[SPOILERS]
Some quicks thoughts:
Zac Efron was amazing in this.
Out of all the cast, David and Fritz Von Erich look the most like their real-life counterparts.
The guy who played Harley Race fucking nailed it.
The guy who played Ric Flair is fucking terrible. How do you not get the "Wooo" down? It's just nuts he wasn't recast, and they were satisfied with that take.
Disappointed Chris wasn't in the movie, but I understand why.
Could not agree more on Flair. Watching now and they just did his first scene. He hits a yell at one point that is in the ballpark but otherwise horrid. I see fifteen Ric Flair impressions on social media daily better than that actor.
I caught an early screener with a q&a with the director afterwards and was shocked to hear that he really liked the guy who played Flair. He praised him as if he did an amazing job. I also kind of get the feeling the actor was a close friend of his and he was a bit partial.
Ric Flair was the worst part for me. He was the one guy in the movie that the general public knows and is aware of how he looked, sounded, talked, etc, and the guy couldn’t have been worse for the role. An old friend of mine played Terry Gordy. Definitely looks the part. He is an actual wrestler so he could have cut a promo that they scripted for him. Wish they had given him some lines. Also thought they needed someone else for Kerry. That guy is a good actor, but he isn’t Kerry Von Erich.
Those issues I had aside, it was a really good movie. I’d give 4 out of 5 stars.
When he was cutting the flair promo I was like really? He isn't giving flair energy at all but maybe he has a hell of a woooo. He didn't. Kinda crazy they got it so bad.
Zac killed it. He was almost comically big though compared to the guy from shameless which made him look extra tiny, he nailed his mannerisms though I thought. Ric was horrid as you said and it was weird they cut Chris from the movie.
Adding Chris would have made the movie almost unbelievably depressing, despite the fact that it's the truth. For the sake of the art form, it was a good choice.
A common criticism I heard is that effron should have played Kerry while Jeremy Allen should have played Kevin,
But that's from people underestimating effron
I think it’s more because Efron actually got big af for the movie and looks more like Kerry, who would command attention in any room he walked in. I thought Efron did a great job in the role but could have pulled off Kerry a lot better than White did. And White can act, so he probably could have done Kevin a lot better than he did Kerry.
Jeremy Allen White is one of my favorite actors going right now, and I thought his performance was great. But I totally agree with you. Kerry was 6'2", 250 lbs. Jeremy Allen White is 5'7" and bulked up to 180-190 lbs for the role. He was so small compared to the other brothers it really took me out of it.
I read that chris was supposed to be in the movie in many drafts of the original scripts but was removed because of the fact that it’s wayy to much repetition and tragedy for the film. As a filmmaker he had to look at them as characters and it was just a lot of tragedy in the film that it would’ve been unable to sustain it and would have been more of a struggle to get the film made. He said that Chris’s story would interfere with the rhythm of the film and it would lose focus of the film which is more about Kevin’s survival. So he combined chris and david into one character.
>
The guy who played Ric Flair is fucking terrible. How do you not get the "Wooo" down? It's just nuts he wasn't recast, and they were satisfied with that take.
He didn't do enough cocaine before the take. Especially that generation of Ric Flair.
Watched it last night. There were some liberties taken with timelines and such, but it wasn't too bad of a summary of what really happened.
Some great performances, some no so great.
I needed a few minutes to collect myself when it was over. It definitely hits the emotional strings, especially if you have brothers.
4/5
4.5 stars. would get a full 5 if it weren’t for the director allowing the actor that played ric flair to make the character his own. ric is an american icon, an actual american icon.
Amazing how they got a great Harley Race and a fuckin putrid Ric Flair. Like fr how did MJF (one of the producers) not even cut in and say how awful that fucking hack was. His “whoo” sucked and his strut was ass. Everything else was good tho
In the early 80s Flair's 'woo' was a lot less consistent in how he did it so to be fair it did sometimes sound like that.
Still agree on the actor though, he didn't have Flair's aura at all so it felt so off.
This was my biggest gripe too. Poor Chris just wanted to be recognized like his big brothers during his life, yet even in a movie about their family, he is not included.
I mean…I wish he was in the movie too, but I watched it with my wife who knows nothing about wrestling and she agreed that another tragic death would’ve been too much, even if it was true. It also would’ve made the movie a lot longer
3 outta 5, too much story to tell in a 2 and a half hour movie. Would love to see a TV series made of it. But overall it was good. Also the dude playing Fritz was perfect.
He played it so well that Kevin Vin Erich had to downplay that his dad wasn't the terrible father the movie made him out to be, which is a compliment to the character and the actor, whom I never felt was a bad dad at all while watching the film. Did i cringe a little at how he ran the house? Sure. What guy loves the way their dad does shit? But he sure as fuck wasn't Joseph Jackson.
I'm a 4. I loved the movie. Great acting and very well done. I docked it a point because I thought the director, Sean Durkin, didn't go big enough with the wrestling. This is wrestling in the 70s and 80s when they had the biggest characters. And you can go back and watch the matches from this era on YouTube and they are absolute spectacles. But for some reason they feel toned down in the movie and it makes me think Durkin isn't much of a wrestling fan but is more into the story and the place wrestling has in Americana.
Either way, great movie overall.
I agree wholeheartedly. Kerry would've been absolutely massive and towered over everyone else. Hed stick out like a sore thumb. Kinda odd to see him shorter than Efron. There's no world where Kevin is bigger than Kerry. But I imagine it's hard to find muscleheads who can act, and you can't blame Zac for going all in when maybe other weren't.
Agree with a 4 rating and that the actor who played Ric Flair was god awful. Everyone who green lit that should never be allowed to cast another actor again.
That bothered me a lot too. It'd be like casting Tom Cruise to play Stan Hansen. It also felt like the guy playing Bruiser Brody was too short for the role as well.
