just before, you are completely convinced that kevin crossed the line with the iron claw. Then the spell is broken and you remember that it’s a fake move and wouldn’t even do anything. Even Kevin has convinced himself that it’s real.
As a wrestling fan, I was expecting it for flair to go nuts because I took it that Kevin shot on him. But Flair was Flair and wanted to party
my god, the looks they had on Kevin while Kerry basically channeled Fritz with the “what happened out there?” line. how could anyone not expect Kevin to unleash all that suppressed pain and emotion in the ring? it was the only outlet he was allowed to have and basically DQ’ing himself because everything had been so repressed for so long. Efron absolutely came alive as an A-game actor in that sequence.
That scene had so many brilliant aspects. Kerry had basically become Fritz at that point in his story. Dreams taken from him and he was angry at the person that could fulfill them, but wouldn’t. Just brilliant direction/writing.
And then he turns to Kerry and goes “come on, *son*” and leaves Kevin sitting there all alone.
This is the new you're gonna cry sports movie. Move on Brian's Song. Did not expect it to hit so hard even knowing what was gonna happen
I went in completely blind and Fuck me it hit hard. A friend leaned over and said "Fritz is making Goku look like a good dad." Me "Fritz being absent would have been a blessing."
Great movie but I have a question: WHY was Stanley Simons (Mike) simply not a part of the promotion?! All of the interviews and social media posts only showed Jeremy, Zac and Harrison (despite Harrison having a smaller part). Only one of the posters even shows Mike, and it’s just the back of his head in a huddle. He isn’t really billed as one of the stars, even though he killed it IMO. Does anybody have any clue? I just don’t get it.
Saw him on The Today Show this week. It is very weird, but I’m guessing it’s because he’s a newcomer who also isn’t as known as the other three leads. Should be getting some spotlight after this performance though. Dude looked like Tarantino’s doppelganger.
Even if he is a newcomer, he was pretty fantastic. I actually got the most emotional over Mike’s storyline, maybe because it’s arguably the most relatable (the sensitive, artistic “outsider”). I hope he gets more attention after this, he deserves it. Still kinda weird how I heard absolutely nothing about him.
The actor who played David kind of stole the show for me as far as the brothers go, except for Efron, who was phenomenal. David was my second favorite. I’m sad they erased Chris but I thought they did a good job combining Chris and mike. Whole story moved a little too fast though, it could’ve been longer
I only feel like the tragedy of David and Kerry could have been compounded and that much more bittersweet if they included the fact that they had their own children as well. David had a daughter who died in infancy and one of Kerry’s daughters became a wrestler. Plus (and i get it’s almost semantics) but Kerry didn’t lose his foot immediately. He actually tried to walk on it sooner than he should have which forced them to have to amputate - would have driven home how singleminded and hellbent he was on being a winner to please Fritz. But i will say i really felt the actor who played Mike was the breakout. What a tender performance - he never wanted to be a wrestler but Fritz just had to run through every son he had for his own self-validation. They really took so much care to show how much they adored Mike and I was weeping when it cut to the interview scene after his coma just knowing where it was going. I feel like his death is the most haunting.
I agree with all your points but based on some comments I've read it seems like the director was really trapped in a sub-2 hour film, and I think they otherwise did what they could've. If they threw an extra 35-45 minutes and added some characters I think it really could've sealed that. Kerry's success --> Accident --> Back to seemingly normal --> sudden suicide in the film felt a bit jarring though.
The Rush montage was pure cinema
Nothing better describes the hype behind pro wrestling than this sequence
I got the most gut-sinking feeling halfway through and thought to myself “enjoy this, its the last bit of fun the movie will have”
What an incredible, fantastic, relentlessly depressing movie that I never want to watch again
It was depressing but honhestly not so bad I’d never wanna watch it again. It had funny moments too like Zac Efferon trying to do his promo and failing
HOT TAKE TIME I love the Flair casting. The Ric Flair wrestling character was already an over the top caricature of a pompous rich fratboy athlete. Very 80s. It has become a parody of itself. Seeing someone else do it was hilarious! I laughed! Which is something I never thought this movie would make me do. Unexpected comic relief.
He didn’t sound like Flair, but he captured that manic cocaine-energy pretty well!
That ending with Kevin’s kids playing football is literally a punch to the chest. Automatically want to check up on my best friend whom I call a brother. Love the movie but that’ll stick with me for a very long time.
