Film Review: Klitschko

Vitaly and Wladimir Klitschko are two 6ft6 sons of a Soviet Army officer growing to be two of the most successful boxers that have ever been seen in the West. The unlikely duo would go on to conquer the boxing world by winning all five major heavyweight titles between the two. As boxers they are both remarkably mature and well educated; each brother has earned a postgraduate degree. Throughout the film, both of the brothers, their trainers, the Klitschko parents, the Klitschko brothers themselves as well as former opponents such as Lenox Lewis and Chris Boyd are interviewed giving a fresh 360 perspective. Interestingly enough, while all of the Klitschkos are fluent in English, they only ever really spoke either German or Ukrainian throughout the film.

The family is quite obviously closely knit. The film makes a point of how closely knit they were when their father was called to help with the effort in Chernobyl and his subsequent bout with cancer. Luckily, the Klitschko patriarch survived and moved to Florida with his wife. As well, he would grow to see his boys become the toughest boxers the boxing world had ever seen. Their mother remains terrified of seeing her sons in the boxing ring and has even asked her sons to never compete against each other in the boxing ring. This is a promise the two sons have kept to their mother to this day.

The two brothers, always humble, look remarkably similar. As the brothers were being interviewed throughout the film, I had a hard time telling them apart. It’s been suggested that this was a trick used by the film’s German director, Sebastian Dehnhardt, in order to further demonstrate how close the brothers are to each other. Both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko make outstanding role models to any young man looking to take up a career in any martial art. Their unique fraternal bond, the dedication they show to their craft and the success emulating from their dedication is something for every man to consider emulating.

The film can’t be viewed for free on YouTube in North America, but those with Netflix or Amazon Prime can watch the film without cost as a part of their package.