Calum Von Moger: Unbroken (2019) User Reviews

The Definition of Insanity

[grahamvandyke · 6/10 · 19 August 2019]

This documentary is definitely a bi-polar watch.

On the one hand you have the animal loving Calum who's built like a Greek god going through an absolutely rough period of his life. I recently have had my own things going on in life which has caused me to drop in mass significantly, so I can relate psychologically with how it feels.

On the other you have the guy who is very genetically gifted, does things like eat take out and not count his calories (as shown in a different documentary) and is reckless with his activities. He drives a motorcycle despite his father being confined to a wheelchair from a motorcycle accident, injures himself pulling a very unsafe stunt and then during the healing process manages to go re-injure himself during something similarity dangerous. At this point it is a little hard to feel too sorry for him. The definition of insanity has been popularly said to repeat the same action over and over while expecting different results.

I am not a "hater" by all accounts- I feel this documentary confirms the question asked in a previous Generation Iron documentary about his reckless behavior in a telling way. I do however think he is a genuinely good person and wish him all the best. If I had a piece of advice- learn from past mistakes.

Not a single mention of steroids. Why not?

[tonyaydiner · 5/10 · 4 September 2019]

In this day and age, we all understand that anyone of Von Moger's size takes steroids. However, what could have been a very insightful documentary is simply a fluffy middle of the road affair due to the subject not even being mentioned once, never mind probed in depth.

Calum is injured twice during the making of the documentary and how he approached his rehabilitation with his steroid cycles would have been fascinating. Perhaps Calum's management don't want him talking about his steroid use, but seriously, anyone interested in this guy will have enough basic knowledge of bodybuilding to know he takes them in big quantities. A documentary which at least acknowledges this and explores it in some way would be more welcome as steroids are at the absolute heart of this subject matter.

Exploring what's kind of stack Calum uses, his PCT, and also the psychological aspect of why he started using them, how they have affected him etc would have been scintillating viewing. Instead we're left with nothing but fluff. To his credit, Von Moger comes across as a nice guy and I'm sure he'll be very successful in life.

Unbroken, Oh The IRONy

[ricochet93-369-308802 · 5/10 · 30 August 2019]

It's called unbroken, but he's reaptedly injured, kind of ironic.

Before I give my two cent, Calum comes across as a lovely, genuine guy and very likeable!

But, as documentary there is little substance. No hard or interesting questions asked, no mention of steroids or anything, it's all very pedestrian.

Compare that to other athlete's documentaries, like Mark Kerr Smashing Machine, you see the nitty gritty.

Interesting day in the life

[johncg25 · 7/10 · 29 August 2019]

This is about Instagram reality fitness "guy"...Calum Von Moger. I remembered seeing him in another doc so I figured I would see how this one is. Its pretty interesting showing how his life has been going since the last doc gave him some exposure, but the negatives are that it never really presses him in terms of his psyche or other things as it seems the filmmaker is friends with him. so for instance it seems he may get lonely, as he seems alone in his house and travels a lot, but it never once questions his love life, and how any of that goes, which seems very odd in a 90 minute documentary about solely this persons life. I think it sugar-coats things a little bit, so, as a piece of art, its not amazing, but as a somewhat entertaining look into the guys life, it is somewhat interesting, and as he seems like a genuinely nice guy, you are rooting for him to comeback from his setbacks. It was also funny....when certain events occur, when he should have learned from past mistakes, so...when he talks about the ills of social media, and other issues, is when the film is the strongest, and...hopefully he learns such things, but based on his behavior it seems likely he will injure himself again in some way.

Overall: nothing amazing artistically but a likable person and an interesting watch.

Watchable only because Calum is likeable

[samcheeseman · 4/10 · 27 August 2019]

Calum is a very charming person and his struggles with injury leave you caring, because be comes across as a genuinely nice, caring person himself. This is what makes you keep watching.

As a documentary itself, it's basically empty. You can put the story down to about two things happening. There is nothing revealing. They don't go deep on Calum, who is an interesting person. Why did he want to build muscles at 13? What deep-seeded human need drove that desire within him? Why does he care so much for animals? What scares him?

Usually a documentary filmmaker would hope to reveal something deeper about their subject. This one got lucky that Calum is such a brilliant person. Otherwise this would be a total blowout.

High risk behaviour with little learnt

[anthonylyall · 5/10 · 25 August 2019]

At first I thought this was a comeback film about an arrogant bodybuilder who through his own high risk behaviour almost lost everything.

Then watching the final scene thinking, "at least he learnt not to engage in high risk behaviour that has no benefit" I see that he's riding around on a motorcycle.

How can he do that when he's almost had his future ruined through injury on several occassions when he put himself in harm's way?

On top of that his dad became a quadriplegic due to a motorcycle accident. If I was his dad I would be so heartbroken and furious.

I'm not really sure if he learnt anything, and I'm not sure if I learnt anything watching his story, but I guess it's not over yet - this is just part 1?

A day in the life of a good guy who makes dumb decisions

[catrachotyson-52411 · 8/10 · 26 April 2020]

I enjoyed this "Documentary", and came out of it having a bit more respect for Calum. I mean yeah, he makes REALLY dumb decisions, but who the hell doesn't? All in all he is shown to be human, and a really nice guy at that. Anybody who cares that much for animals is surely a guy you can sympathize with. In regards to his decision making, yeah they are childish and make you scratch your head, but he doesn't really hurt anybody with them, just himself of course and the most important part is that u see him dealing with the consequences ( which definitely can't be easy). I think this film was entertaining and insightful, yeah it could've talked about the drugs and other less pleasant things about the sport but all that is known to anybody who follows bodybuilding or Crossfit, so no big deal. I hope this guy is successful and happy cause , like I said, he seems to be a good guy.

Very motivating and insightful - truly a must see!

[camobred · 10/10 · 11 May 2019]

Calum is one of the most humble and nicest guys, not only in the industry but just in general. What a great look into his life and seeing how he has dealt with probably one of the most difficult times he has faced. Very motivating. Definitely not something I will only watch once. Generation Iron yet again slays in the documentary movie making.

Inspiration

[stevekinetic · 8/10 · 22 August 2019]

Watching Calums recovery from 2 horrific injuries was difficult to watch given the circumstances, but he seems a genuinely nice guy. I wish him well.

Pleasantly surprised

[Henry-klein · 9/10 · 21 August 2019]

It was refreshIng to see an iron doc that was not filled with non stop expletives, meal prep and back stage oil rub downs and on stage posing. The director's angle of overcoming adversity (which was caught on camera) while seemlessly moving between present day and past was brilliant. Calum's resilience and outlook on life is amazing. Looking forward to seeing more from Calum in years to come. Just be careful dude!!

CALUM VON MOGER

[smithl-95464 · 10/10 · 12 February 2021]

Hes my idol even tho he suffers alot from accidence ive been watching him with my dad on the body building on netflix. i saw hes a nice, genorous man i just want himto know thatbhes being supported by me!