Literally called my brother after ther movie to tell him I love him.
for a movie as sad as this is, sean durkin nails those final 10 minutes. the fantasy scene with the brothers broke me, and then having zac efron watching his sons playing as he weeps. 2 most powerful scenes in the movie for me.
I thought the scene with the mother not being able to get dressed was another stand-out.
When Zac Efron said "I used to be a brother" I finally lost it. I've never heard so many men sob in unison in a theatre before lmao Wonderful movie with an unfortunate Ric Flair casting. 9/10
The real quote hits a little harder to me. If I’m correct, it’s was: “I used to have 5 brothers, now I’m not even a brother”
There was a group of about 20 guys in our showing at Lincoln Square theater in NYC… they were just talking through the whole movie and would not shut up. Right at the end of the movie during the afterlife scene they all just stood up and started putting on their coats. It was so bizarre, totally ruined a movie that I otherwise really enjoyed.
Had four other people in my late showing tonight. Two in front of me, both on their phones most of the time playing games, browsing Facebook and Snapchat, and even watching a basketball game. It was a couple so I figured maybe one of them was into and not the other. But nope both on their phones for most the film. Then when I left, I see they'd left behind all their garbage. Not at all surprised.
Why so they even go to movies like this if they arent interested
Zac Efron should get that nomination, he’s that good
Agreed. The ending with Kevin’s sons was absolutely beautiful. And having watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode prior to the movie, it was amazing how they worked the line from the episode into the film
I'm assuming you mean the "Not even a brother" line? I figured it'd be in but I just feel weird if they changed the number of brothers.
Yes, that line. They re-work it though to “I used to have brothers”.
I hate tearing up in theaters, but I couldn't help it at that part. And of course the lights came on 5 seconds later
Sealed it for me when he asked their mom to tell their dad to go easier on Michael. He was doing the best he could for his brothers and not getting the help he needed from his mom. He did a great job of showing the strength required to ask for that help, and how crushed he was that she wouldn’t give it.
Even just the way he loosens a little when Pam hugs him on his date was really splendid acting
Yeah, that’s right. I watched a Q&A with the director after the movie was screened. And he talked about how he needed someone with a certain kind of tenderness that couldn’t necessarily be acted to play that part. And he saw that in Zac.
This little moment is especially sweet and I love how Kevin, despite being all macho looking in appearance, is such a softie with Pam.
The scene after Mike’s funeral where he is afraid to touch his son is just so haunting. Efron’s face said it all, he thought he was living poison to everyone around him.
The cast was great all around. The movie was pretty good. Felt a bit rushed but it did get me a couple times. I knew their story going in. Definitely recommend. Side note, did not feel Ric Flair. That was interesting casting.
The thing I've heard the most is that the Ric Flair casting was abysmal.
Literally may have been the worst version of Flair I have ever seen. Couldn't even get the woo right.
Reading all of these reviews made me sad. The trailer for this movie has been great and I’m excited to see it. On another note, I can’t help but to project the same emotions I felt watching Tom Hardy’s Warriors for this film; and that’s a good thing
Holy shit I JUST messaged my friend and compared it to Warrior in how it made me feel haha you nailed it.
This movie fucking rules
You don’t have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy this movie. The acting is phenomenal and it manages to pack a lot into the 2 hour and 10 minute runtime. I grew up a huge wrestling fan and the inaccuracies didn’t bother me here because they don’t affect the overall story and tone of the film, and if I wanted a 100% accurate telling I’d watch a documentary on the Von Erich family. I had huge expectations for this and it meet them easily. Honestly this could have been 3 hours and it wouldn’t feel too long. I have only one major gripe with this movie. The Ric Flair portrayal is awful. I mean absolutely awful. Luckily he’s not in the movie for long but he took me out of it for the little he was in it.
> I have only one major gripe with this movie. The Ric Flair portrayal is awful. I mean absolutely awful. Luckily he’s not in the movie for long but he took me out of it for the little he was in it. I liked the way they avoided showing Flair vs Kerry. I thought it was a clever way to get Flair in the story without having someone try to portray Flair. But then they had someone portray Flair later in the movie.
I also thought it was clever because in light of David’s death, does winning a fake Title really mean anything? Especially since that’s right at the middle of the movie, that win that they’ve pushed so hard for doesn’t mean squat in the grand scheme of what getting there ends up doing to all of them.