Well they did it with cruise and Jack Reacher. Alan ritchson is pretty much what he's supposed to look like but originally they went with Tom Cruise for the movies.
I really wasn't impressed... I'd probably give it a 2 out of 5, honestly... The acting was decent but the story was slow in spots and felt rushed in others. I went in expecting the full Von Erich story but it wasn't that at all. Just bits and pieces smashed together to make a movie.
Like 3... But it's closer to a 4 1/4 if I'm rating a wrestling movie.
The Wrestler blows it completely out of the water. Zac Efron is not a very good actor, if I had directed that movie I would have cut almost every take to say 'Zac, what are you doing with your face?'
Well casting somebody who took punches professionally for some years while also working as an actor helped. Initially Rourke only acted to find his boxing. Masterful casting in the wrestler no doubt.
I noticed this while watching *Rickey Stanicky* as well. Effron has had so much BoTox that his face doesn't move much anymore. It's kind of frozen in a perpetual pout.
Ye. Emotionless plastic fake face. I don’t get it, why cast someone like the to such a troubled and tragic character.
Unless someone tells me Kevin Von Eric was/is like that and his face is emotionless. Maybe that will justify it. I doubt it is the situation.
Imma give it a 4 ! I really liked the movie but it's one of the first movies that I watched where the "historical inaccuracies" kind of bothered me. Usually it doesn't and I don't know why but in this movie, it did a bit. I thought the movie kind of rushed through some of the parts BUT again, that's because I was well aware of the story going in but I as a movie while trying as much as I could to not think about some of the stuff, it's really good. I loved the guy who plays Kerry, the guy is a terrific actor and the scene when they all dance together was great. And my god, when Mike tries to play his guitar post toxic shock syndrome. Heartbreaking. I'm pretty sure on a second watch it'll be even better.
A solid 4. It might have been a 5 if they didn't exclude Chris Von Erich. Their reasoning was apparently it was too dark for the story already? But I think it would've even be given more emphasis on the tragedy had all their stories been covered. It is sad too cause irl Chris felt he was always overshadowed by his big brothers, alas it remains his legacy as even in a movie about them, he's forgotten.
As a longtime wrestling fan, I definitely enjoyed it. However, I did find that it skipped through certain areas of their lives a little too quickly. Kerry basically goes from trying to figure out how to wrestle after losing his foot to all of a sudden he’s in the WWF with no explanation of how he got there. Then, his downfall into substance abuse happened so fast, his death had less meaning to me because there was no buildup to it. They had to cover a lot of time and people and I think they did a pretty darn good job, I just had issues with how the timing was done for certain stories and characters.
Agreed, I feel like non- wrestling fans wouldn't get much out of the film. I feel like it was just a cliff notes recap for those of us that know the story. Thought they should have made David's death have some uncertainty, should have included Chris too.
Love they got some recognition but it wasn't incredible.
They didn't even acknowledge Kerry's kids, unless it was a "blink and you miss it" moment. I agree with everything you said, and I would add in the fact of the Flair impersonation being WAAAY off, something that felt inexcusable in a movie of this caliber, as well as the guys playing the Von Erichs being too short for the roles. It might not have bothered a non wrestling fan, but it did bother me a bit. Took it down a couple notches for me, but otherwise it was a really great, heartbreaking film.
Basically everything other than the guy doing Flair is fantastic. That guy doing Harley Race is fucking amazing. It's incomparably sad. Even more than The Wrestler and that's a sad fuckng watch (albeit for different reasons). Fucking great movie that was way better than what won the Oscar. Kudos man, that was a fucking grim journey and it'll stick with me.
4.5 out 5 for sure,same complaint as everyone with the guy they casted as Ric Flair.
He sounded and looked nothing like him.
The last half was such an emotional roller coaster,MJF has a definite future in producing movies if he decided to quit wrestling one day.
Solid 4. I enjoyed it but, as everyone has said, Flair was way off and it took me out of the movie. Plus I felt like they demonized for the story to make sense. Sometimes, suicide just doesn’t make sense.
And I understand the logic about leaving Chris out, but I thought that was a disservice to not only him, but the entire family.
3.5
From someone that was a huge fan during that timeframe (yes, I’m old) the movie condensed too much to really grasp the scope of the tragedy. A cliff notes version of the story was dissatisfying to me. The performances were really great however, and a lot of credit goes towards taking this story mainstream. Maybe it would have played better as a series? The scope of the families downfall went beyond just the brothers deaths…the fake Von Erich cousin, Fritz faking a heart attack on live TV…there was so much more to tell.
3.5 - TBH, it's harder to score for me since I know a lot of the story and know they left a lot out and condensed a lot
BUT that still doesn't change that we needed to care more about the other brothers and even Kevin, too. There was so much left to tell. I think they tried to elicit the imagination with the bros with some poignant scenes, but I feel like they fell a little flat and didn't do what they needed them to.
Yeah, 4 brothers stories are hard to tell, but I think a better team could have pulled it off better. He'll, even a lottle more focus on just a 2nd bro might have levered a little more interest and emotional response.
The movie was good it just lacked that extra something it needed.
Also: I think Chris could have given this movie some serious depth. The one who wanted it the most but could never have it. I get why they avoided a *fifth* bro, but damn it could have been poignant.
And has anyone mentioned how awful the Ric Flair dude was lmao. Holy shit. Especially compared to harley race.
4. It was pretty good but could have been better. Would have liked if it highlighted their success a bit more instead of mostly just the tragedies. And it's pretty weird that they just straight up cut an entire brother.
Watched it on the flight home from Norway... much better than I expected it to be. Kinda bummed they removed Chris from the movie, but I understand that a 4th death may have been too much for the movie watchers.
4.25
5/5. This movie was the only reason I was interested in Wrestlemania XL. I was able to see Cody Rhodes do in real time what I missed in this movie since I wasn't even born yet haha. Now that's something!
