Generation Iron (2014)

When it comes to sports I guess Bodybuilding is the most underrated and misunderstood sport out there. The true fact is that even majority of the people who are involved in it has no idea what it really is but only the true professional bodybuilders does. And that community is very small and they strive day in and day out in the name of sport, dedication, victory and glory. The road to success of professional bodybuilding is not paved with anything soft but with amazing amounts of hard work, mind striking volumes of dedication and could be the most enduring self-discipline and control than any other sport. In fact it is not just a sport but a lifestyle which means there are no breaks, no holidays or no shortcuts. Generation Iron is a rare documentary that follow few of the best bodybuilders of our time on their way to compete on 2012 Mr. Olympia title which is the prime honor a bodyduilder can receive.

Generation Iron follows its 1977 golden classic Pumping Iron stared by Arnold Schwarzenegger and no doubt the most seeing and most talked about bodybuilding documentary ever made. Both these documentaries are made by Vlad Yudin and from 70s to now comparatively there are massive differences in movie making yet the same volume of passion for the sport is visible. The real success of Generation Iron and Pumping Iron is that it directly applies to the hearts and minds of the people who are truly faithful to the sport.

This time Generation Iron follows 3 times Mr. Olympia Phil Heath and his direct rival Kai Greene, Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf, Victor Martinez, Hidetada Yamagishi as well as ambitious newcomer Ben Pakulski and European sensation Roelly Winklaar. For fans of the sport these are very familiar names and the movie gives lot of insight to their lifestyles and backgrounds. The movie does a fair job at giving decent and equal coverage to the story of each and it is one reason as a documentary it is a bit too long than most other of same genre. But in my opinion the length was required and it does not work negatively.

Generation Iron tries to provide important background information about the sport and the athletes for anyone who does not understand the sport. However there is always a limitation of what can be shown and how it can be understood. Maybe for anyone who does not follow this sport Generation Iron could be a bit too much to handle. And it may not change their misconceptions but fuel them a bit more. However it is understood that Generation Iron is not only a documentary about bodybuilding but it was paving its way for a certain objective which is the final show down of Mr. Olympia contest.

As a fan of the sport I certainly loved this documentary. There are only very few material of such can be found anywhere and this goes beyond a training video or just self-boosting bodybuilder movie.