Anyone see “What it takes?” Did I waste my money?
I’ve seen it. I don’t think you wasted your money. I think it’s a pretty good movie.
Shouldn’t you have asked before buying the movie?
Agreed. I really liked it and am a much greater Peter Reid fan now after seeing it.
clm
Worth the money. I bet Peter Reid didn’t like it though.
Why would you say Peter didn’t like it?
I just ordered also using the NOBITTORRENT coupon for $5 off. Somethin is better than nothin
Yeah, ditto. Seems like he and Lori are friends again, so obviously his ‘love letter’ was not taken badly.
I agree with pp - am a much bigger Reid fan - now he is retired. Harumph!
I posted a review here. This is a re-hash of it:
What it Takes.
By Tom Demerly.
“Highly motivated, intelligent endurance athletes are committed to doing what it takes to attain their goals.”
It’s written on page 23 of the bible for Ironman training, “Going Long” by Gordo Byrn and Joe Friel. It is also the undeniable truth.
Harvard Graduate Peter Han translates this axiom to film in his excellent documentary What It Takes. The 96 minute independent film follows four world class Ironman specialists for a year while they prepare for the 2005 Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
As a documentary, Han’s *What It Takes *is objective and unflinching. The sport is hard, there are disappointments and setbacks, the athletes wrestle demons both physical and personal. *What It Takes *shows us what athletes go through to get to the finish line at Ironman in the top 20 places. Han’s film does not explain why they do it, and if this documentary is deficient at all, it’s that it falls short as a motivational piece. The truth about our sport is a tough inconvenient reality that Han shows well in What It Takes.
*What It Takes *is an ambitious documentary project that unfolds on five continents over the course of a year. As such, it is subject to the pitfalls of a project this big executed with an independent film’s set of (and lack of) resources. I wager the concept for the script may not have included the fact that the main characters would be fraught with marital and relationship discord, get injured, fall short of performance expectations and generally be human. Those pitfalls may provide the stark relief that makes the film so real.
Or perhaps- this is the film’s major success. I tend to think the latter. If you like good reality TV, you will love What It Takes. This is reality, Ironman style.
There has been a lot written recently about the pasteurization of Ironman: A new culture of frequently under trained people are entering Ironman and barely finishing, not finishing- or never beginning at all. This is a similar argument to the one made by John Krakauer about Mt. Everest in “Into Thin Air”. People are trying to buy their way to the top of the sport. In triathlon “Mt. Everest” is the Ironman. An emerging group of athletes hit the “Register Now” button on active.com a year before their Ironman race figuring they will do the training over the next year and get ready. When the full gravity of the experience settles on them they either don’t show up on race day, show up poorly prepared and wing it for a long and unpleasant day, or don’t get to the finish line. *What It Takes *is mandatory viewing before you hit “Register Now” even for a back-of-the-packer. *What It Takes *is the first real truth about Ironman. The question is can you handle the truth?
The authentic nature of *What It Takes *comes through in the first scene. You learn the plan is the first casualty of Ironman training. Ironman World Champion Peter Reid tries to go on a four hour ride in a blizzard with predictable results. The opening scene shows Reid up-and-at-’em for his early swim workout only to learn his town’s two pools are closed due to bad weather. Welcome to Ironman training, where it is all about the “Plan B”.
It is heart breaking and voyeuristic to watch Reid candidly describe his motivation for the sport like he was on the therapist’s couch. He openly laments his crumbled marriage with Ironman Champion Lori Bowden, another character in the film. Bowden is pregnant with her new boyfriend’s child after Reid and Bowden’s divorce. It’s a sad reality for Reid who comes through as a conflicted but likeable loner who races out of angst. His ex-wife, Lori Bowden, is shown with new beau Keith and later in the film with their new little boy. Like friends of yours who have been through a divorce it is tough to see all the sides since Han’s film does a fair and accurate job of showing that each of these characters are real people, likeable and frail. This part of the film is more than a little sad, even though Han treats it with dignity and care. You wish it was a warm and fuzzier story, but this is a documentary called *What It Takes, *not a fiction piece about *How It Should Be. *Welcome to reality. Welcome to Ironman. The distance to the finish is measured in more than hours and miles.
The irony of the stories told in What It Takes is that, while relationships between people are strained and broken, strained and strengthened, the relationship with the sport of Ironman and the characters is the most prevalent one- and the most unshakeable. All other relationships seem like an accessory. *What It Takes *is the story of how top pros integrate their lives into Ironman, and it tells the true story that shows varying degrees of success with that integration. While the movie shows Peter Reid doing his best to keep a stiff upper lip it also shows Roch Frey and Heather Fuhr in a stable, healthy relationship with a burgeoning business related to their Ironman involvement. The take away is that it isn’t training or the race that determines the level or success within the sport, it is the person themselves and the choices they make.