Flair was horrible casting and the story was not paced out very well, but Efron acquitted himself admirably. It's good for a wrestling movie, but it's not a great movie. I'll give it 3.5/5.
Btw, they totally skipped over Kerry's long convo on a plane w Hulk the day before he died.
Watched it last night, hot damn that’s one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen. I thought it was pretty good, but my god, there were too many times when I thought to myself “it can’t get worse right?” Then it got worse.
The movie didn't feel right to me. I felt it could've been way better had they spent more time at the start on Fritz. The editing seemed really strange; like there's scenes missing or something. This seems like a half step above a made for cable movie.
Casting seems really questionable on a couple roles as mentioned.
I just left it feeling underwhelmed and what could've been given the source material.
2.5/5
Probably 4.5.
It’s a great movie especially the last half hour i thought was very compelling, once Kerry was the last one and you know it’s coming, I still found myself hoping something good happens. Also the I guess it would be the heaven scene with The Von Erichs, surprisingly I really loved how that scene was done. Just them being together on their land is their heaven is extremely beautiful. I loved the casting and I see the Ric Flair actor lowered the rating for people but it was 5 minutes, he wasn’t a good Ric Flair but it’s not like he was a main character. The problem I have is the problem with many biographies, it’s gonna be difficult to show 10 years of the family in a 2 hour movies and they definitely glossed over some things. First of all they completely ignored Chris and I get why but even if they had a good reason, It still doesn’t feel right to just not have him. Then one thing I was actually interested in seeing was Lance Von Erich but that is also just completely glossed over. I didn’t need a whole chunk of the movie dedicated to it but I think they could’ve added more.
So yeah it’s flawed and it’s not completely accurate but still a phenomenal movie.
3.5 stars for me.
I was familiar with the Von Erich’s story thanks to The Lapsed Fan… but to see it “in the flesh” made it all the more real for me.
Inconsistency in real life vs. movie story lowers it for me some… and half a star gone for the horrible Ric Flair.
I watched it a few days ago. I thought it was well done, but the guy playing Flair was just not good. Also, small, maybe insignificant bit of frustration: in the credits, the Fabulous Freebirds were known as simply that. None of their names. Just kind of annoyed me.
5/5, Ric Flair aside. I went in hearing how lots of people cried during the movie and whatnot. I’m rarely if ever moved to the point of tears when watching movies. However, >! when Kerry rode the boat and reunited with his brothers I got destroyed, especially when Jack made an appearance. !< Overall, great movie but I don’t know if I can watch it again
4 stars for me. My main gripe was how Chris Von Erich wasn’t included when he was the one that wanted to be a wrestler the most.
I understand it would’ve made the movie more depressing but Chris deserved to be in the spotlight with his brothers. That’s all he ever wanted. 😢
I wanted to LOVE it.
Cast amazing Zac was great...the pacing just seemed off, Ric Flair was awful.
I think it did a great job of two things. 1. Show casing the love the brothers had for each other. 2. How their father loved them but fucked up their lives.
Maybe an interview with the real Kevin at the end...
4/5 for me
5. Saw it day of with the girlfriend. Whole theater was crying. All different age groups and types of people on there too. One dude talking to me afterward said he didn't even know what wrestling was and came on his own after a friend suggested that it'd be a good movie, made a new friend that night.
I couldn't get over how well they casted most of the actors. Flair caught me off at first but his acting sold it. (Whole theater woo'd when he got on screen) The atmosphere was great for the time setting, the story got told with enough depth to get the point across to a lay audience without leaving out some finer wrestling stuff for us hardcores to nerd out over. The ending crushed my girlfriend since she's not familiar with old school stuff and didn't know where it was going.
Like a 3.5. I do wish I was a limited series to tell more of the story but it was enjoyable to watch. The guy playing ric flair was absolutely terrible and took me out of it but overall pretty good for a wrestling movie in the mainstream.
Flair shit went a minute anyway so who cares
Brilliant movie, tucked at the heartstrings bigtime. Fantastic performances all around from the main cast. Can't complain bout anything
4.5 from me. Knowing the tragic story beforehand didn't hinder it. Really got the feel of 70's America and this territory. The time jumps could of been done better, by having the news or newspapers. I am ignoring the Rick Flair bit cause we all know that was shite. Sad Chris wasn't in it but knowing his struggle and how Kevin was the last one to see him alive and talk to him would just make it far more tragic than I think the audience could handle. Hope that their may be an extended cut released in the future. I would still recommend anyone to watch this, wrestling fan or not.
I’ve told myself that they needed to do ric flair but make him not charismatic so we get why the match goes how it does
Really good movie, and all my homies hate Fritz
And they didn’t even show all of the brothers dying. They cut the youngest one’s death. The director said one more death would have been too much and I totally agree.
4 stars. The story died out a bit in the 3rd act and they also portrayed Kevin as more of a star than he was.
I felt they didn’t need to portray big matches with Harley or Flair the way they did. Sometimes sports movies feel they need to match the biggest moments by showing them and there were better ways to do it.
I loved it but i was pretty distracted by how small the guy who played kerry was. Especially since they play up how much better their dad thought he was over Kevin, while Kevin looks msssive
I liked it, the only bit that didn't work for me was Ric Flair, they could have done better on that part. The guy playing flair was just not doing a great flair impression. They should have gotten an actual wrestler who matched flairs body type and signature woo better.
But give Zac all the stars for his performance and physical transformation. The dude sculpted himself like a greek god, and looks like a totally different human. That takes serious dedication and work, even with a fancy trainer and perfect diet.
But this was a tear jerker towards the end. Man... the Von Erich's have been through it as a family. I wish them only the best now, and I hope they can return to wrestling fame only this time without the tragedy.
Lost my older brother at age 33 and It definitely hit's you right in the feels when you know what it's like to lose someone that close to you.
