Magazine Dreams

Killian Maddox dedicated himself to bodybuilding and dreams of one day leaving his mark on the sport and the world. With a traumatic childhood and struggling to connect with others, Killian forges forward toward his goal with reckless abandonment.

This movie takes a very artistic approach to bodybuilding. The story has many different things occurring quickly, with little backstory given to the protagonist, making it a challenge to follow. The two-hour and four-minute runtime is wild, from intense lifting to posing to twists and unexpected turns. This movie is not for everyone but might be worth a stream for someone looking for something different and artistic.

Magazine Dreams centers on a body builder gripped by ambition, toxic masculinity, and violence. Jonathan Majors shines in Magazine Dreams for nearly every frame of this film, well-suited by bringing his even-more-buff body builder physique with the talent to bring the complex vulnerability and intensity to the Killian Maddox character. Because of the directions of this film, it's a difficult watch. As mentioned in the Sundance Q&A by writer:director Elijah Bynum, the movie rides the edge in keeping the audience's empathy for the character. Undoubtedly it may be a push too far for some viewers. There are a lot of ideas in this film, some of which feel tonally off or extraneous to the core, but it's impossible to look away from this movie.

Jonathan Majors is incredible in this. His performance is so powerful, it pulls you in and makes you really feel what his character is going through. There are a bunch of scenes that hit hard emotionally, and it's all because of how committed he is.

The movie dives into some really heavy and complex themes, and when it works, it really works. But the last act gets a bit messy. It tries to cover too much at once, especially when it comes to unpacking such a complicated and violent character. It feels like the movie loses focus a bit near the end.

Still, it's absolutely worth watching for Majors alone and the bold ideas it tries to explore.

Initially, Magazine Dreams (2023) drew my attention as a bodybuilding film. Little did I realize that bodybuilding is not what this movie is about. Instead, it is a grim narrative on the dangers of loneliness. Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) is a bodybuilder with intense aspirations of becoming a revered "Mr. Olympia", willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, his troubled youth and his declining mental state hinder his progress and send him on a path to utter madness. Maddox only has one person in his life that he truly loves: his grandfather. Other than that, he has no friends, and no (successful) love interests either. Due to his growing loneliness, he tries to write to his hero, Brad Vanderhorn, but is ignored by him too. This film begs a necessary question: How much can a person truly tolerate being alone before they get consumed by their obsessions and thoughts? The answer that the film provides is quite dark, but also representative of what it means to be human.

What can I say , movies to me are meant to take me out of reality and transport me into other worlds as I escape my own issues and problems , not to mention battles with reality.

That being the case this movie does just that although it specifically took me into a place that mad me very uncomfortable not in a bad way just in a way that I wanted a lil more payoff that I feel I didn't get .

Majors does a great job carrying this weight around and giving ,I believe an honest and compelling performance. It just needed a tiny bit more action at certain spots that could have taken this movie to the next level . Again a worth while movie theater experience.