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The Iron Claw

The 100 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

The Iron Claw

2023

Sean Durkin

Zac Efron, Holt McCallany, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson ...

6.9

2,261

Drama Based on the lives of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and trainer, the brothers seek immortality on the sport's biggest stage.

	Media	Author	Review
		Tim Grierson Screendaily	"Sean Durkin’s third feature shares with his first two a fascination for the darker aspects of human nature, but there is a newfound tenderness that makes this crushing drama all the more affecting"
		Thelma Adams The Wrap	·Like one of the champs in that genre, “Field of Dreams,” “The Iron Claw” squeezes wrestling’s agony, ecstasy and Americanness for all its Gatorade, alongside exploring the fraught bonds of fathers and sons."
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"Zac Efron, pumped and inspired, leads an absorbing true-life drama about a pro-wrestling dynasty"
		Adrian Horton The Guardian	"'The Iron Claw' is relatively straightforward and, despite a roster of committed performances, frustratingly opaque (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Lisa Laman Collider	"Even if the proceedings sometimes lapse into familiar biopic movie territory, Durkin injects a sense of emotional reality into The Iron Claw that ensures it packs a wallop."
		Mae Abdulbaki Screen Rant	"Zac Efron really gives it his all in this heartbreaking wrestling film about the Von Erich family (...) a powerful and moving biopic "
		Caryn James BBC	"Despite its committed and physically bulked-up actors 'The Iron Claw' is a flat narrative that spells things out in broad, neat terms"
		Thomas Floyd The Washington Post	"Sean Durkin uses B-movie bombast to telegraph the sorrows yet to come (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Brian Truitt USA Today	"It's a touching story of Americana mixed with sibling rivalry, parental pressure and heart-wrenching despair, with a ripped Zac Efron in an amazing turn (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Christy Lemire rogerebert.com	"A lot of energy and passion clearly went into it, and there’s a drive to entertain and thrill, but it ultimately ends up feeling empty and superficial (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Micco Caporale Chicago Reader	"It’s true that the family was plagued by fatherly pressure and sibling rivalry, but Durken’s ham-fisted overdevelopment of this undercuts the family’s historic significance while robbing each Von Erich of depth"
		Gregory Ellwood The Playlist	"The movie has its issues (...) The wrestling though? (...) It often looks more 'real' than the WWE or professional wrestling you see on television today"
		James Mottram NME	"Certainly, it’s not for those looking for fist-pumping sporting triumphalism. But in this age of franchise vapidity, it’s still a film worth grappling with (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Marshall Shaffer Slant	"In 'The Iron Claw', the filmmaker melds the reverence of a ringside fanatic with the rigor of someone who very clearly took the themes of Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull to heart (...) Puntuación: ★★★ (sobre 4)"
		Richard Lawson Vanity Fair	"[It] is starved of scenes in which these brothers interact with all the intimate detail of their bond. The film opts to tell us rather than show"
		Michael Frank The Film Stage	"Wave after wave of brokenness depicted on screen, Durkin’s third feature excels in showing the inner fight of passed-down manhood and a father’s unyielding impact"
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"Durkin’s third feature is more than competently executed, with a solid ensemble cast and a vivid sense of place and time (...) But (...) its emotional impact feels oddly muted"
		Wendy Ide The Guardian	"A career-best turn from Zac Efron (...) director Sean Durkin’s bone-crunching drama (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Beth Webb Empire	"An eerie, beautifully executed study of duty, grief and wrestling, boasting an excellent cast, and a leap forward for its director (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Kambole Campbell Time Out	"The handling of the drama is always sensitive, anchored by a perception-busting performance from Efron (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Tim Robey Telegraph	"Zac Efron’s tragic wrestling drama fails to pack a punch (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		John Serba Decider	"Absorbing and unsettling, and featuring a career performance from Efron, 'The Iron Claw' is one of the best movies of 2023"
		Matt Schimkowitz AV Club	"Durkin uses these toxic family relationships to poison the idyllic Texas landscapes, harnessing the characters’ repressed rage and grief and balancing the spectacle of wrestling with the tension of being a wrestler"
		Matt Glasby Radio Times	"While the performances are good and the soundtrack evocative, the scriptwriting in Sean Durkin's film is too heavy-handed (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Bulked-up Zac Efron amazing sight in tragic wrestling drama (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Zac Efron gives the performance of a lifetime in Sean Durkin’s heart-shattering wrestling epic"
		David Fear Rolling Stone	"[It] is a heartbreaking tragedy and Zac Efron’s finest hour"
		BJ Colangelo SlashFilm	"'The Iron Claw' is the type of drama that makes a home in the darkest recesses of your brain while simultaneously reminding your heart to keep going"
		Chris Plante Polygon	"Through Durkin’s eyes, longtime fans and newcomers alike can see the paradoxical reality of pro wrestling — an entertainment that is both theater and sport, fake and real"
		Pete Hammond Deadline	"A gritty, atmospheric, sometimes suffocatingly grim story of the Von Erich brothers (...) This is an incredible portrait of a cursed group of human beings"
		Travis Hopson JoBlo	"'The Iron Claw' is the movie wrestling fans have been waiting for. It’s a terrific tribute to one of the sport’s greatest dynasties."
		Kevin Fox Jr. Paste Magazine	"This is an engrossing tale, and its ability to channel the sound and image of wrestling’s ascent to global commercial importance into the backdrop for a family’s material ascent and decomposition is fascinating."
		Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"'The Iron Claw' isn't an easy watch, but it's one of the best films of the year (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"

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