Generation Iron

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.

A documentary that follows top bodybuilders as they train to compete in the Mr. Olympia competition. The trains of bodybuilding and righteousness can't be stopped and their movement brings about reactive forces in the people they affect. The cinematography is stark and bare, with only the soundtrack adding some effect. Other than that, it was an okay film, and I would recommend that people watch it. It's an amazing work and everything I had hoped for. From an artistic standpoint, it holds its own. With good narration from all involved, I have to give this one a final and well deserved rating of 7 out of 10, so check it out now.

Bodybuilding is fascinating. There's an unspoken camaraderie among those who eat, live and breathe bodybuilding.

Just like in Pumping Iron, the champion, Phil Heath is depicted as the villain and like Lou Ferrigno, Kai is the hardworking underdog.

Ben Pakulski is sort of the "Ivan Drago" of this docudrama. Dennis Wolf has a particularly awkward comedic scene and Roelly Winklaar is absolutely hilarious.

I am so glad the director, Vlad Yudin did not show Branch Warren shouting swear words and throwing weights.

The plot is really all about Kai vs Phil. To people unfamiliar to bodybuilding, the footage of the other bodybuilders can seem out of place since the audience doesn't get to form any type of connection with them.

They do touch on anabolic steroids but it is very limited. "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" is a better documentary for that but it is nice that they do mention it instead of ignoring the elephant in the room.

I follow bodybuilding very closely so a lot of the content seems redundant, but I still gave this a ten just because I love bodybuilding. It's great to see that somebody is at least trying to break it out of it's shell and I support that 100% percent.

Bodybuilding is such a niche market and outsiders have such a close-minded opinion of it that I highly doubt this film will make much of an impact but I sincerely thank Vlad Yudin for the effort.

P.S. It was quite amusing seeing some of the gigantic audience members trying to get comfortable in the seemingly tiny movie theater seats.

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.