‘The Iron Claw’ review: Zac Efron’s wrestling movie is punishing

Vanessa Hudgens and her husband, Cole Tucker’s, first Christmas as newlyweds, and she shared an adorable selfie, smiling brightly with the pro baseball player. The photo was taken at a golf course, which triggered a High School Musical 2 memory for fans.

The Iron Claw is officially out in theaters! Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, and Stanley Simons, the film tells the story of the Von Erich family. White plays Kerry Von Erich, the “Modern Day Warrior,” who became a beloved wrestling superstar worldwide before he died by suicide. To play the role, White had to fit the part, and with training and a lot of eating, he gained 40 pounds of muscle.The 32-year-old star had to live by a strict training regime and consume a lot of calories.

Until very recently with the release of James Wan’s Aquaman, the film side of the DC Universe has had patchy track record to say the least. Warner Bros are clearly still finding their feet, while also chasing the tail of their Disney competitors. On the animated side of the spectrum however, things have always looked a little brighter. DC have always been comfortably reliable in terms of their animated output, dating all the way back to the critically acclaimed Batman series of the 90’s. Now, Warner Animation have taken another stab at the renowned ‘Death of Superman’ comic storyline.The well-documented and heavily-adapted plotline of the early 90’s is something even casual audience members will have an awareness of by now.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Quick, silly and lent weight only by the costume department’s copious wigs and furs, “The Crime Is Mine” finds tireless French auteur François Ozon in the playful period pastiche mode of “Potiche” and “8 Women.” It’s a film less about any frenetic onscreen shenanigans as it is about its own mood board of sartorial and cinematic reference points — Jean Renoir, Billy Wilder, some vintage Chanel — and as such it slips down as fizzily and forgettably as a bottle of off-brand sparkling wine. This story of an aspiring stage star standing trial for a top impresario’s murder (and making the most of her moment in the tabloid flashbulbs) may be based on a nearly 90-year-old play, but for those versed more in Hollywood and Broadway than in French theater, Ozon’s adaptation resembles a kind of diva fanfic: What if Roxie Hart went up against Norma Desmond, except in rollicking 1930s Paris? As it happens, Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil’s 1934 comedy “Mon crime” has twice been adapted into Hollywood screwball romps: 1937’s Carole Lombard vehicle “True Confession” and the lesser 1946 remake “Cross My Heart,” starring Betty Hutton.

Michaela Zee “The Iron Claw” revolves around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of professional wrestlers who made history in the intensely competitive sport in the early 1980s. Based on a true story, the A24 drama features Von Erich brothers Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons). One brother, however, was omitted from the film altogether: Chris Von Erich.

J. Kim Murphy ‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the theaters, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” was the box office leader.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Jeremy Allen White may co-star with Zac Efron in Sean Durkin’s new wrestling drama “The Iron Claw,” but the Emmy-winning “The Bear” actor has something to admit — he has never watched a “High School Musical” movie. “I haven’t seen them,” White says on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “Sorry, Zac.

Jaden Thompson Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White turned heads this year when fans noticed they packed on pounds of muscle for their A24 wrestling drama “The Iron Claw,” which is based on the lives of the Von Erich brothers. Efron, Allen and the rest of the cast put in serious work to look the part for the film — but once they gained that muscle, how did they perfect those wrestling moves? Chavo Guerrero, Jr., former pro wrestler and stunt coordinator on “The Iron Claw,” speaks with Variety to unpack the actors’ intensive training process. After communicating with director Sean Durkin about his vision for the film, Guerrero began by acquainting the actors with the wrestling ring and the fundamentals of the sport.

Zac Efron is back on the big screen with his new A24 movie The Iron Claw.

Zac Efron‘s appearance is yet again sparking controversy!

during an interview on the “Today” show — due to an eye infection. Efron, alongside co-stars Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons, appeared on the morning program to promote their new film, “The Iron Claw.” “Zac Efron is a legitimate, bona fide Hollywood superstar but that is not the reason he is in shades right now,” host Craig Melvin laughed as he introduced the quartet. The “High School Musical” actor then apologized for his appearance.“No, I’m sorry, man,” Efron, 36, told Melvin, 44.

Jude Law's onscreen daughter from The Holiday, Miffy Englefield has grown up since her time playing the role of Sophie.The child star has since become a mum herself and said the film "still feels like a fever dream". After starring in The Holiday alongside Cameron Diaz, Jack Black and onscreen sister Emma Pritchard, Miffy took a step back from acting. She welcomed her first child Frances with partner Alex Whivley-Conway in April 2020.

Zac Efron explained why he was wearing sunglasses while appearing on the Today show.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large And then there were four. Season 10 of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” airs this Wednesday with finalists Donut (Group C champion), Sea Queen (Group B winner), Cow (Group A victor) and Group A “Ding Dong Keep It On” recipient Gazelle.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Quentin Tarantino fans were sent into a frenzy in late 2017 after it was announced that Paramount and “Star Trek” producer J.J. Abrams had accepted Tarantino’s pitch for a new “Star Trek” movie and were working with “The Revenant” screenwriter Mark L. Smith to iron out the script.

Friends star’s recent passing.The two actors starred together in the 2009 comedy film 17 Again about a struggling father, Mike O’Donnell (Perry), who suddenly transforms into his teenage self (portrayed by Efron).In a new interview with Variety, the High School Musical star reflected on the time he spent with Perry years ago, and how the Chandler Bing actor became an important figure in his life.“I hold the time we shared together really dear. I’ve been thinking about him a lot, every day,” Efron said.

Zac Efron opened up in a confessional new interview.

Zac Efron was two movies deep into the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” franchise, in which he played singing, dancing basketball phenom Troy Bolton. He’d been the swoony romantic lead in the movie musical “Hairspray,” opposite John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer, was shortly to play opposite Matthew Perry in “17 Again,” and had pulled his T-shirt up on the cover of Rolling Stone under the headline “The New American Heartthrob.” At 21, Efron might have seemed like the kind of actor who was as likely to watch footage of the moon landing and decide to become an astronaut as he was to take inspiration from Mickey Rourke’s grizzled, broken-down performance. And yet.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Gladiators, pain freaks, brutes, clowns, true athletes, fake competitors: The slab-of-meat stars of professional wrestling are all those things. And back in the 1980s, when wrestling was reaching its cultural zenith, it almost looked as if you could divide the world between those who took wrestling on the level and those who dismissed it as a vulgar, over-the-top bad joke.

Considering the foothold it has in American pop culture, it’s somewhat surprising that there have been so few movies about pro wrestling. In fact, over the last 15 years, the only real notable narrative films on the subject are Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 drama “The Wrestler” and the solid, but already forgotten 2018 dramedy “Fighting With My Family.” The last 12 months have been something of a sea change, comparably, with Roger Ross Williams’ superb “Cassandro” about famed exótico lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz and now, Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw,” a spotlight on the Von Erichs, one of the most respected and snakebit families in the sport.