Iron Will - Volontà di vincere

Being that I like to wonder about what really happened in historical films, I had been curious about what really happened in that race. I did everything I could to find out about the "real Will" and found out some interesting information. On a history of dog-sledding site it is said that the race made famous was dramatized in the movie Iron Will, was loosely based. That's an understatement. They change the hero's name from Frederick S. Hartman to Will Stoneman. It's not so bad, I love the movie it's excellent, and I suppose if they had kept the ending to what really happened it wouldn't have been so inspiring (nothing melancholy, but Frederick actually lost the race). What I like about Disney films is that they have some theme to it. Writers and English Lit teachers know what I am talking about: An inner meaning that the writers have inside the story. You see this over and over again in movies, and Disney is excellent at it.

The acting is great, the screenplay is all right, history aside it's not too bad. After all, history can be bleak sometimes, and hope springs eternal, we can always dream and imagine right? For film score fans like me, the music, which I always am interested in, is not so bad, the main theme is nice, but it's not as good as the music from Interview With The Vampire or Forrest Gump.

Bottom line, don't be taken too much by the tagline about it being a "true story;" if you do research you will be disappointed. Other than that, see it if you haven't yet. It's excellent. Just because it has hardly anything to do with the truth doesn't mean it's not a great movie.

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*.

The Grey Rating: Iron Will A flexible rating system used to determine the quality of a movie based on a methodical comparison with the film masterpiece, The Grey.

+ Winter and cold conditions.

+ Hypothermia

+ Water in sub zero temperature

+ Survival in arctic conditions

+ Perseverance of the protagonist against overwhelming odds

+ Savage canines (not wolves exactly)

• Definitely overdone

• Predictable

• Lack of Sir Liam Neeson

Growing up on a farm in South Dakota "Will Stoneman" (Mackenzie Astin) is worried about the financial impact of his going to college will have for his family. Then one day his father "Jack Stoneman" (John Terry) is killed in an accident and needing money to prevent his mother "Maggie Stoneman" (Penelope Windust) from having to sell everything, he decides to enter a dog race in Canada which offers $10,000 to the winner-which is a hefty sum in 1917. Yet, even though he is quite familiar with dog sleds , the brutal nature of this race is like nothing he could have imagined and it will take everything he has just to survive. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that there was indeed a dog race held that year which started in Winnipeg and finished in St. Paul, Minnesota. But that's about all this story gets right. So to suggest that the story was embellished is an understatement in and of itself. Regardless, this film does have a "feel good" quality about it and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

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.