I'm not sure what I was expecting from this movie but it was a lot more than this delivered. So many things wrong about it, starting with the fact that the producers tried to make the wrestling itself look real instead of scripted. (Granted, there was the one scene where Bruiser Brody and Gino Hernandez were going over the 'script' with Kevin and David, but apart from that, it seemed like the film really believed - or wanted its viewers to believe - that professional wrestling is all authentic.) Additionally, so many things in the timeline were completely wrong. Kerry Von Erich didn't go out and wreck his motorcycle - and lose his leg - the night he won the NWA title from Ric Flair: it happened YEARS later. Much more interesting to any true fan of the "Von Erich" family is the DVD The Rise and Fall of WCCW which is difficult to find nowadays, since everything has been absorbed by WWE and its "vault". (PS: It would have been great if they could've at least used the authentic opening theme from the old Saturday night WCCW cards.) The entire story, of course, is a tragedy but I suppose the Mike Von Erich story probably disturbed me the worst because I remember being a hardcore fan of WCCW and the Von Erichs when all that happened. I remember seeing Mike try to get a start in the wrestling ring and he just wasn't cut out for it; I also remember him trying to make a comeback and what an embarrassment THAT was. It was heartbreaking to watch because - long before you knew the story behind that whole family - you knew that he was just trying to keep up with his brothers. Another GLARING gaffe - possibly the worst of the film - was how bulked up "Kevin" was in comparison to his brother Kerry. Anyone who followed the Von Erich family knows that Kerry (thank you steroids) made the rest of his brothers look pale and scrawny. Kerry was the one the girls swooned over when he took his ring jacket off. Yet here, it's Kevin who makes his younger brother Kerry look slight and underdeveloped. Lot of huge mistakes throughout that any fan of WCCW would want to look away from. No Marc Lowrance (a staple of the Saturday night WCCW Sportatorium cards) here and very few of the other wrestlers that could have easily been at least a cameo to make this more interesting. And the guy they selected to portray Ric Flair was ridiculous. I was happy to see the little blurb at the close of the film (just before the end credits) regarding Kevin; anyone who can endure such tragedy deserves to at least live a long and happy life...or what's left of it after all this happens. For die-hard WCCW fans, this will be (IMO) a huge letdown; I don't feel it accurately portrays all that really happened and what all the Adkisson/Von Erich family did for the sport. If you can get your hands on a copy of the aforementioned DVD - and you're a fan of what we used to live for on Saturday nights - from 10PM til midnight every Saturday - you owe it to yourself to relive the glory - along with the tragedy - of the Von Erich days. I'll give this film props for that: After watching this, I'm going to break out that DVD and watch it again.
Review by ShubesBlockedParent2024-02-28T02:32:44Z
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this movie but it was a lot more than this delivered. So many things wrong about it, starting with the fact that the producers tried to make the wrestling itself look real instead of scripted. (Granted, there was the one scene where Bruiser Brody and Gino Hernandez were going over the 'script' with Kevin and David, but apart from that, it seemed like the film really believed - or wanted its viewers to believe - that professional wrestling is all authentic.) Additionally, so many things in the timeline were completely wrong. Kerry Von Erich didn't go out and wreck his motorcycle - and lose his leg - the night he won the NWA title from Ric Flair: it happened YEARS later. Much more interesting to any true fan of the "Von Erich" family is the DVD The Rise and Fall of WCCW which is difficult to find nowadays, since everything has been absorbed by WWE and its "vault". (PS: It would have been great if they could've at least used the authentic opening theme from the old Saturday night WCCW cards.) The entire story, of course, is a tragedy but I suppose the Mike Von Erich story probably disturbed me the worst because I remember being a hardcore fan of WCCW and the Von Erichs when all that happened. I remember seeing Mike try to get a start in the wrestling ring and he just wasn't cut out for it; I also remember him trying to make a comeback and what an embarrassment THAT was. It was heartbreaking to watch because - long before you knew the story behind that whole family - you knew that he was just trying to keep up with his brothers. Another GLARING gaffe - possibly the worst of the film - was how bulked up "Kevin" was in comparison to his brother Kerry. Anyone who followed the Von Erich family knows that Kerry (thank you steroids) made the rest of his brothers look pale and scrawny. Kerry was the one the girls swooned over when he took his ring jacket off. Yet here, it's Kevin who makes his younger brother Kerry look slight and underdeveloped. Lot of huge mistakes throughout that any fan of WCCW would want to look away from. No Marc Lowrance (a staple of the Saturday night WCCW Sportatorium cards) here and very few of the other wrestlers that could have easily been at least a cameo to make this more interesting. And the guy they selected to portray Ric Flair was ridiculous. I was happy to see the little blurb at the close of the film (just before the end credits) regarding Kevin; anyone who can endure such tragedy deserves to at least live a long and happy life...or what's left of it after all this happens. For die-hard WCCW fans, this will be (IMO) a huge letdown; I don't feel it accurately portrays all that really happened and what all the Adkisson/Von Erich family did for the sport. If you can get your hands on a copy of the aforementioned DVD - and you're a fan of what we used to live for on Saturday nights - from 10PM til midnight every Saturday - you owe it to yourself to relive the glory - along with the tragedy - of the Von Erich days. I'll give this film props for that: After watching this, I'm going to break out that DVD and watch it again.