The Game Changers Movie – A Review

People admire – and often imitate — elite athletes. That’s why athletes are hired to make marketing pitches for a wide range of products. As just one case in point, did you hear about the recent release of Ovi O’s? Stanley Cup Champion Alexander Ovechkin is now featured on the front of a bright red box that contains “sweetened, toasted oat cereal with honey and natural almond flavor.” The implication, of course, is that eating whatever Ovi eats will help every young child grow up to be a champion.

Our admiration for sports champions runs very deep. I’m sure that is why the theaters were packed on the September 16th nationwide rollout of a new film called The Game Changers. This compelling documentary is focused on athletic superstars who adopted plant-based diets and improved their performance as a result. I’m certain that many people will be shocked by this film, because it belies all the conventional wisdom about needing to eat a lot of meat to be strong and athletic.

Playing to a Packed Audience

I bought my ticket several weeks in advance and, on the much-anticipated day, I went to see the film at the AMC theater complex in Tysons, Virginia. I arrived early and walked quickly past the display of fat- and sugar-laden food at the snack bar. After finding my seat in the designated theater, I enjoyed playing the film-related trivia game that preceded the showing of the documentary. I also watched as people began filing in – first as a trickle but later as a flood. By the time the film started, the theater was at least ¾ full. And this showing was on a Monday night, which is not a day when most people think about catching a flick at the theater. My friends across the country have told me that the theaters in their towns were also packed. The audience at my theater included people of all ages, from school-aged children to millennials to boomers.

Before the film had even started, I learned a lot about the documentary by watching the trivia game. The questions and answers presented in the game revealed that the filmmakers had interviewed 50 athletes in 25 different sports. If I got all of the facts right, it took 5 years and 600 hours of film footage to make the movie. The documentary featured 100 subjects who were filmed at universities, stadiums, gyms, and military bases – and in 100 cities on four continents.

It’s worth noting that the people involved in making this film are also at the top of their own games. The list of Producers and Directors includes James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, Chris Paul, Louie Psihoyos, James Wilks, and Joseph Pace. I’m sure that you recognize most of these names. These people are leaders in their fields — not weak and wimpy by any stretch of the imagination.

The cast includes an equally impressive list. Just to name a few, the film features:  Scott Jurek, record-holding ultramarathoner; Arnold Schwartzenegger, bodybuilder, actor, governor; Damian Mander, founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation; Bryant Jennings, boxing heavyweight title contender; Aaron Spitz, M.D., lead delegate, American Urological Association; Christina Warriner, PhD, archeological geneticist at the Max Planck Institute; James Loomis, M.D., former team physician of the St. Louis Rams/Cardinals (who happens to be a friend of mine, and who also just completed an Ironman triathlon); Derrick Morgan, linebacker for the Tennessee Titans; Patrik Baboumian, world record-holding strongman; Morgan Mitchell, Australian 400 meter champion; Kim Williams, M.D., president of the American College of Cardiology; Rip Esselstyn, former firefighter and triathlete; Dean Ornish, M.D., founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute; Dotsie Bausch, US national cycling champion; and Kendrick Ferris, American record-holding weightlifter.

One Man’s Search for the Truth about Nutrition

The film follows James Wilks, a combatives instructor for the US military, as he conducts extensive research on the optimal diet for recovery after suffering a serious injury. Upon learning that the Roman gladiators were largely vegetarian, he started on a 5-year quest for the truth about nutrition. As he states, “I put every preconception I had about nutrition to the test, traveling to four continents to meet with dozens of the world’s strongest, fastest, and toughest athletes, as well as leading experts on athletics, nutrition, and anthropology. What I discovered was so revolutionary, with such profound implications for human performance and health — and even the future of the planet itself — that I had to share it with the world.”

One by one, the film debunks some of the erroneous ideas about nutrition (i.e., that meat consumption is required to get enough protein and that plants cannot supply all of the essential amino acids). It then goes on to present evidence regarding how meat consumption increases inflammation, delays recovery, and affects male virility. I’m sure that the movie’s segment about the effect of meat consumption on erections will get plenty of attention – particularly from young men who might watch the film.

It’s Not Your Standard Health and PE Video

Let me address your concern that the film is like some boring educational movie that your health and PE teacher forced you to watch. It’s the exact opposite. It’s a fast-paced, entertaining collage of real-life stories from noteworthy athletes. It’s also a bit irreverent, with periodic expletives that are not deleted. And the film bears each of the critical attributes that I look for in any art form: surprise, mastery, and delight.

In the extra features that played following the film, James Cameron remarked that a primary obstacle to mainstream adoption of plant-based diets is that “vegans are annoying.” This comment drew laughter from many people around me in the theater, and even a loud “Yeah!” from someone in the back. I’ve thought a lot about that comment, and I suppose it is true. Anyone who confronts us with a dose of reality and who implicitly (if not verbally) asks us to change how we live would often be labeled as annoying.  As an example, think about young Greta Thunberg and the derision she receives from climate deniers. 

A Tipping Point for Plant-Based Diets

This film gives me hope that we are about to reach a tipping point for plant-based diets. This film might be exactly what is needed (along with great new foods like the Impossible Burger) to convince the average Joe to eat more plants and less meat.  And it’s a win-win-win:  for human health, for animals, for the environment.

If you didn’t see the film on the one-day release in the theater,  that doesn’t mean you have missed it. The documentary is now available for pre-purchase on iTunes ahead of its October 1 digital release.  My advice:  run, don’t walk, to order this film! 

#teamgamechangers