[quote]David98 wrote:
I haven’t met either of them, but from youtube videos of Phil himself, and others talking about him, he seems like a cool guy. I think Generation Iron didn’t have an accurate view of Phil. I like both, but I like Phil more. I hate it when Kai says “keeps your gifts, I work hard” because Phil works hard too. IMO, those guys are all genetically blessed.[/quote]
uhh yeah lol, you simply don’t walk on the olympia stage without having amazing genetics
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Exactly… It seems to me that Kai uses Phil’s “gifts” as an excuse on why he hasn’t won recently.
Bought it when it first came out on DVD. Thought certain parts were better than others. Hate how much the drama between Phil and Kai gets highlighted. I have also watched Kai’s Redemption and Overkill videos and it is the same shit over and over. But I guess you have to include it for the viewers who are not plugged into the bodybuilding world.
Also was not a fan for them trying to gain sympathy for Victor Martinez. I understand he has not had a charmed life, but he was in jail of his own accord and that really fucked with his package. Did not feel bad at all when his coach told him he was not ready.
Parts I liked:
Mickey Rourke’s voice over like others have stated.
Roelly’s struggles and his relationship withn “Grandma.” Shows how hard it is for some of the middle tier guys just to get invited to the big dance. Hidetada’s role was very similar.
I love how much Wolf was featured. He is currently my favorite on the scene. He just seems like a very likeable and goofy dude from what I have seen in GI and his MD videos.
Not a huge fan of Branch but thought it was funny when he was talking shit about BPak.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I didn’t particularly enjoy this film. I loved Pumping Iron though, for reasons you and Chris have already touched on. If I had to sum it up, I’d say that nobody in Generation Iron seemed to be having any fun at all.
[/quote]
Now that you mention this it hits me like a ton of bricks. Everyone seems so… Desperate. It doesn’t look like any of them are having FUN.[/quote]
I thought Wolf genuinely looked like he was having fun.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I didn’t particularly enjoy this film. I loved Pumping Iron though, for reasons you and Chris have already touched on. If I had to sum it up, I’d say that nobody in Generation Iron seemed to be having any fun at all.
[/quote]
Now that you mention this it hits me like a ton of bricks. Everyone seems so… Desperate. It doesn’t look like any of them are having FUN.[/quote]
I thought Wolf genuinely looked like he was having fun.[/quote]
Could be. Truth be told, I wasn’t exactly enthralled with the movie as I was watching it, so that may have escaped me.
It is also worth noting that I’m not a fan of competitive bodybuilding. I don’t follow the sport at all and the only reason I watched Pumping Iron and Generation Iron is because I lift and I definitely appreciate what goes into the sport. Otherwise, I generally enjoy most documentaries about people performing at high levels, and Pumping Iron fit that bill.
Back to the “fun” factor… This is really why I enjoyed Pumping Iron so much more. Arnold was all smiles seemed to enjoy everything. Busting balls with the other competitors. Having beautiful women count out his reps in German. Talking about his pumps. Flexing in front of the prisoners. Smoking pot and having diner with the Ferrigno family after his victory. Smiles for miles throughout the whole film. Part of that is his magnetic personality, but you really can’t fake that sort of enthusiasm for what you do.
Combine that “fun factor” with good film-making and a compelling topic that most viewers will be unfamiliar with, it is no wonder why I found this movie to be more appealing.
Generation Iron was a serious movie about serious men with serious muscles. That just doesn’t appeal to me as much, although I can understand why people with more than a superficial interest in pro bodybuilding will enjoy it.
Watched most of this last night, and enjoyed it. Roelly’s part was the most fun part to watch. And Phil is clearly filthy fucking rich. A few of these guys are. It seems like some of these top guys are capitalizing on their status better than guys were even 10 years ago. I remember the cars and house Ronnie Coleman had in The Unbelievable. Nothing compared to what Phil showed off in this movie. And Phil was only a 1 time winner at that point. Coleman was 2 or 3 deep in The Unbelievable.
Oh, and Ben Pak is ridiculous. I sincerely hope his real training sessions are nothing like what we saw in this. That was just fucking weird.
I liked it, thought it was a good watch for people who are interested in bodybuilding and know the major guys somewhat. Obviously doesn’t appeal to most of the public, but I enjoyed it.
