Generation Iron (2013)

It seems like people are hating on this title because they didn't all admit to using steroids or even touch on it for more than 5 minutes. If you even had any expectation for them to cover that whatsoever (I was surprised they did)...you're a lost cause. Same reason a documentary on car racing doesn't spend any time discussing car modifications and instead focuses on the lives of the drivers and what led them to racing. I don't have words for the people that rated the film poorly because steroids were not discussed.It goes to show the ignorance of some people watching documentaries on things they are not passionate about. These guys basically live in the gym, force feed themselves every hour and have to fund or rely on volunteers to get to the top.

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

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.

Directed and Written by Vlad Yudin, GENERATION IRON is produced by Yudin and Edwin Mejia. Jerome Gary, producer of the cult classic PUMPING IRON, which helped make Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name, was also tapped to executive produce. GENERATION IRON provides insight into the professional sport of bodybuilding today and follows these men as they compete on the International stage. Yudin followed seven current athletes from around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Japan, and Germany.Mickey Rourke narrates the film, with appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Jay Cutler.