Review of Generation Iron (2013) by Panta O — 24 Sep 2014

I heard about this film from a friend who went to the European premiere at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival where the sold-out screening was held at the 650 seat Bremen Teater. This is very engaging documentary film which follows the world's best bodybuilders as they train and compete for the coveted Mr. Olympia title. I was never a great fan of this type of activity, but having a front row seat to find out about the lives of the top seven bodybuilders in the sport, including Phil Heath, Kai Greene, Branch Warren and Dennis Wolf, was simply, amazing! And, when you have a guy like Mickey Rourke to narrate the film is always pleasant! I enjoyed the appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Jay Cutler, as well.

It seems that Generation Iron had the biggest documentary opening of 2013, and held position as the #1 documentary in the US at the box office for three straight weeks after its September 20 release. No wonder. The director Vlad Yudin made everything to bring us the reality show "circus" feel to the documentary screen and it kept going with no major flows, of course, if you like reality shows!

It was educational regarding the competitors themselves, their struggles, thoughts... but never went into details of the diet or any of the competitor's workout regimens. Well, maybe this is the product of the times. Nobody is interested in depth anymore. It is entertainment, and entertains really good!