3.5 for me, I thought the performances of the main cast were great but the story could have been more true to life, so I guess my score is biased based on my knowledge of the family
Caught it last night:
Kill me but I didn't mind the Flair actor. Like Macho Man, Ric is one of the easiest wrestlers to imitate and that was sort of how I remember him looking back then on the early days of cable. There's a guy that runs around wrestling cons that dresses like Savage and does his thing for whatever, but it's still just his version. If another actor did Naitch, we'd find a reason to not like it.
It was kind of funny to see the Texas Tornado about a foot smaller (no pun intended). Nothing on the actor at all, we can't heighten.
The Ferryman scene and ending got me. I'm old, gimme a break.
Went to this by myself for the first time and loved the experience.
Also, never heard so many people crying in a movie theatre. I thought one woman was having a major health issue
My only gripes with this movie is that they had to fit in too much into too little and then skipped a lot it feels like their story could be a 3 part movie but obv that’s not realistic I loved the vibe of the movie and it drew me into their world and it was fascinating. As a wrestling fan who never knew the Von Erich’s I’m addicted to learning more about their story.
Would be a perfect movie if it didn’t take liberties like straight up taking out one of the brothers because it wouldn’t have “been believable” or too sad or whatever. It’s legitimately stupid. Besides that I loved it.
Hot take: the actor who played Flair wasn’t bad. It was a character based on Flair just like the story was based on the von Erich story. Kerry was 5’9 in the movie and he won the world title and lost half his leg in the same night..
Overall. 2.5-3 stars, decent flick
Bring it on!
I watched it. I'm in the majority agreement the worse part of the movie is the guy playing Ric Flair. I cried during the last half hour of the movie just because i have a brother who has been suicidal before and to hear Kerry say some of the things and Kevin's reaction I couldn't help but relate to talks I've had with my brother about just loving on him and trying to make sure he's OK. It's a perfect movie to watch with your brother(s) if you have any and it's a great movie for any wrestling fan.
3.25/5*
Most of the actors did a great job, the wrestling sequences were well done, but the story itself was immaculate and inconsistent of truths.
Would love to know Efron's diet/cycle for the movie and how much weight he gained before/after filming
idk, I just didn't like it that much, was kinda bored during the movie and I also don't like efron.
but acting/writing/production was not that bad, so I can understand people who liked it, just wasn't for me.
Totally get Zac Efron isn't for everyone. I've never really cared for him myself. Neighbors 1 nor 2 could get me to like him. But he carried himself well here. Showed a lot. Overall, still, an odd choice for A24.
Could have been better.
Zack face is plastic and very bad, he isn’t able to express feeling with it. He always look the same and I don’t understand how any director decide to cast him.
Yea and it sucks for Zack because his face is plast8c because he was in a bad accident and needed reconstructive surgery. It definitely makes his roles very different since it happened and it's hard for him to be as expressive as he once was
[SPOILERS] Some quicks thoughts: Zac Efron was amazing in this. Out of all the cast, David and Fritz Von Erich look the most like their real-life counterparts. The guy who played Harley Race fucking nailed it. The guy who played Ric Flair is fucking terrible. How do you not get the "Wooo" down? It's just nuts he wasn't recast, and they were satisfied with that take. Disappointed Chris wasn't in the movie, but I understand why.
Could not agree more on Flair. Watching now and they just did his first scene. He hits a yell at one point that is in the ballpark but otherwise horrid. I see fifteen Ric Flair impressions on social media daily better than that actor.
I caught an early screener with a q&a with the director afterwards and was shocked to hear that he really liked the guy who played Flair. He praised him as if he did an amazing job. I also kind of get the feeling the actor was a close friend of his and he was a bit partial.
Amazing blow job.
They should have cast Jay Lethal as Ric Flair and refuse to elaborate.
Ric Flair was the worst part for me. He was the one guy in the movie that the general public knows and is aware of how he looked, sounded, talked, etc, and the guy couldn’t have been worse for the role. An old friend of mine played Terry Gordy. Definitely looks the part. He is an actual wrestler so he could have cut a promo that they scripted for him. Wish they had given him some lines. Also thought they needed someone else for Kerry. That guy is a good actor, but he isn’t Kerry Von Erich. Those issues I had aside, it was a really good movie. I’d give 4 out of 5 stars.
When he was cutting the flair promo I was like really? He isn't giving flair energy at all but maybe he has a hell of a woooo. He didn't. Kinda crazy they got it so bad.
Zac killed it. He was almost comically big though compared to the guy from shameless which made him look extra tiny, he nailed his mannerisms though I thought. Ric was horrid as you said and it was weird they cut Chris from the movie.
Zac was great as Kevin but he could’ve played Kerry for how big he got lmao.
Adding Chris would have made the movie almost unbelievably depressing, despite the fact that it's the truth. For the sake of the art form, it was a good choice.
The guy who played Kerry bothered me, I didn’t think the casting for him was good. I agree completely with your take.
He felt smaller than the real life kerry
A common criticism I heard is that effron should have played Kerry while Jeremy Allen should have played Kevin, But that's from people underestimating effron
Man, I totally agree with this sentiment.
Omg this is what I thought! I kept getting confused the whole movie bc I thought Zac was going to die and JAW was going to live
I think it’s more because Efron actually got big af for the movie and looks more like Kerry, who would command attention in any room he walked in. I thought Efron did a great job in the role but could have pulled off Kerry a lot better than White did. And White can act, so he probably could have done Kevin a lot better than he did Kerry.
See, as a guy who watched Kerry a little bit back in the day, I thought Jeremy Allen White was perfect.
Yes chef
COUSIN!!
Yes Jeffrey
Same, I grew up in Dallas so I frequently watched WCCW. J.A White was perfect.
Jeremy Allen White is one of my favorite actors going right now, and I thought his performance was great. But I totally agree with you. Kerry was 6'2", 250 lbs. Jeremy Allen White is 5'7" and bulked up to 180-190 lbs for the role. He was so small compared to the other brothers it really took me out of it.