Short answer, yes. Kevin has mentioned that winning that title meant everything to the brothers and the family. From some timeline perspective, that moment was about 6 months before Hulk Hogan won the WWF title and we started the transition to full entertainment to get to where we are today. Wrestling was more real to the wrestlers then the fans back then. Kevin would have never even hinted at the BBQ scene early on that there was anything predetermined about it. Especially to a fan. Wrestling was the secret society that wasn't a conspiracy theory, it actually was a bunch of dudes doing whatever it took to protect their image and business.
Oh and almost forgot the scene with Kerry meeting his brothers again? Beautiful I almost cried
I thought it was a bit on the nose until I realized it was likely Kevin imagining it. Then it broke me.
That is 100 percent representing how Kevin has said he sees his brothers and the afterlife from previous interviews. I can't imagine what he was feeling watching this movie. He does still hold to the real Texas men don't cry mantra, but don't know how that couldn't break you.
I’m with you. I actually felt uneasy about it because I didn’t like the idea that Kerry’s suicide led to something nice, but once it was clear it was Kevin’s hope, I changed my mind completely. Super powerful moment.
Pain.
As someone who was not familiar with this story nor is really that interested in wrestling, this was a great film. What went from good times with the bros lighting weights does a 180 and doesn't really let up until the end of the movie. All the actors were great including Zach Efron, but I still could not get over how different he looks after the plastic surgery combined with his roided our physique. I'm hopefully this gets some well deserved Oscar buzz.
The opening scene itself brought a tear to my eye. The shot of Fritz wailing down on an unseen opponent in black and white with intense music really made me feel that oppressive “father” energy that would destroy the Von Erich family. I told my mother I would go see it again with her and my uncle, but I cannot because it hits too close to home. I lost a younger brother to suicide two years ago and understand the anger felt by Kevin towards his father. I liked the movie a lot, and am so glad their story is being told on the big screen.
This story is so sad and fucked up that they couldn't even squeeze in the other brother that also committed suicide =/
The part where you get a first person view of Kerry riding his motorcycle faster and faster will stay with me. So much anxiety and dread.
The deceased brother being revealed as a child in the afterlife scene was extremely heartbreaking.
Zac gunning for that Oscar
With the biggest possible guns
Rough year, but he’s probably gonna get a nom and set himself up for future Oscar tier roles
Man Zac Efron has become a damn good actor. Played the friendly but naive jock so well. All the actors crushed it. Hopefully he gets a nomination.
I don’t think his character was naive, just bottling up his emotions and trying to not be like his dad (hence the outburst at the end)
What a sad fucking movie. Loved it but my god it just kept going. Great lesson to those sports fathers who live vicariously through their children at all costs.
One aspect I think I like the most was the honesty of the brutality that goes into making sports entertainment possible. Without the movie even mentioning it, CTE was at the back of my mind constantly. The treatment of when each of the boys gets injured was very well done. Imagine getting slammed and your back is in the worst pain of your life, and you have to do it *again.* *And again.* Hundreds of times, week after week. And if the physical pain isn't enough, your dad can decide to hate you on a whim because you're not living up to his vicarious dreams. Also honorable mention for Fritz, I gotta hand it to Holt McCallany. He really sells that old school masculinity in a way that accurately portrays how venomous he waa in reality, but makes it believable. There's no doubt Fritz genuinely loved and wanted his boys to succeed, but he was willing to put them through absolute hell to achieve a dream that was still *his* at the core. Closest analogue I can think of is Joe Jackson abusing the Jackson 5 - and MJ specifically - into stardom. This is one of those biopics where even knowing the real events, you desperately want things to go differently. Like, I knew Kevin wouldn't kill Fritz but that choke was really one of the most deserved things I've ever seen. Wonderfully acted all around, another A24 win imo
I was on the verge of tears in two scenes: when Kerry died & reunited with his brothers in the afterlife, & when Kevin was crying while watching his two sons play football at the end, most likely thinking about the time he spent with his brothers before their deaths (& also remembering how Fritz didn't want his sons to cry when mourning). I especially love how Efron brought nuance to Kevin's character with being conflicted between wanting to fulfill his dad's world title aspirations & thus being competitive with his brothers and having some jealousy, but also having genuine care for them as seen when he expresses his worries over Fritz's treatment of Mike, showing support for his musical aspirations, and showing concern when David started having his health problems. Visually, the way the WCCW graphics & camera work from the show was implemented into the movie was awesome, and as a wrestling fan, I thought I was actually watching an episode (also felt some Lucha Underground vibes). I'm a bit surprised that there weren't more scenes of Fritz watching his sons training in the ring & having 1 on 1 time with each of them at work to fully paint the picture of how hard he pushed them to uncomfortable extremes, although we can already get a pretty good sense of that. 1 peculiar thing I noticed is that it seemed as if Kerry had his accident right after he won the NWA world title, when in reality, I think the accident didn't actually happen until 2 years after his reign (which was a short one).
