Ohhhh yeah I cried at that part. I had 3 brothers and two sisters that passed away. So sad they all were true servants to their father no matter what he did.
Reviewing modern movies must be roughly the equivalent of doing the butterfly stroke through a river of shit in order to analyze the taste, texture and smell.
Ironically it’s because they’re a “smaller” (by Hollywood standards) studio. Smaller budget movies can afford to take risks, because if they fail you’re not losing so much money. The big studios pumping out $200/300 million dollar blockbusters “have” to turn a profit (in quotes because few of the recent stinkers actually have), so they become sanitized to appeal to the greatest potential audience. Makes sense in theory, but in practice everything they produce is watered down and generic because good art has to take risks and do something new.
@@leviathanr53 indeed this was essentially their forte. But they are venturing out of that genre slowly. And succesfully. They also support new actual talent in producing a movie. Talk to me being a prime example of recognizing raw talent and backing it with huge commerical succes. As a movie freak I'm very impressed by this up and comer now slowly dominant in the field. Can't wait to see what they do next.
@@Spartacus114 ofcourse your right. But if you look at the biggest names we know now from their humble beginnings during the 80's it was a similar affair. King, Carpenter, Spielberg ect. All got minimal funding and had to make ends meet at times reusing and creating practical effects over digital ones that worked out extremely well in the long run. Look at Carpenters thing, they really did miracles with that budget and if it weren't for the poor promotion due to this lack of budget it probably would've made way more in the cinema. However the movie got a cult status and outsold anything else once it hit VHS making a hell of a lot of profit. The same thing happened to Jaws though they promoted it well enough to also be a box office hit. It was made by an amazing FX team that used minimal funding for maximum effect. It's a show tell sign that more cashflow is less important them creativity and drive. Same goes for "talk to me" where they did absurdly powerful effects as well as an original concept story and blew the competition out of the water who had 100x their budget. Disney ought to be scratching behind the ears at this point with their draconic budgets going to flop after flop because their unwilling to take a risk. Duck me they had that movie about human trafficking on the shelves and sold it for a fart only for it to beat their box offices succes by a landslide. It's embarrassing at this point....
I'm really proud of zac efron, he went from being a silly disney channel, teen girl heart-throb to a pretty skilled and well-respected actor. Good on him.
The real Kevin Ve said “just show how much me and my brothers loved each other, and I’ll give the film my blessing.” They NAILED that theme. It made me wish I had a bigger family and brothers like that. This movie and Godzilla give me hope for the film industry.
I am the youngest of 4 brothers and 2 sisters. It has it's moments when it's good and it also has it's moments when things are bad. It roughened me up. I do know that.
I had really high hopes for this one. Thanks for covering it. As a fan in my childhood years, the VonErics were a staple in my upbringing. Sad tragic family...
Another dark chapter in wrestling history but I'm glad it was told in a mainstream film for people who've probably never heard of the Von Erich brothers.
Wow, this brings back memories of going to the Sportatorium as a kid. It was just down the street from the Lew Sterrett Justice center which is the Dallas County jail. So, that gives you an idea that the Sportatorium wasn't in the best part of town. I remember my Dad always getting pretty tense at the idea of going there. The place was absolute trash and completely filthy since by the 1980's the building was about 30 years old. But when you get hundreds of screaming lunatics together in a hardcore fighting venue, it was a blast to go watch some Wrastlin'.
One of my favorite memories is getting my picture taken with Kerry Von Erich and Gentleman Chris Adams at the Sportatorium when I was eleven. The only photo I saved from my childhood. Good tines.
I can still remember the FreeBird, Von Erich feud. Terry Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry's head in a steelcage match against Ric Flair. Also, when Kerry came to the WWF as the Texas Tornado!! I had no idea he only had 1 foot. I enjoyed this movie and highly recommend checking out "Dark Side of the Ring: The last of the Von Erichs." It interviews Kevin. He says that he never fully got over David. I'm glad you reviewed this!
This was the era of World Class Championship Wrestling. This was the territory of Fritz Von Erich and his sons. This was the era of Harley Race, Ric Flair, Bruiser Brody, Jerry Lawler, Kamala, Tommy Rich, The Missing Link and The Fabulous Freebirds. Rest in Peace Texas Tornado. The Iron Claw film shows the hardships and tragedies of the Von Erich family. The film needed two more music montages in the first 45 minutes of the movie since the story dragged at the beginning, but it then picked up for the rest of the film. The only acting weak link in the film came from the actor who portrayed Ric Flair who was atrocious in the role. This is during the era of World Class Championship Wrestling. This is the territory of Fritz Von Erich and his sons. This is the era of Harley Race, Ric Flair, Bruiser Brody, Jerry Lawler, Kamala, The Missing Link and The Fabulous Freebirds. Rest in Peace Texas Tornado. The Iron Claw film shows the hardships and tragedies of the Von Erich family.