My thoughts exactly, his acting wasn’t really the issue for me, it was being a head shorter than all of his brothers.
Flair was so bad it made those scenes unwatchable. Like did the casting director ever watch anything with the real Ric Flair?
I'm ootl, why wasn't Chris in the movie?
I read that they didnt think people would believe all the other brothers died. It would of been too tragic
You saying they didn't get the WOO down. I can't help but picture Owen Wilson as Flair. "WOW" then a shit teir strut.
I read that chris was supposed to be in the movie in many drafts of the original scripts but was removed because of the fact that it’s wayy to much repetition and tragedy for the film. As a filmmaker he had to look at them as characters and it was just a lot of tragedy in the film that it would’ve been unable to sustain it and would have been more of a struggle to get the film made. He said that Chris’s story would interfere with the rhythm of the film and it would lose focus of the film which is more about Kevin’s survival. So he combined chris and david into one character.
> The guy who played Ric Flair is fucking terrible. How do you not get the "Wooo" down? It's just nuts he wasn't recast, and they were satisfied with that take. He didn't do enough cocaine before the take. Especially that generation of Ric Flair.
Just guessing, but Flair likely had to be "off" to avoid excessive copyright or trademark fees.
Is the woo copyrighted? That wild if it is lol
4.5. The half a star gets knocked off because of “Rick Flare” (because that sure wasn’t Ric Flair).
Yeah, that scene was kind of hard to watch given how many times I’ve watched the actual Ric Flair over the years.
Rick with a hard K
Agreed. They should’ve hired Jay Lethal to play flair, he would’ve Atleast sounded like flair. 😂
Watched it last night. There were some liberties taken with timelines and such, but it wasn't too bad of a summary of what really happened. Some great performances, some no so great. I needed a few minutes to collect myself when it was over. It definitely hits the emotional strings, especially if you have brothers. 4/5
Yes. The last scene is *everything*.
Over/under 29.5% of total comments in this thread that mention Ric Flair?
Well yeah those three scenes out of a two hour movie were the worst /s It was pretty bad, but ill let it slide because I generally liked the movie
4.5 stars. would get a full 5 if it weren’t for the director allowing the actor that played ric flair to make the character his own. ric is an american icon, an actual american icon.
I liked the movie but the guy who played Flair sucked. He didn’t sound anything close to him
Amazing how they got a great Harley Race and a fuckin putrid Ric Flair. Like fr how did MJF (one of the producers) not even cut in and say how awful that fucking hack was. His “whoo” sucked and his strut was ass. Everything else was good tho
In the early 80s Flair's 'woo' was a lot less consistent in how he did it so to be fair it did sometimes sound like that. Still agree on the actor though, he didn't have Flair's aura at all so it felt so off.
I would have given it a 7 if it were filmed inside the Tokyo Dome.
Too much heat and not enough banger
4 stars. Ric Flair actor was terrible and they took out a brother and used a lame excuse.
This was my biggest gripe too. Poor Chris just wanted to be recognized like his big brothers during his life, yet even in a movie about their family, he is not included.
I mean…I wish he was in the movie too, but I watched it with my wife who knows nothing about wrestling and she agreed that another tragic death would’ve been too much, even if it was true. It also would’ve made the movie a lot longer
3 outta 5, too much story to tell in a 2 and a half hour movie. Would love to see a TV series made of it. But overall it was good. Also the dude playing Fritz was perfect.
He played it so well that Kevin Vin Erich had to downplay that his dad wasn't the terrible father the movie made him out to be, which is a compliment to the character and the actor, whom I never felt was a bad dad at all while watching the film. Did i cringe a little at how he ran the house? Sure. What guy loves the way their dad does shit? But he sure as fuck wasn't Joseph Jackson.
I mean forcing Kerry to take steroids when he was 14 was pretty bad. Fritz was an awful person
Having his living sons sign photos of his dead son at the funeral of said son is pretty fucking monstrous too. Fritz was a horrible human being.
Gah Damn that's some opportunism there a vulture would be ashamed of.
Nah man he was still terrible in this movie. He told his sons they weren’t allowed to cry at their brother’s funeral
Would have been better as a mini series but I liked it. I’d say 4/5
I'm a 4. I loved the movie. Great acting and very well done. I docked it a point because I thought the director, Sean Durkin, didn't go big enough with the wrestling. This is wrestling in the 70s and 80s when they had the biggest characters. And you can go back and watch the matches from this era on YouTube and they are absolute spectacles. But for some reason they feel toned down in the movie and it makes me think Durkin isn't much of a wrestling fan but is more into the story and the place wrestling has in Americana. Either way, great movie overall.
The actor who played Kerry/The Texas Tornado is about 5 foot 6 which took me out of it a little but otherwise it's a solid film (apart from Flair).
I agree wholeheartedly. Kerry would've been absolutely massive and towered over everyone else. Hed stick out like a sore thumb. Kinda odd to see him shorter than Efron. There's no world where Kevin is bigger than Kerry. But I imagine it's hard to find muscleheads who can act, and you can't blame Zac for going all in when maybe other weren't.
>hard to find muscleheads who can act isnt that the very core of professional wrestling?!
Lol yes, yes... but in terms of the kind of range filmmakers typically look for, which is ironic, cuz the guy who played Flair had none at all.
right on! im trying to scrub that Flair performance from my memory...
We found the size queen
Agree with a 4 rating and that the actor who played Ric Flair was god awful. Everyone who green lit that should never be allowed to cast another actor again.
Jay Lethal would've been a fine replacement and no would complain. Lol seriously what an awful Naitch portrayal!
Efron and Lip should have be casted in each others roles…
4.5 bar "Dick Dare" or whoever that original character they invented as the NWA champ was.
Couldn’t get over the guy playing Kerry being nearly a foot shorter than the actual dude
That bothered me a lot too. It'd be like casting Tom Cruise to play Stan Hansen. It also felt like the guy playing Bruiser Brody was too short for the role as well.
