You're telling me James MacArthur and Mackenzie Astin aren't related? I'm not even joking, they looked exactly the same in their respective youngers years; I thought I was back in 1950s Disney when I saw Astin appear.

'Iron Will' is a good film. It begins quite slowly but soon enough picks up the pace thanks to the dog-sled racing, which I enjoyed alongside the newspaper and animal parts of the story. The stuff, meanwhile, with Will (Astin), McTeague (Brian Cox) et al. isn't majorly interesting to me, but it still makes for alright viewing. Astin is more than decent in the lead role, while Kevin Spacey is (unfortunately) solid in his role as media man Kingsley.

With that noted, it isn't really a film that is set alight by its cast. They all serve their purpose but aren't anything great. The animals, racing and hearty narrative make up for that though. A fine film, even if it does just narrowly avoid 3*.

THE WACPINE OF ‘IRON WILL’

WRITING: 5
ATMOSPHERE: 7
CHARACTERS: 4
PRODUCTION: 8
INTRIGUE: 6
NOVELTY: 3
ENJOYMENT: 7

Another forgotten Disney drama inspired by a true story and with such an American spirit that it falls for all the clichés of the genre. There's a sense of Around the World In 80 Days in this story and a typical underdog mentality to it all. The story and all its turns are so predictable and typical that it’s almost annoying. All of that gets in the way of the potential enjoyment of the deeper aspects of the plot, such as Will’s attempts to overcome the loss of his father.

Disney has painstakingly recreated the period look, so this film looks and feels like it was drawn straight out of the WWI era USA. The film also manages to make the racing parts both interesting and fast-paced, and several scenes capture the struggle, dirt and cold that troubled the competitors of the real race. That being said, the climax at the finish line is so cheesily over-the-top and strangely edited that it ruins the ending almost entirely.

Mackenzie Astin plays a stiff and naive Will Stoneman in a largely forgettable performance, made even more obvious by the overwhelming presence of Kevin Spacey. Will is difficult to like because he's so childish and Spacey’s reporter takes on a father figure role despite hardly knowing the kid. Brian Cox is fine in a smaller, but simplistic supporting role.
I'm almost offended by the horrible stereotypes that are the supporting characters from other countries, particularly the supposedly Nordic contestants. I mean what the heck? That's the worst Swedish stereotype I've ever seen in an American film. Borg isn't even a real name. What's more, George Gerdes overacts terribly. His demise is the funniest and worst villain death scene I've encountered and the entire character is laughably stupid.

The period look has been recreated to breathtaking detail and the epic soundtrack supports the story of an American hero well. The directing is simple but sharp and helps make the race exciting and dangerous.

Personal stakes and an unusual type of race are the intriguing elements of Iron Will. Some of the acting and characterization bothers me, but most of the racing sequence luckily makes up for that.

As underdog stories go, this is just one of many others. There are very little here that makes it stand out within the genre, other than possibly the early 1900s setting. It’s a very straightforward Disney film with a strong American sentiment.

Despite its shortcomings, annoying Nordic stereotypes and an unsympathetic lead, Iron Will is surprisingly swift and enjoyable at least the first time around.

WACPINE RATING: 5.71 / 10 = 3 stars