AHoleInTheFloor
03-22-2013, 09:21 PM
My second review on RxMuscle . . . and my second negative review. I hope to be more positive next time.
Knights of Iron (2012)
Dir.: Eric Smidt
Featuring: the Woodward Academy Powerlifting Team
78 min. (Documentary)
Knights of Iron documents the powerlifting program at the Woodward Academy, a residential facility for delinquent boys. Powerlifting, we are told, has given these troubled young men a concrete goal, and the focus and drive to excel. And excel they do: at the start of the film, the Woodward team has already won the USA Powerlifting High School Nationals for five years running, and is going for its sixth title.
That being said, here are some of the moments we get to watch during Knights of Iron:
• An extended sequence of beginning drum students practicing on drum pads.
• Another extended sequence of the boys packing for Nationals, traveling to the airport, boarding the plane, getting off the plane, and traveling to their hotel.
• An especially excruciating (and long) segment of the boys sightseeing.
To be blunt, Knights of Iron is dull. Even when the film focuses on the actual powerlifting program, it doesn't have much to say. The coaches talk generically about how the rigors of powerlifting help teach their kids about dedication and success. The lifters, in turn, take pride in their accomplishments and credit the program for teaching them the value of hard work. Everyone seems genuine and well intentioned.
But the relentless positivity is superficial. We learn nothing about the team members' individual histories. Beyond platitudes, we don't learn any specific ways in which the powerlifting program has affected their lives for the better. Indeed, we don't get to know these young men at all. Occasionally a lifter's personality will shine through, as when one, with a wry grin, admits how much he enjoys seeing his muscularity develop ("I'm not joking. I love the mirror. I really do."). But Knights of Iron is content to portray all of the team members as identical 'vaguely bad kids redeemed by tough powerlifting love.'
Most disappointing, Knights of Iron ignores the obvious question of whether the program has any long-term benefits. Notwithstanding my reservations about the film, I do believe that powerlifting is a positive force in these kids' lives while they are at Woodward. But what happened to the members of the five previous championship teams once they left Woodward's sheltered environment? Did the program's lessons help them? Did the sense of accomplishment that they had obtained by being members of a championship team make any difference? Did the program have any positive impact at all?
These are undoubtedly complex questions. But Knights of Iron's failure to address them at all makes the entire film feel like propaganda. Basically, Knights of Iron has the substance of a feel-good television news segment; as a 78-minute feature, it is both too long and too simplistic.
Knights of Iron (2012)
Dir.: Eric Smidt
Featuring: the Woodward Academy Powerlifting Team
78 min. (Documentary)
Knights of Iron documents the powerlifting program at the Woodward Academy, a residential facility for delinquent boys. Powerlifting, we are told, has given these troubled young men a concrete goal, and the focus and drive to excel. And excel they do: at the start of the film, the Woodward team has already won the USA Powerlifting High School Nationals for five years running, and is going for its sixth title.
That being said, here are some of the moments we get to watch during Knights of Iron:
• An extended sequence of beginning drum students practicing on drum pads.
• Another extended sequence of the boys packing for Nationals, traveling to the airport, boarding the plane, getting off the plane, and traveling to their hotel.
• An especially excruciating (and long) segment of the boys sightseeing.
To be blunt, Knights of Iron is dull. Even when the film focuses on the actual powerlifting program, it doesn't have much to say. The coaches talk generically about how the rigors of powerlifting help teach their kids about dedication and success. The lifters, in turn, take pride in their accomplishments and credit the program for teaching them the value of hard work. Everyone seems genuine and well intentioned.
But the relentless positivity is superficial. We learn nothing about the team members' individual histories. Beyond platitudes, we don't learn any specific ways in which the powerlifting program has affected their lives for the better. Indeed, we don't get to know these young men at all. Occasionally a lifter's personality will shine through, as when one, with a wry grin, admits how much he enjoys seeing his muscularity develop ("I'm not joking. I love the mirror. I really do."). But Knights of Iron is content to portray all of the team members as identical 'vaguely bad kids redeemed by tough powerlifting love.'
Most disappointing, Knights of Iron ignores the obvious question of whether the program has any long-term benefits. Notwithstanding my reservations about the film, I do believe that powerlifting is a positive force in these kids' lives while they are at Woodward. But what happened to the members of the five previous championship teams once they left Woodward's sheltered environment? Did the program's lessons help them? Did the sense of accomplishment that they had obtained by being members of a championship team make any difference? Did the program have any positive impact at all?
These are undoubtedly complex questions. But Knights of Iron's failure to address them at all makes the entire film feel like propaganda. Basically, Knights of Iron has the substance of a feel-good television news segment; as a 78-minute feature, it is both too long and too simplistic.