Holy crap Phil comes across as rich as hell. And pretty arrogant, no idea if he’s really like that but Bpak clearly didn’t like him. I liked Branch’s parts, don’t really like his physique. There’s no way B-pak trains like that all the time, at least I hope not.
Kai came across as a hermit who has a “me against everyone” mindset to life and bodybuilding. And from what I’ve heard about him in the past, that’s pretty consistent. But come on man, it’s not like a lot of other guys on that stage don’t work hard or sacrifice things too.
From watching that, on stage Phil was (in my eyes) on a much higher level than anyone else. Every pose I saw of him and Kai I thought Phil clearly had the better build. A lot of that is muscle shape and all of that because it wasn’t like Kai wasn’t equally as large or anything. Goes to show why he’s done so well though.
Also wasn’t a fan of Kai clearly trying to mess with Phil on the stage during their pose off. Seriously, just do the pose and quit trying to inch closer to him and bump him.
[quote]staystrong wrote:
Also wasn’t a fan of Kai clearly trying to mess with Phil on the stage during their pose off. Seriously, just do the pose and quit trying to inch closer to him and bump him.[/quote]
There was some controversy about that during the time (who was in who’s space, who was in front of the line, etc…), and now that I look at it in the context of the film, I wonder if it wasn’t partially fueled by the fact that they knew this particular Mr. O was going to be the subject of the only modern documentary on Body Building. It handn’t happened before and hasnt happened since.
No conspiracy like it was staged or anything, but just that both guys knew that even more than the Mr. O title, the winner of that years contest would essentially be immortalized in the modern day Pumping Iron
[quote]staystrong wrote:
Also wasn’t a fan of Kai clearly trying to mess with Phil on the stage during their pose off. Seriously, just do the pose and quit trying to inch closer to him and bump him.[/quote]
Funny you should say that, my impression was that Phil was the one edging over into Kai.
I actually got “The Evolution of Bodybuilding” when it came out. Obviously a bit skewed in some areas (I later heard it was produced by Shawn Ray and Muscular Development), but for fans of the sport, not too bad at all.
[quote]staystrong wrote:
Also wasn’t a fan of Kai clearly trying to mess with Phil on the stage during their pose off. Seriously, just do the pose and quit trying to inch closer to him and bump him.[/quote]
Funny you should say that, my impression was that Phil was the one edging over into Kai. [/quote]
Oh I think initially Phil did. When they were asked to step apart a couple times its pretty clear he didn’t move, plus he basically tried to force Kai to pose first and had some “go ahead kai” gestures. It’s just after they “stepped apart” and the camera zooms out Kai immediately starts inching towards Phil again. And I thought it seemed like when they posed Kai seemed relatively comfortable nudging Phil.
It’s not like that hasn’t happened before in the history of the mr o, just seemed unnecessary really. Maybe he was just trying to get into his head a little, maybe it has to do what Lonnie mentioned about the documentary. Maybe I’m just blind and Phil is way more stealthy at messing with Kai and I missed it.
Then again, with a large sum of money, the title of champion, and a camera crew I’m almost surprised no one full out tried to take a competitor out off-stage. So I guess a little nudging isn’t too hard to expect.
Still liked the film, would love to see more like it but it’s not too appealing to most average people so these types of films just don’t have a large demand.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I actually got “The Evolution of Bodybuilding” when it came out. Obviously a bit skewed in some areas (I later heard it was produced by Shawn Ray and Muscular Development), but for fans of the sport, not too bad at all.
S[/quote]
As long as you ignore the VERY OBVIOUS bias I thought it was rather good.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I actually got “The Evolution of Bodybuilding” when it came out. Obviously a bit skewed in some areas (I later heard it was produced by Shawn Ray and Muscular Development), but for fans of the sport, not too bad at all.
S[/quote]
As long as you ignore the VERY OBVIOUS bias I thought it was rather good. [/quote]
You mean little things like going to Steve Blechman as the authoritative voice of the sport? -lol
I’m an immigration attorney, and of course the movie made an issue of Victor Martinez’s immigration problems.
He was fortunate that he has had his green card for more than 5 years. Any less than that and a “controlled substance” violation will get yo ass deported quite fast!