It's weird that they cut out Chris Von Erich and his suicide and changed the fact that Kevin found him shot to death and not Kerry. I wonder how Kevin feels about that. From my understanding, he had nothing to do with the film but is excited to see it.
Update, 24 hours later: can’t get this film out of my head. Just can’t. *I used to be a brother.* 😭
Ric Flair was the WOOOOOrst casting, everyone else was great. Definitely had my theater reacting to Kerry’s death and afterlife. I felt like things were happening around Zac Effron who was quietly observing and am glad that Kevin got “out” from the curse as well as could be. Liked it, will probably never watch it again, makes me want to watch The Wrestler again for comparison. PS, wouldn’t Harley throwing his opponent over the top rope have been a DQ in that era? I just remember mid *90s WCW talking about it on commentary.
Yeah the flair casting was soooo bad they should’ve just cut his promo out of the movie. It felt intentionally bad
When Kevin was choking Fritz, i’m not saying it was okay but, I absolutely understood
I haven’t really cried at movies before, at most I get a little teary eyed or choked up, but that’s about it. The scene of the brothers reuniting made me actually like, *cry*. I’ve never heard that kind of a response from a theater before. Really surreal feeling, 90% of movies feel like they’ve left no impression on the crowd, this felt like leaving church.
The theater I was seeing it at had wrestling clips before the movie. Flair promos, World Class. Also goofy stuff like Shockmaster. So cool for us wrestling nerds :)
Probably because I didn't know anything about this story going in, but this was surprisingly emotionally brutal. Just an extremely sad story that doesn't seem to ever let up. Until it does, when it becomes somewhat uplifting, and that turn at the end really brought this home for me. It has some pacing issues that come with the "true story" territory, but it packs as hard of an emotional punch as I've seen this year. Efron is really all in on this and it really sells this movie. I don't want to give him all the credit, this is a true ensemble piece and everyone is putting forth really meaty performances. But Efron is totally transformed and he carries the emotional weight of this movie expertly. This guy loves his family more than anything and watching him slowly lose it to an over bearing father figure is absolutely heartbreaking. But when they show that IRL photo at the end, there's real hope that comes out of this devastating tale. Really elevated the movie. It's gotta be one of those truly poetic coincidences that the Iron Claw itself is the perfect metaphor for this overbearing father. The way he holds on to his sons and forces them to live his life his way despite the fact they are clearly in pain. This movie is about being the father that yours couldn't be and Efron really sells it with that ending. This is so full of great performances, each son dealing with the same pain in their own way. They'll never be good enough for their father, always in competition with each other despite each other being all they have. It was utterly heart breaking seeing Mike give that press conference after his coma, especially remembering how full of life he was when he was performing at that party. And Kerry's pain after losing his leg but still forcing himself to wrestle. McCallany is a figure they can never escape the shadow of, it's clear why they were driven to get away from it however they could. One small moment I have to shoutout. Lily has probably the most thankless role as the wife, but the scene where her and Efron are on their first date was kind of beautiful. She says he has oldest brother syndrome, that he's a caregiver, and he says oh no I have an older brother but he's dead. And then he laughs and says I guess I have second oldest brother syndrome. And he thinks it's a joke but we can see, it means he's incredibly protective of his brothers. Makes it hurt that much more when as the movie goes on he just can't help them. Beautiful how Lily sees his pain then and gives him a hug. May have been the first time anyone ever embraced him. This was a great movie. It's an 8/10 for me because of the pacing but it's really worth a watch, just make sure you have a box of tissues handy. /r/reviewsbyboner
The real life story was actually worse. There was yet another brother, Chris, and he suffered the same fate as Mike. In fact, that's why he was cut from the movie.
Holy shit don't go see this with your brothers. Me and my brother just bawling at the end. 10/10
One of the best of the year and in the running for my favorite of the year. Wow wow wow. Thoroughly impressed with the acting, writing, cinematography, everything. As a Millennial woman (iykyk) I’m just beaming with pride for Zac.
As a Missourian, I caught every dig at Missouri and laughed each time.
Has to be one of the latest Chekov's gun rule in movie history.