Dolph: Unbreakable

by Daniel Baldwin

Before the age of 27, Dolph Lundgren was an international karate champion, had a master’s degree in chemical engineering, was set to go MIT on a Fullbright Scholarship for his doctorate, and was both the bodyguard and boyfriend of singer/model/actress Grace Jones. In other words, he had already had a wildly successful and varied life by that point. The fact that he also became an international movie star after all that is just icing on the cake.

Dolph: Unbreakable covers all of the important mile-markers in Lundgren’s life. His early years in Sweden. His time abroad as a college student/martial artist. And then, yes, his crazy ride through the Hollywood system as a bodyguard turned action star turned director. Many of your favorite Dolph movies get some play here, but one should not sit down with this film expecting it to be an expose on his action movies.

Sure, the likes of Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe, The Punisher, Universal Soldier, The Expendables, Creed II, and many more are all brought up, but only ever in relation to where Dolph was at in his life and in his head as they occurred. This is a documentary about the man, not the movie star. Instead, we are given a story about an incredibly intelligent and athletically-gifted child who has endured an unending barrage of life’s pains and pleasures across decades, growing into a man who is grateful to still be around in this world.

Childhood abuse, academic success, athletic championship, failed relationships, blockbuster stardom, embarrassing paycheck gigs, substance abuse, severe kidney cancer, etc. All of it is covered in a manner more open and personal than one tends to find in similar documentaries. Our subject is unafraid to talk about his failures as much as he does his successes. You will see Dolph break stones and Rocky Balboa, but you’ll also see him break down crying as well.

If there’s a fault with this film, it’s only in that it isn’t longer. At 74 minutes, the film leaves a few areas of Lundgren’s life that could have been covered a bit more deeply. As it stands, it’s still an engaging and emotional piece of work. One that will no doubt be of interest to Dolph’s fans, as well as perhaps others who have casually enjoyed his work throughout the decades.

Dolph: Unbreakable is an intimate portrait of a man who has lived a very remarkable life full of extreme highs and extreme lows, and it’s a pretty good portrait at that.