User reviews

How much of this story is true is up for dispute. I suspect most of it is highly exaggerated. Nonetheless, it is inspirational and fun to watch: an excellent adventure tale.

The movie reminded me of "White Fang" with the winter scenery and the young hero, played by MacKenzie Astin, looking and sounding much like Ethan Hawke. The story was simply about a dog-sled race in the early part of the 20th century.

The picture is beautifully shot, especially the train scenes, and looks very good on DVD. The villains in here aren't as despicable as in other films, so it's more pleasant to watch. I enjoyed the entire story except for the whistling at the finish line which was a bit stupid, but that's minor.

This is one of Disney's better efforts.

Iron Will is a good, predictable film that you can immediately tell it's a Disney-produced film because of the inner deep meanings that are essential with all Disney films. This is a movie that is good for all ages. I saw this in 5th grade, and I just saw it again many years later and still thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very predictable but if you don't think and just watch, this movie will be good.

Charles Haid's film is a coming-of-age story about a kid who recently lost his father due to a tragedy and his farm is in danger of being foreclosed. He enters a dogsled race that's eerily similar to the Iditarod and his goal is to win the top prize that will allow him to keep the farm and go to college.

The acting isn't all that bad. Mackenzie Astin does okay with what he got to work with. Kevin Spacey is magnificent as always. I always love when Brian Cox plays a slimy guy because he is so good at doing it.

Overall, this is your typical Disney film. It's family-friendly and it features many adorable dogs. Speaking of dogs, I do like that Gus(the lead dog on dog team). He's a courageous little guy. Despite the film being predictable, I still hung on to all the tense moments. It's a good, little-known film that people should see. I rate this film 8/10.

Being that I like to wonder about what really happened in historical films, I had been curious about what really happened in that race. I did everything I could to find out about the "real Will" and found out some interesting information. On a history of dog-sledding site it is said that the race made famous was dramatized in the movie Iron Will, was loosely based. That's an understatement. They change the hero's name from Frederick S. Hartman to Will Stoneman. It's not so bad, I love the movie it's excellent, and I suppose if they had kept the ending to what really happened it wouldn't have been so inspiring (nothing melancholy, but Frederick actually lost the race). What I like about Disney films is that they have some theme to it. Writers and English Lit teachers know what I am talking about: An inner meaning that the writers have inside the story. You see this over and over again in movies, and Disney is excellent at it.

The acting is great, the screenplay is all right, history aside it's not too bad. After all, history can be bleak sometimes, and hope springs eternal, we can always dream and imagine right? For film score fans like me, the music, which I always am interested in, is not so bad, the main theme is nice, but it's not as good as the music from Interview With The Vampire or Forrest Gump.

Bottom line, don't be taken too much by the tagline about it being a "true story;" if you do research you will be disappointed. Other than that, see it if you haven't yet. It's excellent. Just because it has hardly anything to do with the truth doesn't mean it's not a great movie.

The Grey Rating: Iron Will A flexible rating system used to determine the quality of a movie based on a methodical comparison with the film masterpiece, The Grey.

+ Winter and cold conditions.

+ Hypothermia

+ Water in sub zero temperature

+ Survival in arctic conditions

+ Perseverance of the protagonist against overwhelming odds

+ Savage canines (not wolves exactly)

• Definitely overdone

• Predictable

• Lack of Sir Liam Neeson

Growing up on a farm in South Dakota "Will Stoneman" (Mackenzie Astin) is worried about the financial impact of his going to college will have for his family. Then one day his father "Jack Stoneman" (John Terry) is killed in an accident and needing money to prevent his mother "Maggie Stoneman" (Penelope Windust) from having to sell everything, he decides to enter a dog race in Canada which offers $10,000 to the winner-which is a hefty sum in 1917. Yet, even though he is quite familiar with dog sleds , the brutal nature of this race is like nothing he could have imagined and it will take everything he has just to survive. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that there was indeed a dog race held that year which started in Winnipeg and finished in St. Paul, Minnesota. But that's about all this story gets right. So to suggest that the story was embellished is an understatement in and of itself. Regardless, this film does have a "feel good" quality about it and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

"Iron Will" is typical, formula Disney filmmaking, the kind that has you cheering for an underdog all the way even as he faces incredible odds. Will Stoneman (Mackenzie Astin, the son of John A. and Patty Duke) is a young man during the WWI era. After the death of his father (John Terry), he realizes that his one chance to save the family farm and provide for his own future is to enter a challenging dog sled race that stretches from Winnipeg, Canada to St. Paul in Minnesota. Often running on sheer determination, he has to win over the dog Gus who was his fathers' favourite while dealing with the evil machinations of a ruthless fellow racer (George Gerdes) and a greedy rich man (Brian Cox). In doing so, he captures the hearts of Americans, earning the nickname "Iron Will" from a reporter (Kevin Spacey) who's just as determined to make a name for himself.

