 What's going on guys? Welcome back to the channel critical overload here. So this will be a spoiler free review for the iron claw This is written and directed by Sean Durkin. It is starring Zach Efron Jeremy Allen White Harris Dickinson Maratini Lily James Holt Mccolony I think MJF was in this movie too for my wrestling fans out there But this film is revolving around the Von Erick family a dynasty of professional wrestlers from Texas They had enormous success in the 1980s and popularized the iron claw professional wrestling hold However, they not only had to battle inside the ring But they also fought the Von Erick curse outside of it a string of unbearable a string of unbearable personal Tragedies so I will say that the iron claw as a wrestling fan was a phenomenal Experience again as a fan of wrestling and as a fan of filmmaking in general It misses a few marks thanks to the screenplay that I think could have been better at times But still this was a film that gave us one of Zach Efron's best performances and as a high school musical kid That just means a lot to me The Von Erick's were a troubled family gifted but troubled at least that's what I always heard as a kid growing up I think that they were even inducted into the Hall of Fame when I was about 10 or 11 years old Anyway, this film the iron claw captures that gifted but troubled side of this family quite well And while the story might not dig deep into the anxiety over a family curse and each individual brother's Downfall as strongly as I wish it would have what it does accomplish is giving audiences a reason to care about this family Which in turn makes the darker moments hurt because you actually give a crap about the Von Erick brothers The family consists of Kevin Michael David Kerry Jack and Doris What makes the family dynamic so relatable is the chemistry between the cast and the pressures the brothers have to live up to From their father. They all have their own interests outside of the ring But wrestling comes first to their father Michael I believe actually has no interest in pro wrestling, but it's pressured into joining off from his father His interest that he actually has though is not appreciated by his by his father I'm not even by his mother really to be honest Which is sad so that pressure from the head of the table if you will is relatable for anyone who grew up in a House like this and effectively makes the brothers easy to invest in this sibling bonds were written strongly I felt their love the competitiveness to playfulness and everything else you'd expect with a house full of brothers the themes about toxin mech Masculine masculinity, I think are handled quite well. It's examined in a very compelling way I'm sure a lot of men like myself have heard some of the advice given to these brothers by their father Ultimately, this is just bad parenting that contributes to these men fading away into nothing But again the whole journey it's heartbreaking yet compelling because of how effectively the story sets up these people Into these likable Individuals you just want to see succeed Uh my gripes with the screenplay mostly stem from how the women are handled granted It was the late 70s to mid 80s So that wasn't at the top of my list But the women could have definitely been given more to do and lily james did a great job Which has made it even more bothersome because I couldn't really care about her character Since she was nothing for the most part outside of just a love interest The biggest issue with the screenplay is how the von eric's downfalls Fails to dig into this family curse and the anxiety Kevin who acts as our central protagonist I would say played by zack effron the anxiety he has regarding it It was just too thin of a plot device when it was capable of being more When considering how kevin wants to distance himself from his loved ones at one point during the movie because of said curse And I'm like well as a viewer I can't really latch on to or buy this or see this curse as a threat Because the curse was barely hyped in a profound way So it just looks like a series of unfortunate events transpiring Because of pressure from a father who is trying to live his glory days through his through his sons At least the downfall stings Like I mentioned earlier thanks to plenty of time being spent making this family likable and relatable Biopic cliches run wild in the screenplay but still an effective story overall zack effron as I mentioned delivered a career best performance He captures kevin's growing frustration anxiety rage and sadness perfectly a whirlwind of emotions are on display from effron And he just nails it a hundred percent every single time jeremy alan white was terrific as carry Lily james wonderful as I mentioned, but just forgettable as a character and the entire cast overall did incredible Sean Durkins is someone I'll have to pay closer attention to because I've seen their other films But the direction here was on point especially the in-ring action moments Which felt like you were actually watching an old wrestling gym the iron claws pacing really impressed me because the two hours flew by It had a rhythm that worked and it committed to it from start to finish Everything flowed well together and didn't overstay as welcome at any point I thought the cinematography was beautiful of all in all the soundtrack even definitely very Good soundtrack that really set you in the times they were trying to depict and again The cinematography in terms of like the camera work at times. I'm a big fan of one take shots I love those in films a lot of good takes or a lot of one take shots that I thought were perfectly executed in shot And really got you immersed in the overall experience of the story that was unfolding on your screen Fantastic costume design when it came to the wrestling and the aesthetic of the wrestling The presentation they were trying to portray on screen. I will say that the rick flair guy who was portraying rick flair I thought he was the worst part of this movie to be honest, but all in all I would give the iron claw A solid eight and a half out of 10 Let me know what you guys think about this down in the comment section below if you haven't already Of course, make sure you subscribe turn on post notification name is video in the description I have linked some of social media accounts. 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