Dolph Lundgren had a strange path to stardom: a 4th-degree Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate who was also a Fulbright Scholar in Chemical Engineering at MIT. While attending University in Sydney, he fell into becoming a bodyguard for Grace Jones, and they became lovers. One day, quite by accident, he ended up in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985), and the rest is history. Stardom, however, takes a toll, and that is the message of the new documentary Dolph: Unbreakable.
Introduction
Dolph: Unbreakable begins at the end, or rather in 2020, when international action superstar Dolph Lundgren is at the hospital getting checked for a spell of nausea. He ends up learning he has several nodes near his kidneys. They are determined to be aggressive cancer, and he is given months to live. The Swedish star had always imagined he’d go out young, like a Viking, seeking Valhalla from a very young age. His premonition, it seemed, was just a bit delayed.
The rest of the film gives us a play-by-play of Dolph’s life, from birth in Sweden as Hans Lundgren all the way to Hollywood and beyond. From the highs of Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe, and The Punisher, to the direct-to-video drivel of the 1990s, and returning to international recognition in Aquaman, The Expendables, and Creed II.
Along the way, Dolph makes mistakes, loses loved ones, finds love, marries, raises two daughters, and fights his way through healing from an abusive childhood. The film incorporates a bit of a TED Talk that Lundgren gave at a Fulbright Santa Monica event, and I was delighted to hear that some of his conclusions echo those of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama as presented in the recently-reviewed The Wisdom of Happiness.
Discussion
At a scant 74 minutes, this “feature-length” documentary is more of a snapshot of a man with determination, blessed genetics, luck, and a great deal of perseverance. Dolph Lundgren fell into success but worked hard to maintain it once it was within reach. Featuring interviews with longtime friends, coaches, and co-stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Sylvester Stallone, the film offers laudatory praise and cynical judgment in equal measure.
The man himself has enough humility to recognize his strengths and faults, but what shines through most is his propensity to fight for the things that matter. Through therapy and meditation, Lundgren lets the Viking fantasy of a young death slip away in favor of struggling against the odds to have more time with the ones he loves. Indeed, he proves, on camera and off, that he can take a punch. The film concludes with a plea to donate to the Kidney Cancer Association so that more people can fight this scourge and carve out more time with their families.
Conclusion
While there is little in the way of revelation in this documentary, Dolph: Unbreakable does celebrate a man whose achievements and outlook on life seem both earnest and earned. It’s a story of healing, hurting, fear, and resilience. It’s a story of an action star who is really a family man with an artist’s soul and paints a thorough portrait for the uninitiated.
It won’t win any awards for director Andrew Holmes, but the Kidney Cancer Association splash screen at the end gives one the impression that recognition for the filmmakers, or even the subject, isn’t the intent. To increase awareness of this aggressive cancer and hopefully increase funding, a larger-than-life spokesperson was required to draw our eyes to the need…and they don’t get much larger than Dolph Lundgren.
Dolph: Unbreakable hits Video on Demand and all leading digital platforms October 6, 2026.