While watching this, this viewer felt quite manipulated as the filmmakers pulled on the strings, doing everything possible to win over the audience. Overall, it's very predictable, turning what was a real-life story into a "root for the good guy" sports drama intended to inspire its viewers. (Unsurprisingly, the true story apparently played out differently.) It certainly has you hating the bad guys; even Spacey is very self-motivated at first, and it's hard not to cheer when Astin slugs HIM at one point.

Basically, it's well-made, with Charles Haid, a.k.a. Renko on 'Hill Street Blues', in the directors' chair, and an old script by John Michael Hayes given modern polishes by Djordje Milicevic and Jeff Arch. The cast is just fine, with Astin as the kind of youthful hero with whom kids can identify; also appearing are August Schellenberg, Richard Riehle, Penelope Windust, David Ogden Stiers, and Rex Linn. The only one out of all the canines used that really is given some sort of personality is Gus, an endearing pooch who seems to eye his young master with reproach after Astin seriously considers a cash offer from Cox to drop out of the race!

Wonderful wintry scenery & photography, some decent action & thrills, and the sincerity of the cast do help to keep this one watchable.

Six out of 10.

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 6*.

No surprises here as a young man overcomes prejudice, harsh weather, and evil men and their henchmen as he attempts to win a big sled race. All this so he can save the family farm and have enough money to go to college. Interesting, but this ground has been plowed many times before. Lots of chills and thrills.

I recently saw this movie again which I've now seen probably 4 or 5 times. If you like true stories as I do, then it makes the story that much more interesting and entertaining to watch.

Although there is the very sad, and tragic scene where Will's father drowns in the river, the rest of the movie is uplifting and you find yourself cheering for Will, as he physically struggles to make it to the finish line in exhaustion, almost beaten by one of the two Indians who later help him stand up as Will is greeted by his mother.

This is a "feel good" type of movie with of course, a sinister and evil Swedish man who will do anything to win the race, at the cost of the other dog sled racers who have done him no wrong. Until his sled dogs stop and refuse to race on, and turn on the Swede man in a rage, having been whipped continuously throughout the movie and terribly mistreated. They attack him and he is finally out of the race, and Will is vindicated.

You will feel both uplifted and yet almost feel like crying as Will is greeted by his family and many others who have come to the race at the movie's end to cheer him on to victory. This is the kind of movie that you need to watch if you feel like giving up on your goals. Will proves that despite his many adversities and struggles with fatigue, muscle soreness, a rival enemy, and bitter cold weather, that you can accomplish anything. His nickname "IRON" Will is clearly an accurate way to describe him.

I miss feel good family films like this I wish Disney would make more like this. The film is very 90's and that's what's so good about the film. The acting is pretty good not amazing but good and the story is good too it does drag on at times but it's good. It's a good family film abs that's the point so it hits its mark.

Midwestern farm kid in 1917 enters a grueling Winnipeg, Canada-to-St. Paul, Minnesota dog-sled race. Live-action adventure from the Disney Studio, scrubbed clean with good intentions, seems to have come off the same conveyor belt as "The Journey of Natty Gann" and "Homeward Bound". It's old-fashioned and inoffensive, despite clichéd villainy and an impossibly corny slow-motion climax (not to mention gaps of logic so wide, you could drag a dog-sled through them!). Mackenzie Astin (real-life son of actor John Astin and actress Patty Duke) is fairly good in the lead, though the movie is poorly directed and edited, without an ounce of honest inspiration. ** from ****

Awesome movie, In the same league as Rocky. Just too good. A must watch.

After his dad "buys the farm" in a tragic dogsledding accident, it's up to young Will Stoneman (Mackenzie Astin) to pay off the mortgage. And there's only one way to do it: Win a $10,000 prize in a 500-mile dogsled race. David Ogden Stiers is the railroad magnate who puts up the prize money, and August Schellenberg is the sage Indian who helps the plucky lad develop an iron will to win.

