Generation Iron

Interesting look into how things have changed in the world of bodybuilding since the cult classic Pumping Iron came out. Overall, the film was well shot and edited with a fairly in-depth look at some Mr. Olympia hopefuls. Overall the movie is more of a commercial for bodybuilding than it is a balanced documentary. However, it was definitely worth watching.

The elephant in the room is the fact that genetics, nutrition, and exercise science haven't changed enough over the past 30 years to make these guys look like something out of a comic book. They are taking steroids....lots of them. There is a plethora of medical evidence that steroids cause deleterious effects on the body, which the film acknowledges. One could argue that all professional athletes are using them, but bodybuilding is different. You HAVE to use steroids in order to compete, and there is no real effort to prevent there use. As a physician and a longtime weightlifter it pains me to see so many people pursing this hobby/sport at the expensive of their health. Most of it boils down to money for advertising and supplements.

Overall, an entertaining movie, but a painful reminder of what bodybuilding has become.

The look of the modern day bodybuilder is not attractive to me at all. Too big, too cut, too tan, just too much of a good thing to the point where it becomes a bad thing. I never understood why in the world anyone would want to pump themselves up into something that huge. This documentary does a really good job in showing the human side behind such an extreme sport. It chronicles the journey of a handful of Mr.Olympia hopefuls and why they do it.

You get to see pieces of their lives, the way they prep, they way they interact with their families if they have them, or how they spend time on their own if they don't. The contrast between all these men defies the bodybuilder stereotype. One is a painter (a damn good one at that) in his free time and sort of a philosopher, the other is no-nonsense and uses science lab equipment to track and map out his progress, etc. Everyone has a story and it's nice to see a human side to the sport, when the contenders all have a physique that separates them from most of the population. The whole reason behind those seemingly ridiculous poses and the tan is explained too in a sensible way.

It's an interesting peek in an industry that's not very mainstream. The more controversial topics like steroids are barely touched upon, and I liked that. This documentary is about the people more than anything. Mickey Rourke's narration is very fitting as well.

First off, I must say that this movie is not very entertaining. I had to watch this movie in three sittings because I could only make it through about 30 minutes without busting out my iPad and surfing the net. It does not capture your attention and bring you on a journey like Pumping Iron did.

I lift regularly and get into bodybuilding every few years so I wanted to check this out. The last time I was into it Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler were having their rivalry so it was good to see who the current generation of guys are but really that was about all this movie was good for. It wasn't really entertaining. To be honest, it seems like they tried to cover too many guys and there wasn't enough time to really build a story. Obviously the showdown is between Heath and Kai but not much extra time is devoted to it. Maybe if they took a cue from Pumping Iron where 80% of the movie was about Lou vs. Arnold, they could have had something good here as Kai and Heath seem so different. I did really like Kai after seeing this film. The dude looks like a beast but to see him that he eats at home with chopsticks, does performance art on the streets and in the subways and paints really impressed me. He is definitely a renaissance man.

I agree with the other reviews here that gripe about the lack of steroid coverage. The movie is not an expose so I get why they didn't say much but when you have Heath claiming that only the bodybuilding community knows how to build muscle while losing fat and the blonde bald guy in Tampa saying the same sort of stuff, it seems the director should have called them out on it.

Instead you get a shot of a syringe in a dorm room fridge with Mickey Rourke saying that everyone refused to talk about GH and steroids and then Arnold saying that the reason no one is aesthetic anymore is because there no just using roids like back in the day but a lot of other drugs which allows people to get really oversized and super shredded. Other than that, nothing much else is said.

Bottom line: Only watch if you are into bodybuilding. Even then you'll get bored but it is still pretty interesting. 5/10

A look into the lives of 8 bodybuilders who are competing for Mr. Olympia, the top bodybuilding contest in the world. With a running time of about 1 hour 46 minutes — less when you take into account the opening and ending credits — there's not much time to really get into lives of the aforementioned 8; but this documentary wisely focuses on the top two contenders for the title: Kai Greene and Phil Heath (reigning Mr. Olympia at the time this movie was being shot).

Heath seems to have it all: a big house in a nice neighborhood, nice cars, a beautiful wife, the favorite of the crowd, good looks, and a seemingly endless supply of confidence. Virtually the opposite is true for Kai Greene: he lives in Brooklyn, NY (in what seems to be the projects), takes the bus and train to get to where he wants to go, lives alone, and has a quiet confidence that is surprising for a man his size. Both men will endure countless hours of pain in the gym and make many more sacrifices to win the highly coveted title of Mr. Olympia.

"Generation Iron" is a great companion piece to "Pumping Iron," giving people a glimpse into the lives of top bodybuilders 40 years after "Pumping Iron." We see the same sacrifices, grueling workouts, strict diets, rivalry, bravado, doubts, the single goal of being the biggest and the best…only the prizes and the competitors are much, much bigger.

My most memorable, movie moment of "Generation Iron" is the scene when bodybuilder Branch Warren was on a horse and was asked if he was worried about being injured in the gym. After replying that all his major injuries have been outside of the gym, Warren takes off on his horse; and soon after his horse bucks him off and he falls hard on the ground, giving him an injury that could threaten his attempt at the Mr. Olympia title.

An honorable mention goes to the very end of the movie, when ex-bodybuilder and "Pumping Iron" alumni Mike Katz jokes about still looking for his shirt that Arnold Schwarzenegger supposedly stole in "Pumping Iron."

Obviously, "Generation Iron" will be mostly enjoyed by bodybuilders and anyone who has ever lifted weights or pushed their bodies to their limits. But I believe this documentary can be enjoyed by all, as the theme of this movie is the extremes that people will go through to get what they want, to be the best in their field; and that is something that we all can relate to.

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It is almost laughable as the "doctors" are questioning "how can these athletes defy science and gain muscle and remain low fat?" But they never discuss all the steroids being used by everybody. I understand I am watching a bodybuilding documentary but it would be more credible if they didn't avoid the blatant use of steroids and then go on to contribute the success purely to work ethic and weight lifting. It is obvious to anyone who has ever been to "tested show" vs. "non-tested" show that the human physique can only become so large without the use of steroids.

In short if your going to make a documentary don't deny the viewers of the pertinent facts. It takes away from the credibility of the director, and the film itself.