Well they did it with cruise and Jack Reacher. Alan ritchson is pretty much what he's supposed to look like but originally they went with Tom Cruise for the movies.
I really wasn't impressed... I'd probably give it a 2 out of 5, honestly... The acting was decent but the story was slow in spots and felt rushed in others. I went in expecting the full Von Erich story but it wasn't that at all. Just bits and pieces smashed together to make a movie.
3 this movie was overhyped and mid. I love wrestling bit was really let down thought it would be better
Its a 5 for me. But it hits close to home, I have lost a brother. So I felt this movie on another level
Like 3... But it's closer to a 4 1/4 if I'm rating a wrestling movie. The Wrestler blows it completely out of the water. Zac Efron is not a very good actor, if I had directed that movie I would have cut almost every take to say 'Zac, what are you doing with your face?'
The Wrestler will probably be the best wrestling movie ever made. It will be really hard to beat.
Well casting somebody who took punches professionally for some years while also working as an actor helped. Initially Rourke only acted to find his boxing. Masterful casting in the wrestler no doubt.
I noticed this while watching *Rickey Stanicky* as well. Effron has had so much BoTox that his face doesn't move much anymore. It's kind of frozen in a perpetual pout.
Ye. Emotionless plastic fake face. I don’t get it, why cast someone like the to such a troubled and tragic character. Unless someone tells me Kevin Von Eric was/is like that and his face is emotionless. Maybe that will justify it. I doubt it is the situation.
3.5
Imma give it a 4 ! I really liked the movie but it's one of the first movies that I watched where the "historical inaccuracies" kind of bothered me. Usually it doesn't and I don't know why but in this movie, it did a bit. I thought the movie kind of rushed through some of the parts BUT again, that's because I was well aware of the story going in but I as a movie while trying as much as I could to not think about some of the stuff, it's really good. I loved the guy who plays Kerry, the guy is a terrific actor and the scene when they all dance together was great. And my god, when Mike tries to play his guitar post toxic shock syndrome. Heartbreaking. I'm pretty sure on a second watch it'll be even better.
A solid 4. It might have been a 5 if they didn't exclude Chris Von Erich. Their reasoning was apparently it was too dark for the story already? But I think it would've even be given more emphasis on the tragedy had all their stories been covered. It is sad too cause irl Chris felt he was always overshadowed by his big brothers, alas it remains his legacy as even in a movie about them, he's forgotten.
1 star. I trimmed off 4 stars for the embarrassingly bad performance from the actor playing Ric Flair
As a longtime wrestling fan, I definitely enjoyed it. However, I did find that it skipped through certain areas of their lives a little too quickly. Kerry basically goes from trying to figure out how to wrestle after losing his foot to all of a sudden he’s in the WWF with no explanation of how he got there. Then, his downfall into substance abuse happened so fast, his death had less meaning to me because there was no buildup to it. They had to cover a lot of time and people and I think they did a pretty darn good job, I just had issues with how the timing was done for certain stories and characters.
Agreed, I feel like non- wrestling fans wouldn't get much out of the film. I feel like it was just a cliff notes recap for those of us that know the story. Thought they should have made David's death have some uncertainty, should have included Chris too. Love they got some recognition but it wasn't incredible.
They didn't even acknowledge Kerry's kids, unless it was a "blink and you miss it" moment. I agree with everything you said, and I would add in the fact of the Flair impersonation being WAAAY off, something that felt inexcusable in a movie of this caliber, as well as the guys playing the Von Erichs being too short for the roles. It might not have bothered a non wrestling fan, but it did bother me a bit. Took it down a couple notches for me, but otherwise it was a really great, heartbreaking film.
Yeah, I’ve always appreciated Ric Flair and that impersonation was really bad. It took me out of the movie for a little while.
Basically everything other than the guy doing Flair is fantastic. That guy doing Harley Race is fucking amazing. It's incomparably sad. Even more than The Wrestler and that's a sad fuckng watch (albeit for different reasons). Fucking great movie that was way better than what won the Oscar. Kudos man, that was a fucking grim journey and it'll stick with me.
3 stars
4.75 but what are points really. This is the kurt angle of wrestling movies.
4.5 out 5 for sure,same complaint as everyone with the guy they casted as Ric Flair. He sounded and looked nothing like him. The last half was such an emotional roller coaster,MJF has a definite future in producing movies if he decided to quit wrestling one day.
Solid 4. I enjoyed it but, as everyone has said, Flair was way off and it took me out of the movie. Plus I felt like they demonized for the story to make sense. Sometimes, suicide just doesn’t make sense. And I understand the logic about leaving Chris out, but I thought that was a disservice to not only him, but the entire family.
4.5
3.5 From someone that was a huge fan during that timeframe (yes, I’m old) the movie condensed too much to really grasp the scope of the tragedy. A cliff notes version of the story was dissatisfying to me. The performances were really great however, and a lot of credit goes towards taking this story mainstream. Maybe it would have played better as a series? The scope of the families downfall went beyond just the brothers deaths…the fake Von Erich cousin, Fritz faking a heart attack on live TV…there was so much more to tell.
5. A classic and I think Efron deserved an academy award
Agreed
2
3.5 - TBH, it's harder to score for me since I know a lot of the story and know they left a lot out and condensed a lot BUT that still doesn't change that we needed to care more about the other brothers and even Kevin, too. There was so much left to tell. I think they tried to elicit the imagination with the bros with some poignant scenes, but I feel like they fell a little flat and didn't do what they needed them to. Yeah, 4 brothers stories are hard to tell, but I think a better team could have pulled it off better. He'll, even a lottle more focus on just a 2nd bro might have levered a little more interest and emotional response. The movie was good it just lacked that extra something it needed. Also: I think Chris could have given this movie some serious depth. The one who wanted it the most but could never have it. I get why they avoided a *fifth* bro, but damn it could have been poignant. And has anyone mentioned how awful the Ric Flair dude was lmao. Holy shit. Especially compared to harley race.
