PLOT: Andrew Holmes’ documentary explores Dolph Lungren’s upbringing, career, and life-altering health struggles.
REVIEW: If I were chiseling a Mount Rushmore of action stars from my childhood, Dolph Lundgren‘s sculpted visage would be carved alongside Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis. Growing up in the ’80s, Lundgren was always center stage. From Rocky IV to Masters of the Universe, and movies like Universal Soldier and The Punisher, Lundgren took up a lot of real estate on the family TV. When I heard about Andrew Holmes’ documentary Dolph: Unbreakable, I was immediately intrigued. I’ve admired Lundgren’s work for decades, but feel like my knowledge of the man behind the muscles only scratches the surface. Now, after watching Holmes’ film, one of my cinematic heroes is humanized in ways that help me appreciate him even more.
If you’re looking for an in-depth exploration of Lundgren’s film history, this might not be the documentary for you. At the same time, Unbreakable does include informative highlights of Lundgren’s career-launching role as Ivan Drago, as well as his role as Sgt. Chris Kenner in Showdown in Little Tokyo. Holmes keeps these sections relatively brief, choosing to focus on Lundgren’s cancer struggles and evolution as a man searching for peace amid the madness of that journey instead.
I went into the documentary knowing that Lundgren had struggled with cancer, but I was not aware of the extent. Unbreakable chronicles Dolph’s challenging journey with multiple cancers. Through the ups, downs, and false diagnoses, Lundgren remains as steady as you’d imagine, though he’s never afraid to show fear and remorse for his decades of mistakes. The film does an incredible job of humanizing Lundgren, revealing the intelligent, sensitive, and thoughtful man beneath his legacy as a Hollywood powerhouse.
Throughout the doc, legends like Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Jean-Claude Van Damme enter the mix. Stallone occupies a sizable portion of the Rocky IV segment, while JCVD waxes rhapsodic about their chemistry while filming Universal Soldier. Schwarzenegger makes a few appearances, though it’s mostly to crack a joke at Lundgren’s expense or shower his friend with praise. Straight up, seeing them all in the same film paying homage to one of their Hollywood brothers is both humbling and heartening. Glistening muscles, machismo, and one-liners might have shaped their careers, but beneath that silver-screen ideal are men bound by blood, sweat, and tears.
In addition to carrying more emotional weight than expected, Dolph: Unbreakable is informative as hell. Holmes dives deep into Lundgren’s high-profile, whirlwind relationship with Grace Jones, shedding light on a defining chapter of his early rise to fame that fans will love revisiting.
But the film’s most powerful moments come when Lundgren completely strips away his armor to confront his past, specifically his arduous upbringing and complex relationship with an abusive father. While aspects of Dolph’s trip down memory lane are painful to hear, you begin to see how these early trials shaped him and eventually inspired him to do and be better. No one is perfect, and Lundgren speaks with raw, commendable honesty about his own struggles and shortcomings as a father.
Dolph: Unbreakable paints a fascinating portrait of Lundgren’s larger-than-life persona while showing a side of him rarely seen. The film helped remind me of how long Lundgren has been pushing himself to the limit for my entertainment, and how much of that effort has perhaps gone underappreciated until now. If you’re a fan of Lundgren’s work or enjoy hearing people’s inspiring stories, there’s more than enough here to keep you engaged and grateful for having navigated life’s many gut punches.
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