There was one more hero in this movie apart from Mackenzie Astin, the Dog "Gus" which in the movie was his father's favourite dog. The dog was really terrific.

A definate family movie for the young and old. This tale will break your heart, fill you with hope and keep your eyes glued to the screen... even if you watch it at 3 in the morning... like I did.

The movies plot was fascinating and very well developed. I did find however that the opening half hour wen't by very quickly. On the other hand, I was able to grasp the story. I guess that's all that matters. The heart pounding action and suspense that is created in the actual race is brilliant. My hats off to Disney once again... and also the the wonderful cast that gave so much to a wonderful story.

I consider myself a fairly big movie person, but somehow this one escaped me until now. It is of course dated, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I'm a sucker for dog sled movies ie. Eight Below, Togo, Balto etc.

An against all odds adventure with a young inexperienced racer that inspires a nation. The only problem was... it's not really a true story as it claims to be. After watching the film, I of course wanted to look up the real scoop on the story as they always differ slightly than the film. However, the only thing accurate in this one was that there was indeed a dog sled race in 1917 from Winnipeg to St. Paul consisting of 522 miles. There was no Will Stoneman, and the race was won by 25 year old Canadian, Albert Campbell. Shame that he gets no recognition as the actual winner.

Other than that, like I said I did enjoy the film. I had no idea Kevin Spacey was in this until I saw him on screen, so that was a delightful surprise. I also liked, Rex Linn's performance as the seasoned American racer. Fairly decent depiction of cold climate conditions and perseverance.

Astin is out to win the $10,000 to save his family's place - but the dog sled race is going to be a tough one. This isn't a masterpiece, but it's a good family film with some old school grit values.

I got the chance to work on this movie on the special effects crew as a local hire. It was a really interesting how we shot the movie, and how it ended up being put together. Makes you understand how important the editors are. Things that we shot weeks apart and in different locations ended up in the same scene in the movie. w Wen he goes off the cliff I am hiding just over the lip holding a safety line. It was extremely cold the first couple of weeks shooting - it was shot mostly around Duluth Minn, then it got warm and everything melted and we spent HOURS spreading potatoe flakes to make snow. The final scene of the movie - most of the snow was trucked in to cover the streets.

I like this movie for its' basic "realism" It looks like America might have looked in 1917 attitudes included. The irasible Storekeeper who Will works for pretty well sums up the local attitude after the Newspaper man Kingsley sent arrives " Where's the box? " He asks, assuming young Stoneman has died in the course of the race. " Don't You get the Newspapers here ? " the shocked reporter responses and passes him several.

I enjoyed Mackenzie Astin's performance, but it didn't surprise me, He's Sean's brother and the son of John Astin and Patty Duke who both did a fair bit of acting. David Ogden Stiers' character was almost strictly Charles Winchester. I also liked Kevin Spacey's reporter out for the "big story" who in a sense was the biggest underdog of all... Imagine getting to page One in the midst of a World War from the K 9 section. uplifting , though not too believable. There's also that scene where wealthy gambler Angus McTeague visits Will in the dog shed and offers him 3000 dollars to drop out of the race. The Boy is sorely tempted and after He leaves, lead dog Gus gives him a almost disgusted look and Will says " I didn't take it... did I ?" No. young Stoneman is not cowed by anyone or anything but Gus the dog and is not all that nice... just human. Could it really happen ? doubtful, but then it is Disney.

We rented this film because Kevin Spacey is in it. When it came on, my daughter (12 yrs old) exclaimed "Oh no, not another cheap Disney film!" My wife also made noises of discontent and I was wondering why Kevin was in it and if I'd made a terrible mistake.

Well, it was good. True it had some bad Disney unrealistic heart-jerking story in it, especially at the end. The bad guys were really Disney evil, but the rest of the film worked.

Kevin Spacey gives his best at whatever role he tackles, and this is no exception. The sledding scenes are very good and it is really cold - you can feel it, and so can the actors judging by the breath.

The film get a few tears out and we decided that, although we never would have rented it if we knew it was a Disney film, we liked it. We give it 8.

as far as great films go, this is not one of them. will's actions are predictable, the ending is predictable, the whole movie is a cliche in and of itsself. its just another "underdog saves the day, beats the evil bad guy, wins the race, is loved by all" kind of movie. but, despite all that. i still like it. its just cute. it makes you feel good, doesnt make your brain hurt, and is easy to watch when you have nothing else to do. hoooray for this movie. its not great, but its not so poor that its unbearable.