For a second I thought this was that Martial Arts movie that came out a few years back that was not a Tarantino flick, but Tarantino inspired.

The Man with the Iron Fists?

Yes

This is a great movie. Damn is it heavy though. I thought I knew the story going in ... but I guess I'd only heard Kerry's part in it.

The first half is so intoxicating as it brings you into the world of wrestling. The second half is the world's saddest hangover. Effron really plays it perfectly as he is just so numbed and beaten down by all this tragedy. Just wish they had focused more on how Kevin "beat" the curse and how his kids carried on the legacy in a much less tragic way at the end.

I'll give the movie an 8/10 but its one that I'll only be able to watch this one time. I don't think I'll be able to handle the Chris Benoit movie if it ever comes out.

Zac Efron was fantastic. Thought overall the film was very good and pacing was solid for a drama. Didn't know anything about the family, man what a downer but the very ending made me smile.

Efron and McCallany are fantastic. Efron had been showing improved chops for years but this is a real stand out. It is a meaty role that he crushes. Frankly I think Efron is better here than Cillian in Oppenheimer and Leo in KOFM.

Movie overall is fine, its kinda slow. I did not know the family story before this film but sheeeeesh. Very sad. This was much more emotionally effective than any other film I have seen this year, and the final bit with the kids not doubt had many in tears.

I'm not surprised this isn't getting much love this awards season. I didn't think any of the performances were award-worthy. I thought Zac Efron's acting was inconsistent. At times he was fine, and at others, he was kind of bad. I did not feel a strong emotional connection to the characters, which made it difficult to get fully invested. I will say it got more engaging as it progressed. I didn't know anything about this story, so it was interesting to see how everything unfolded.

While sports movies may not be my preferred genre, there are exceptions. I was hoping for something grittier, along the lines of The Wrestler. Unfortunately, this fell short of my expectations and, while not bad, was still disappointing.

6/10

I went to see this last night an unfortunately fell asleep in the middle. Though the beginning and end were pretty good its hard for me to grade it without having seen the whole thing.

Overall I thought it was mostly entertaining and unconventional for a sports drama but nothing I’d watch again.

There is so much meaty material here in terms of overbearing father-sons relationship, sibling jealously, etc. that only ending up a decent drama feels a little underwhelming to me. I didn't love the dad's performance and I think if they made more out of Kerry's comeback without the foot it would've added some much needed good vibes before the rug is pulled out again. I think the wrestling scenes were really well done filming it like it's "real".