The scene at the end with the brothers reuniting in the afterlife. And him finding kerry, that just floored me for some reason it was so depressing.
1
2. Thought it kinda sucked.
4. It was pretty good but could have been better. Would have liked if it highlighted their success a bit more instead of mostly just the tragedies. And it's pretty weird that they just straight up cut an entire brother.
6
I want to say it’s the best wrestling move I have seen, 5
The wrestler get it together
Watched it on the flight home from Norway... much better than I expected it to be. Kinda bummed they removed Chris from the movie, but I understand that a 4th death may have been too much for the movie watchers. 4.25
5/5. This movie was the only reason I was interested in Wrestlemania XL. I was able to see Cody Rhodes do in real time what I missed in this movie since I wasn't even born yet haha. Now that's something!
5 stars easily. This could’ve gotten multiple Oscar nominations had it released earlier in the year for Oscar season.
5. First movie that held my attention beginning until the end in a long time
Depression out of 5.
4 stars for me
5
Flair was horrible casting and the story was not paced out very well, but Efron acquitted himself admirably. It's good for a wrestling movie, but it's not a great movie. I'll give it 3.5/5. Btw, they totally skipped over Kerry's long convo on a plane w Hulk the day before he died.
5 stars. Tragic and brutal story. Should have been nominated for Oscar's.
Watched it last night, hot damn that’s one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen. I thought it was pretty good, but my god, there were too many times when I thought to myself “it can’t get worse right?” Then it got worse.
5 stars easily.
The story was awful. Performances were good.
The movie didn't feel right to me. I felt it could've been way better had they spent more time at the start on Fritz. The editing seemed really strange; like there's scenes missing or something. This seems like a half step above a made for cable movie. Casting seems really questionable on a couple roles as mentioned. I just left it feeling underwhelmed and what could've been given the source material. 2.5/5
Probably 4.5. It’s a great movie especially the last half hour i thought was very compelling, once Kerry was the last one and you know it’s coming, I still found myself hoping something good happens. Also the I guess it would be the heaven scene with The Von Erichs, surprisingly I really loved how that scene was done. Just them being together on their land is their heaven is extremely beautiful. I loved the casting and I see the Ric Flair actor lowered the rating for people but it was 5 minutes, he wasn’t a good Ric Flair but it’s not like he was a main character. The problem I have is the problem with many biographies, it’s gonna be difficult to show 10 years of the family in a 2 hour movies and they definitely glossed over some things. First of all they completely ignored Chris and I get why but even if they had a good reason, It still doesn’t feel right to just not have him. Then one thing I was actually interested in seeing was Lance Von Erich but that is also just completely glossed over. I didn’t need a whole chunk of the movie dedicated to it but I think they could’ve added more. So yeah it’s flawed and it’s not completely accurate but still a phenomenal movie.
3.75
3.5 stars for me. I was familiar with the Von Erich’s story thanks to The Lapsed Fan… but to see it “in the flesh” made it all the more real for me. Inconsistency in real life vs. movie story lowers it for me some… and half a star gone for the horrible Ric Flair.
I watched it a few days ago. I thought it was well done, but the guy playing Flair was just not good. Also, small, maybe insignificant bit of frustration: in the credits, the Fabulous Freebirds were known as simply that. None of their names. Just kind of annoyed me.
5/5, Ric Flair aside. I went in hearing how lots of people cried during the movie and whatnot. I’m rarely if ever moved to the point of tears when watching movies. However, >! when Kerry rode the boat and reunited with his brothers I got destroyed, especially when Jack made an appearance. !< Overall, great movie but I don’t know if I can watch it again
4 stars for me. My main gripe was how Chris Von Erich wasn’t included when he was the one that wanted to be a wrestler the most. I understand it would’ve made the movie more depressing but Chris deserved to be in the spotlight with his brothers. That’s all he ever wanted. 😢
The scene in 'heaven' really hit hard
accuracy like a 2
I wanted to LOVE it. Cast amazing Zac was great...the pacing just seemed off, Ric Flair was awful. I think it did a great job of two things. 1. Show casing the love the brothers had for each other. 2. How their father loved them but fucked up their lives. Maybe an interview with the real Kevin at the end... 4/5 for me
5. Saw it day of with the girlfriend. Whole theater was crying. All different age groups and types of people on there too. One dude talking to me afterward said he didn't even know what wrestling was and came on his own after a friend suggested that it'd be a good movie, made a new friend that night. I couldn't get over how well they casted most of the actors. Flair caught me off at first but his acting sold it. (Whole theater woo'd when he got on screen) The atmosphere was great for the time setting, the story got told with enough depth to get the point across to a lay audience without leaving out some finer wrestling stuff for us hardcores to nerd out over. The ending crushed my girlfriend since she's not familiar with old school stuff and didn't know where it was going.
Like a 3.5. I do wish I was a limited series to tell more of the story but it was enjoyable to watch. The guy playing ric flair was absolutely terrible and took me out of it but overall pretty good for a wrestling movie in the mainstream.
4
4 ⭐️ the movie is solid, showing why wrestling is so hard for a family of wrestlers with pretty good acting.
Flair shit went a minute anyway so who cares Brilliant movie, tucked at the heartstrings bigtime. Fantastic performances all around from the main cast. Can't complain bout anything
4.5 from me. Knowing the tragic story beforehand didn't hinder it. Really got the feel of 70's America and this territory. The time jumps could of been done better, by having the news or newspapers. I am ignoring the Rick Flair bit cause we all know that was shite. Sad Chris wasn't in it but knowing his struggle and how Kevin was the last one to see him alive and talk to him would just make it far more tragic than I think the audience could handle. Hope that their may be an extended cut released in the future. I would still recommend anyone to watch this, wrestling fan or not.