The saddest part about the movie is that only one person, maybe two if we stretch things actually seemed to care avout wrestling. David, who would have gone to a doctor long before the damaged organ killed him, and maybe our protagonist, Kevin. I say maybe because I mostly got the feeling he wrestled because it was what he always did because it was what got his father's attention. He didn't mind it, and seemed to enjoy it at times, but he never seemed passionate about it. The rest all got their (short) lives hijacked to satisfy the demands of their father. A father who turned out to not actually care about any of them. Remembering that last scene with the tree and confronting their father makes me all depressed again. Although I wonder how much of this is generational trauma as well. Considering their ages and the time the movie plays out in, chances are decent his father/grandfather did a tour in a world war. And that will mess with a person's mind. This is a really good movie.
I pointed this out on Reddit but I love the afterlife symbolism of paying an Obol coin (the coin they flipped earlier in the film) to have Charon carry Kerry across the River Styx to the dock where his brothers were waiting for him in the underworld/afterlife/heaven. Beautiful touch.
Me and one of my mates at work were talking about this movie today and we both reckoned it looked good but we probably won’t go to the movies to see it. However as you point out, supporting good films is the only way to show studios that there is an appetite for them. I’m going to go see it.
this movie stuck with me, I was thinking about it for a few days after. The actor who played the father killed it btw, the guy was on point with his performance.
These guys were royalty when I was growing up in Texas, I was only like 5 or 6 years old when they were in their hay day, but I distinctly remember them always being on TV
Nice to see you review something you like for a change. I know there is a lot of shit out right now especially those doctor who specials, but is important to give the spotlight to genuinely good movies and TV shows.
Just sad that Chris Von Erich was not included within this. I know the director had him in an early script, but said that "Three suicides wouldn't be believable". Great movie though.
Being 57 I was a huge fan of the VonEriks and was amped when they joined Georgia Championship Wrestling (later WCW) and then the WWF (later WWE for sh!tfu¢k reasons). I'm going today to see the film
Man I remember my friends dad and Kerry’s dad had room mated together at SMU. Jackie died by freak accident. He touched a trailer home that was ungrounded and was electrocuted. My friend Pat Chambers and Kerry would do cocaine before going out but Kerry would insist he didn’t want to go anywhere after partaking. They had to talk Kerry out of the bathroom to come out and go out on the town. He is big as hell!! 6 foot 6 and hands the size of plates. Never introduced my self because I figured he was a celeb and didn’t want all the attention. Quiet and nice guy! Gentle giant!
It’s brilliant and made me sob like a toddler because the pain featured is too real(I’m not talking about the Dad, I have a lovely father, legitimately the best), I can’t recommend it to everyone because of how harrowing it is but fucking hell it’s too real!
This dude is a serious method actor. In one movie he is emaciated and lean and in this movie he is a bulky brute. Look at the size difference between baywatch and this movie
Just saw it, it was quality. One criticism I would have is that despite their best efforts, they were still unable to trace the brothers' descent into hell individually. The rise and fall of each brother seemed to happen way too quickly for us to truly feel devastated for each individual. Still, dealing with 4 deaths is quite difficult, so I didn't mind that.
Saw it 1/1, solid film. I don't see the father as a genuine character but as a composite. I think the brothers dynamic was like throwing a handful of ball bearings into a washer. Dad might of thrown them in but they bounced around off each other.
Every movie needs a villain, so the scapegoat was Fritz. Kevin has already come out and disavowed Fritz's portrayal as a cold bastard without a heart. In reality, Fritz Von Erich was a kind old man and loving grandfather. And to clear up the basis of Kerry's death, it had nothing to do with Fritz, but rather a drug addiction and drug charges that had him looking at many years behind bars. This effectively ended his career and means to support his family. So, he fired a gun into his chest.
shit man I've been avoiding Hollywood like the plague. Only been to the theater 2x in the last 5 years to watch The Batman and Joker. I guess I'll go give this a look....
I know that positively reviewing low budget movies (in comparison to blockbusters) doesn’t generate many views, so I wanted to thank you, Reaper! I will defo check this one. Kudos to Zach Efron for not just being the pretty boy from Highschool musical anymore.
As much as i like seeing Reaper, destroy the movies these corporations try to shove down our throats, it's also nice to get recommendations for what to watch. 👍
Imagine living such a depressing life, that the director says, I wanna make ur life a movie, buts so depressing I have to cut a brother. And after I watched Killers of the Flower Moon, I completely understood, bc this too would’ve been a 3 hour movie with Chris in it
