Good but it could have been better

bencsik-laszlo91

score 7/10

I have been training since 2009 and during these years i have gained a lot information about bodybuilding. How to train, what to eat, what supplements to use etc. The movie is mostly honest, it mentions how important to train hard, how important to follow a proper diet, how important to visualize and it finally talks about steroids. However the answer for the BIGGEST question still remains unanswered.

Why is it worth it? Branch said during an interview: "It's all worth it." They just keep saying this well known sentence but there is nothing behind the words. Why are these people working out? What is their motivation? What helps them to move on? How do they overcome the hardest situations? What sacrifices do they have to make? How do they manage their time? etc.

They talk about dedication and passion but they don't expand their thoughts. They should have explained this very carefully to the skeptical audience, who view this sport from only one direction. As far as i'm concerned Mike Pulcinella's "Day in the life of Kai Greene" is a perfect example of creating an accurate documentary which achieved so much more with a lower budget.

Some previous Mr.Olympia were interviewed but unfortunately their screen time were less than 5 minutes. It was a bit disappointment because Jay, Ronnie or Arnold would have deserved more time.

The competition between Kai and Phil is implemented to the screen very well and it is funny to watch them in the beginning of their rivalry. They used the same pattern from Pumping Iron, Phil was the confident champion who shows no sign of fear and Kai was the underdog who does everything to knock out the current king from his throne.

Narration of Ricky Rourke in the first 10 minutes was a bit weird but later i got used to it and it filled out the empty space.

Visually the movie is unexceptionable, photography and cinematography were flawless, editing was great, music absolutely harmonized with happenings and every minute was the evidence of professionalism.

In spite of the missed message it is a great documentary to watch, however the target audience (bodybuilding fans) will be the only one who can appreciate this attempt.

bencsik-laszlo91 2 May 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3230636/