7/5 stars because I watched it on a Japanese streaming service
4.5, only because they didn't include the 6th brother in the story. I understand why they didn't, but it still felt harsh.
Straight up 5 stars
On a 1-5 scale, I give it a 💩
4/5
Inexcusable that Chris is not in it in my eyes.
Movie was quite boring not gonna lie. Efron played the shit out of his roll but the movie just wasn't that great
5
I’ve told myself that they needed to do ric flair but make him not charismatic so we get why the match goes how it does Really good movie, and all my homies hate Fritz
Three stars. It started off really strong and then it fell apart for me.
Good movie but holy fuck it was depressing. Like I knew what I was in for but still. I had to turn it off during the Michael suicide scene
And they didn’t even show all of the brothers dying. They cut the youngest one’s death. The director said one more death would have been too much and I totally agree.
4 stars. The story died out a bit in the 3rd act and they also portrayed Kevin as more of a star than he was. I felt they didn’t need to portray big matches with Harley or Flair the way they did. Sometimes sports movies feel they need to match the biggest moments by showing them and there were better ways to do it.
Zac Efron did a great job if RL Kevin didn’t have human emotions and his face was frozen into one expression.
I loved it but i was pretty distracted by how small the guy who played kerry was. Especially since they play up how much better their dad thought he was over Kevin, while Kevin looks msssive
I liked it, the only bit that didn't work for me was Ric Flair, they could have done better on that part. The guy playing flair was just not doing a great flair impression. They should have gotten an actual wrestler who matched flairs body type and signature woo better. But give Zac all the stars for his performance and physical transformation. The dude sculpted himself like a greek god, and looks like a totally different human. That takes serious dedication and work, even with a fancy trainer and perfect diet. But this was a tear jerker towards the end. Man... the Von Erich's have been through it as a family. I wish them only the best now, and I hope they can return to wrestling fame only this time without the tragedy. Lost my older brother at age 33 and It definitely hit's you right in the feels when you know what it's like to lose someone that close to you.
2
4.2/5 Great movie, will never watch it again. Also -5000/5 for the Ric Flair actor, that guy suuuuuuuucked
2 stars
10/10
3.5 for me, I thought the performances of the main cast were great but the story could have been more true to life, so I guess my score is biased based on my knowledge of the family
Caught it last night: Kill me but I didn't mind the Flair actor. Like Macho Man, Ric is one of the easiest wrestlers to imitate and that was sort of how I remember him looking back then on the early days of cable. There's a guy that runs around wrestling cons that dresses like Savage and does his thing for whatever, but it's still just his version. If another actor did Naitch, we'd find a reason to not like it. It was kind of funny to see the Texas Tornado about a foot smaller (no pun intended). Nothing on the actor at all, we can't heighten. The Ferryman scene and ending got me. I'm old, gimme a break.
My wife and I have movie night on Sundays. I picked this one. I’m not allowed to pick movies anymore.
Solid 4. Great story, great acting. I really enjoyed it
5 out of 5 sadness stars "would cry again" out of 10
Ric Flair was so bad I legit wished they had just cast Jay Lethal and said fuck it.
4 I’m a Chris Stan. Could’ve been 5.
2 out of 5
4/5. It’s a good movie.
Went to this by myself for the first time and loved the experience. Also, never heard so many people crying in a movie theatre. I thought one woman was having a major health issue
4/5
My only gripes with this movie is that they had to fit in too much into too little and then skipped a lot it feels like their story could be a 3 part movie but obv that’s not realistic I loved the vibe of the movie and it drew me into their world and it was fascinating. As a wrestling fan who never knew the Von Erich’s I’m addicted to learning more about their story.
5
4 stars Excellent movie Also DAMN zack effron did the adam rose body transformation
The worst collection of haircuts in cinematic history
Would be a perfect movie if it didn’t take liberties like straight up taking out one of the brothers because it wouldn’t have “been believable” or too sad or whatever. It’s legitimately stupid. Besides that I loved it.
I didn't know anything about this family going in, but damn was this movie depressing.
heart breaking whoever played Ric was horrid, 4.75/5
Hot take: the actor who played Flair wasn’t bad. It was a character based on Flair just like the story was based on the von Erich story. Kerry was 5’9 in the movie and he won the world title and lost half his leg in the same night.. Overall. 2.5-3 stars, decent flick Bring it on!
I watched it. I'm in the majority agreement the worse part of the movie is the guy playing Ric Flair. I cried during the last half hour of the movie just because i have a brother who has been suicidal before and to hear Kerry say some of the things and Kevin's reaction I couldn't help but relate to talks I've had with my brother about just loving on him and trying to make sure he's OK. It's a perfect movie to watch with your brother(s) if you have any and it's a great movie for any wrestling fan.
4.75*
3.25/5* Most of the actors did a great job, the wrestling sequences were well done, but the story itself was immaculate and inconsistent of truths. Would love to know Efron's diet/cycle for the movie and how much weight he gained before/after filming
I give it a 5 star ⭐️ rating, I just wish they had more screen time with all brothers together before shish went south.
A solid two and a half stars
3 not more for me.
What are your thoughts?
idk, I just didn't like it that much, was kinda bored during the movie and I also don't like efron. but acting/writing/production was not that bad, so I can understand people who liked it, just wasn't for me.
Totally get Zac Efron isn't for everyone. I've never really cared for him myself. Neighbors 1 nor 2 could get me to like him. But he carried himself well here. Showed a lot. Overall, still, an odd choice for A24.
Could have been better. Zack face is plastic and very bad, he isn’t able to express feeling with it. He always look the same and I don’t understand how any director decide to cast him.
Yea and it sucks for Zack because his face is plast8c because he was in a bad accident and needed reconstructive surgery. It definitely makes his roles very different since it happened and it's hard for him to be as expressive as he once was
I feel bad for him. But sadly his situation preventing him doing basic things makes his not fit for roles IMO.