The Iron Claw

Late Tuesday YaYa and Alex invited me to see The Iron Claw at the theater. 

The Iron Claw is the story of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers, almost all of whom met a grim fate. I'll review it as a film first: it was dark and tragic, with little interest in humor or happiness. Start to finish, the movie envelops the viewer in a feeling of dread as, instinctually, you grasp that the so-called curse is very real, if not literal. It's very well done, and Zac Efron was great. I'd grade it a B+

Now, my personal review of the movie: 

I wanted to see this because the Von Erich's were my favorite wrestlers as a kid, and I have great memories of watching  them on World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) on either channel 18 or 24 every Saturday night.  Of the family, Kerry was my favorite, and I was proud that he later wrestled for the WWF, although by then I'd abandoned professional wrestling. 

I remember the Von Erich's feud with the Fabulous Freebirds, and later Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez. The "blinding" of Adams has always stuck with me. I remember reading about David's death and mourning for the family; I remember reading about Chris's death and being shocked; I remember Kerry's death hitting me in the gut. 

So for me, it both odd and exhilarating to see those moments recreated on screen. I caught myself - no lie - almost cheering out loud at one excellent move during a match before restraining myself with a reminder that I wasn't nine years old and this (too) was scripted. 

So for me, personally, as a testament to part of my childhood: I grade it an A+