Another contrast to the story of one relationship ending and another beginning is the story of Luke Bell and his commitment to his family and fiancée, a story with quite a different conclusion you’ll see in the film. I’m glad Han included that part of the story in the film and I hope you don’t miss that part of the message.
Human relationships aside this film is about more than personal dramas projected onto the screen of Ironman training. It is also about the unswerving devotion required to make it to the most difficult line in our sport: The start line. Ironman as a race is graduation day. Except for the looming specter of luck, our Ironman experience- whether we’re a pro or a cut-off time contender- is determined well in advance of race day. While NBC’s Emmy award winning coverage is loaded with touching vignettes of personal triumph shot in alluring sepia tones, *What It Takes *does a much better job of showing the reality of the entire Ironman experience. Ironman is an experience much bigger than 140.6 miles, and *What It Takes *is a big enough documentary to show it all like it’s never been shown before. If you want to know the real Ironman, the inner working of how athletes make it to the start line you must see What It Takes.
I personally liked the movie. I do however wish they were able to go a bit deeper into their training. I do not feel that Peter came off as a whinner about Lori. I have been in a similar situation and could totally understand where Peter was coming from. I actual feel for the guy. It is very tough to deal with that whole thing and it plays with your mind a lot.
Watched it last month. Thought it sucked. Great story about Heather F. and Luke B. Almost nothing about Lori B. (but for her getting pregant). And 99% about “why me…poor me” in regard to Peter R.
The movie is titled What it Takes and was supposed to be a documentory. It was not not supposed to be a soap opera focusing almost exclusivley on Peter R.'s break up and demise. The guy came off a a whiner who would not accept reality and move on to focus that negative energy on winning again, or finding something else he could win at anew.
Someone lent us the movie to watch so it didn’t cost us a dime. If it had, I would have returned the moive for a refund and watched Talk Soup on E! so I could at least be more entertained.
Peace out!
I totally agree with “hammerheadny”. The movie should have been called, “The Peter Reid Pity Party.”
He was whining about how much training her does. Dude! We all train those same miles and we hold down regular jobs and families. You get paid to train and your job is awesome! What the hell are you complaining about?
I lost a lot of respect for Peter Reid after watching that movie.
I also didn’t paticularly like it. Not worth the money in my account. Decent first effort by the makers of the film (I certainly couldn’t do any better), but was very much a pity story about PR. They had some production problems too like maintaining a little bit of volume control (anyone else have this problem? It would go quiet so you’d have to crank it up, then the next scene would make you deaf so you’d scramble to find the remote to save your ears!).
I totally agree with “hammerheadny”. The movie should have been called, “The Peter Reid Pity Party.”
**He was whining about how much training her does. Dude! We all train those same miles and we hold down regular jobs and families. **You get paid to train and your job is awesome! What the hell are you complaining about?
I lost a lot of respect for Peter Reid after watching that movie.
i respect your opinion of not liking the movie, it s not for everyone. But i think it was awsome that he opens up and show is struggle with the training at this level…to have seen him train and have train next to him, we would have never show that kind of struggle or ‘‘weakness’’ in front of us.
but to say that we all do the same miles…is not true… i dont know you and maybe it s true in your case but i still never seen one athlete training at the intensity, volume, dedication and excellence that peter reid did for all those years… it as nothing to do with what 99.99% of the others have done, it was insane and that s why it s interesting to hear about his struggle. There is a reason why he was the best… he was out training everyone in quality and focus intensity… he was beating is competition in the preparation…the racing was the ‘‘easy’’ part.
It is a 2 out of 5 stars in my opinion. Super duper boring in some segments. Can’t believe it took as long as it did for the producers to put out a mediocre movie like this.
I’ll sell you mine for $15…let me know if you want it.
I was a little disappointed in the movie. I would have liked to have seen more of their training and nutrition and less of them sitting around talking about personal issues.
I agree, I thought it was good as well but didn’t go into the ‘what it takes’ deep enough, I did like to footage of peter riding his mtb in the winter. I was also surprised to see him crack a raw egg into his smoothie…do people still do that???
I agree. The movie should have gone into what it takes a lot more. I thought Peter Reid’s story was pretty compelling, but Heather Fuhr and Luke Bell were not especially interesting and Lori Bowden came across pretty poorly whenever she was talking about her pregnancy. I am glad I saw it, but I don’t think it’s high on my must watch again list.
Thanks for all the feedback!