'The Iron Claw' review: Zac Efron is ripped and terrific in the wrestling true story

The triumphs and tribulations of the Von Erich family were the stuff of legend for old-school pro wrestling fans, who either watched them on cable or could only read about the talented Texans in wrestling magazines.

Writer/director Sean Durkin (“The Nest”) puts an emotional spin on that mythos, with plenty of bodyslams and dropkicks to boot, in the dynamite true-life drama “The Iron Claw” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Dec. 22). It's a touching story of Americana mixed with sibling rivalry, parental pressure and brutal despair, with a ripped Zac Efron in an amazing turn as the beating heart of a tight-knit yet troubled clan.

Chronicling the family from 1979 through the early ‘90s, “Iron Claw” is named for the finishing move of patriarch Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), who wanted the best for his boys and taught them to be the toughest and strongest so no one would ever hurt them. But he never realized his goal of being world heavyweight champion, a dream passed on to his son Kevin (Efron). 

When he hits the ring at the Dallas Sportatorium, Kevin is a muscular, barefoot star-on-the-rise with aerial moves and an authentic good-guy persona. His sweet naivete wins over Pam (Lily James), a young woman who asks for his autograph and a date. She thinks wrestling is fake – which launches Kevin into a great explanation of wrestling for the uninitiated – and he tells her about the “family curse" associated with the Von Erich name. “I think we make our own luck,” Pam counters.

Their relationship blossoms as Kevin is joined in the ring by his siblings. David (Harris Dickinson) doesn’t have Kevin’s physical skills but is a much better talker – and gets to use the Iron Claw. Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) joins up when his Olympic aspirations are dashed by a boycott of the 1980 Summer Games. Youngest brother Mike (Stanley Simons) is a gawky and musical kid reluctant to wrestle, yet does it anyway because that’s what his dad expects.

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Fritz is hard on them while their mother Doris (Maura Tierney) is more interested in the Bible than title belts, which forces the brothers to live and die for each other. As their popularity skyrockets, ambitions divide them and a series of devastating circumstances leaves Kevin reeling and needing to choose between his own young family and his father’s beloved business.

From a wrestling standpoint, Durkin knows his stuff and deftly navigates all sides of the squared circle: the backstage politics, the cutthroat competition, the fraternity between grapplers, the hedonistic living of the '80s and the thrilling in-ring action. One rousing montage set to Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” finds the Von Erichs brawling with the hated Fabulous Freebirds and is as cool as anything you'll see on WWE television.

There's a lot to the real-life saga to compress into a little more than two hours, and a few time jumps disrupt the momentum of the plot. Overall, though, Durkin maintains a strong focus on a family that cracks and makes it harder for surviving members to keep putting back together. He immerses you in the calamity while also weaving a more hopeful sense that those who love us never truly leave.

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The cast is solid down the line, from main stars to supporting players. Dickinson exudes a wild-child spirit and nails David’s persona as arguably the Von Erich with the most all-around potential, McCallany is sufficiently grizzled as the domineering Fritz, and Efron and White sport sculpted physiques superheroic enough to match those of '80s wrestlers.

Efron proves to be the film’s most important revelation. The “High School Musical” star has taken meatier roles in recent years: 2022’s “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” showed us he was on the cusp of something special, and that comes to fruition with Kevin’s emotional odyssey through unyielding personal trauma.

It’s because of him, and the film’s unabashed love for and understanding of wrestling, that “The Iron Claw” will get a handle on you and won’t let go.