Dolph: Unbreakable - The Man Who was Ivan Drago Counts His Blessings After a Brush with Death

By John Kirk

Rating: B+

A brush with death is cause for introspection. So it is that Dolph Lundgren, icon of the ‘80s and action man of more than 80 films, offers a sensitive reveal of his life in a documentary titled Dolph: Unbreakable.

Aside from his film career, Lundgren’s accolades include a 4th degree black belt in Karate, a Masters in Chemical Engineering, two loving daughters, a published memoir, and now he can add film producer to that list.

The brush with death? An advanced and metastasized kidney cancer diagnosis in 2020, when he was told he had only three months to live. It’s where the film begins. Dolph: Unbreakable is an exploration of the adversity in his life and how he overcame it, so it’s a good place to start.

To all outside perspective, Lundgren has lived a hell of a life. Of course, we can only see the latter half, the part with all the accolades. But, as Sylvester Stallone says in the film, Lundgren looks like an advanced, future human being, referring to his stature and appearance as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. It’s very easy to dismiss any sense of adversity he might have experienced.

After one of Lundgren’s cancer treatments, Unbreakable presents like a synopsis of achievements. When you consider the personal accomplishments and film history – not to mention the fact that this guy has lived his life with the physique of a blond giant – it looks like he’s got it all

Yet people’s lives are journeys that start in unexpected places.

Lundgren reveals the early abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. He mentions the ineffective intervention by his mother and his subsequent exile to his grandparents who didn’t put up with his self-admitted “shit,” and gave him a stable environment in which to grow. He suffered a sense of inferiority and insecurity at being “abandoned.”

Eventually he found Karate and it instilled discipline into him. He learned to channel this into his life and this became his first victory.

He understandably glosses over these early years. As anyone who has worked with kids can tell you, childhood trauma is a formative factor that weighs heavily in the minds and hearts of people well into their adult years.

In his interview with Original-Cin, Lundgren went into more detail about how he reconciled with that time in his life. Watch for that soon.

It’s easy to dismiss this documentary as it recounts all of blessings Lundgren experienced that most of us would brag about – a romantic relationship with super-model, actress and singer, Grace Jones or his friendships with the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But if Lundgren had died, his accolades would be read with the mere affirmation that he had had a good life.

But it is also a reminder that it often isn’t easy to see the suffering behind success. Lundgren shows himself to have had as many levels of challenge in his life as victories. In the end, it’s the sum of both of those elements that define who we are.

Lundgren presents both sides of his life and asks us to take from it what we find valuable. He talks about his overcompensation as a parent to be as different from his own father as he can, about holding onto a rich, full and rewarding life, and to simply be there for his kids. He talks about his childhood abuse in hope that it will reach someone who would benefit from his shared experiences.

In short, he hopes to connect with others in a meaningful way.

Dolph: Unbreakable. Written and directed by Andrew Holmes. Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Ida Lundgren.

Dolph: Unbreakable streams on Super Channel October 16th.