Film

The Game Changers

Name: The Game Changers
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2019
Cast: James Wilks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrik Baboumian, Scott Jurek, Dotsie Bausch

A documentary that argues plant-based eating unlocks elite athletic performance. Glossy and persuasive, with heavyweight celebrity endorsement and surprising science, it's designed to make you reconsider everything you thought you knew about protein and strength. Watchable even if you don't buy the thesis.

TMDb rating

3.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a persuasive, breezy advocacy documentary that stacks athletes, scientists and celebrities into one easy-to-follow case for plant-based eating and does not mind being sold to.

Skip it if you want a balanced, skeptical look at nutrition science, since this film argues one side with real energy and treats dissenting views as obstacles to brush past.

What it asks of you: It runs about an hour and a half, moves briskly from one interview to the next, and asks for little more than an open mind and a willingness to be entertained.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Forks Over Knives2011

The original plant-based documentary. More measured than Game Changers, with genuinely compelling epidemiology about Western diet and disease. If you want the case made seriously, start here.

But Slower paced, less star power, and the tone is earnest-academic rather than cinematic. Some viewers find it preachy.

What the Health2017

Same territory, similar urgency, but with a tighter focus on corruption in health institutions. Equally provocative and visually engaging. Perfect if you want the conspiracy angle sharpened.

But Some of the claims are even more aggressive than Game Changers, and critics say the research is selectively framed. Can feel didactic.

The Biggest Loser2004

Extreme transformation under pressure and expertise. If you're drawn to the motivational-science angle and watching humans push their bodies, this delivers that consistently over many seasons.

But It's reality TV melodrama, not polemic. And the show's methods have since been heavily criticized as unsustainable and harmful.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Game Changers

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Pumping Iron1977

Schwarzenegger provides the celebrity gravitas in Game Changers; here you see his actual athletic philosophy and the era that shaped it. Both are about rewriting what the body can become.

Schwarzenegger's own early documentary, shot when he was competing. Raw, funny, and shows the machinery of elite athletic obsession before it was polished for screens. The connection is obvious—he's your narrator—but this is where that hunger originated.

But It's grimy 1970s documentary, not cinematic. The bodybuilding subculture will seem alien if you're not already curious about it.

My Octopus Teacher2020

Another 2020 prestige doc about learning from nature and rethinking how we live. Meditative, beautifully shot, and genuinely moving. A palette cleanser if Game Changers left you skeptical.

But Almost no plot. It's a slow communion with a sea creature. If you need momentum and argument, you'll find it frustrating.

Fed Up2014

Katie Couric-hosted doc that attacks the sugar industry and processed food. Angry, data-driven, and it doesn't require you to go vegan—just to understand why you're fed poison for profit.

But Older production values, and some of the nutritional science has been contested. The industry-as-villain narrative can feel reductive.

The Toys That Made Us2017

If you're interested in how persuasion, celebrity, and mass belief change the world, this series is a master class. Each episode shows how marketing creates desire and shapes culture.

But Nostalgia-porn for millennials. Not directly about food or health, and episodes vary wildly in quality.

Athlete A2020

Documentary about systemic abuse in elite sports. If Game Changers interests you in how institutions shape athletic culture, this is the darker mirror—what happens when incentives go wrong.

But Heavy and distressing. Not inspirational. Some find it exploitative of victims' trauma.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret2014

More radical than Game Changers on the environmental angle. If the ethical case for plant-based eating grips you, this escalates it to planetary stakes.

But The claims about livestock's environmental impact have been fact-checked hard, and many criticisms hold up. Feels like advocacy, not investigation.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret poster

The Magic Pill2017

Keto-focused doc that makes the opposite argument from Game Changers with similar polish and testimonials. A genuinely useful counterweight if you want to see both sides presented with conviction.

But The evidence for ketogenic diet superiority is contested, and some of the medical claims are overstated. Can feel like watching propaganda for an opposing team.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011

Both examine the relationship between what you consume and who you become, but where Game Changers says change your diet, Jiro asks whether perfection itself is the food.

About obsessive mastery and the question of whether extreme discipline is beautiful or hollow. No plant-based message, but the same meditation on what elite performance demands of the body and spirit.

But Quiet, contemplative, almost meditative. If you're looking for argument and proof, this will feel like evasion rather than depth.