Iron Will

How much of this story is true is up for dispute. I suspect most of it is highly exaggerated. Nonetheless, it is inspirational and fun to watch: an excellent adventure tale.

The movie reminded me of "White Fang" with the winter scenery and the young hero, played by MacKenzie Astin, looking and sounding much like Ethan Hawke. The story was simply about a dog-sled race in the early part of the 20th century.

The picture is beautifully shot, especially the train scenes, and looks very good on DVD. The villains in here aren't as despicable as in other films, so it's more pleasant to watch. I enjoyed the entire story except for the whistling at the finish line which was a bit stupid, but that's minor.

This is one of Disney's better efforts.

I like this movie for its' basic "realism" It looks like America might have looked in 1917 attitudes included. The irasible Storekeeper who Will works for pretty well sums up the local attitude after the Newspaper man Kingsley sent arrives " Where's the box? " He asks, assuming young Stoneman has died in the course of the race. " Don't You get the Newspapers here ? " the shocked reporter responses and passes him several.

I enjoyed Mackenzie Astin's performance, but it didn't surprise me, He's Sean's brother and the son of John Astin and Patty Duke who both did a fair bit of acting. David Ogden Stiers' character was almost strictly Charles Winchester. I also liked Kevin Spacey's reporter out for the "big story" who in a sense was the biggest underdog of all... Imagine getting to page One in the midst of a World War from the K 9 section. uplifting , though not too believable. There's also that scene where wealthy gambler Angus McTeague visits Will in the dog shed and offers him 3000 dollars to drop out of the race. The Boy is sorely tempted and after He leaves, lead dog Gus gives him a almost disgusted look and Will says " I didn't take it... did I ?" No. young Stoneman is not cowed by anyone or anything but Gus the dog and is not all that nice... just human. Could it really happen ? doubtful, but then it is Disney.

Iron Will is a good, predictable film that you can immediately tell it's a Disney-produced film because of the inner deep meanings that are essential with all Disney films. This is a movie that is good for all ages. I saw this in 5th grade, and I just saw it again many years later and still thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very predictable but if you don't think and just watch, this movie will be good.

Charles Haid's film is a coming-of-age story about a kid who recently lost his father due to a tragedy and his farm is in danger of being foreclosed. He enters a dogsled race that's eerily similar to the Iditarod and his goal is to win the top prize that will allow him to keep the farm and go to college.

The acting isn't all that bad. Mackenzie Astin does okay with what he got to work with. Kevin Spacey is magnificent as always. I always love when Brian Cox plays a slimy guy because he is so good at doing it.

Overall, this is your typical Disney film. It's family-friendly and it features many adorable dogs. Speaking of dogs, I do like that Gus(the lead dog on dog team). He's a courageous little guy. Despite the film being predictable, I still hung on to all the tense moments. It's a good, little-known film that people should see. I rate this film 8/10.

We rented this film because Kevin Spacey is in it. When it came on, my daughter (12 yrs old) exclaimed "Oh no, not another cheap Disney film!" My wife also made noises of discontent and I was wondering why Kevin was in it and if I'd made a terrible mistake.

Well, it was good. True it had some bad Disney unrealistic heart-jerking story in it, especially at the end. The bad guys were really Disney evil, but the rest of the film worked.

Kevin Spacey gives his best at whatever role he tackles, and this is no exception. The sledding scenes are very good and it is really cold - you can feel it, and so can the actors judging by the breath.

The film get a few tears out and we decided that, although we never would have rented it if we knew it was a Disney film, we liked it. We give it 8.

You're telling me James MacArthur and Mackenzie Astin aren't related? I'm not even joking, they looked exactly the same in their respective youngers years; I thought I was back in 1950s Disney when I saw Astin appear.

'Iron Will' is a good film. It begins quite slowly but soon enough picks up the pace thanks to the dog-sled racing, which I enjoyed alongside the newspaper and animal parts of the story. The stuff, meanwhile, with Will (Astin), McTeague (Brian Cox) et al. isn't majorly interesting to me, but it still makes for alright viewing. Astin is more than decent in the lead role, while Kevin Spacey is (unfortunately) solid in his role as media man Kingsley.

With that noted, it isn't really a film that is set alight by its cast. They all serve their purpose but aren't anything great. The animals, racing and hearty narrative make up for that though. A fine film, even if it does just narrowly avoid 6*.