Tyson (2008)

Awesome Movie

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to, its like watching a Rocky movie minus the training montages, No, by the end its like watching the ups and downs of all 5 Rocky movies. The rise and fall including beloved trainers, millions lost and gained, titles won and lost, crooked managers (King), rivalries, (Holyfield) getting caught up in the money machine and getting used by the leeches. Fascinating in a way I didn't expect.Its put together really well too Mike Tyson narrates his life story along with a mixture of original interviews, archival footage and photographs. It's absolutely intriguing, you never know what Tyson is going to say next and he has such an original way of speaking, hilarious quote-worthy stuff, absolutely honest and showing a surprising intelligence.•I'd forgotten just how amazing he was at 20, so fast, what a machine. No one could touch him.•The Holyfield fiasco- I have a new outlook on that now and actually feel he was justified in biting the ear, after the head-butts he sustained in 2 fights.•His coach Mickey... no wait Cus, the only person he ever trusted, changed his life and broken by his death.•I personally feel that he's been used and abused his whole life, not saying he's any angel but I don't know how he could trust anyone.•How his 3 years in jail ruined him. Anxiety and a switch in religions.•His last fight, just a payday, really he's taking the pi$$ out of the boxing federation who he no longer respects. Ha •Boxing has never been the same since the Tyson era, I couldn't tell you the heavyweight champion is now.

Tyson is a well-rounded insight into a very complicated man. It captures the excitement of Mike's 20 year career, stylishly and energetically showcasing many of Tyson's devastating fights while also sensitively exploring Mike's life before, during and after his career. The film charts both his successes and failures, including his dominance of 1985 - 1990, his disastrous marriage to Robin Givens, his rape charge (which he vehemently denies), and his controversial losses to Evander Holyfield.The majority of the film's 86 minutes comprises a series of interviews with Tyson. He speaks of how his rough childhood affected him, most notably his discovery that violence was the only form of defence for a scared young boy in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Tyson elaborates on his ghetto adolescence of theft and drugs before his placement in a borstal, where he was eventually taken under the wing of legendary trainer Cus D'Amato.Tyson had been conditioned by the poverty, drugs and general brutality of New York, this pugnacious young man wasn't going to allow anyone to tame him. This changed when he met D'Amato, he was the first person in his life who believed in him, the first person to inspire him and invest in his future. Mike is still brought to tears when speaking of his beloved mentor.After years of discipline and intense training, the genetically gifted Tyson had been moulded into an 218lb monster, a superb heavyweight contender at just 18 years of age. Sadly, Cus died before he won his first title in 1986.I can imagine some will criticise the film's depiction of its leading man. Indeed, the film portrays Mike sympathetically, his story is told from only his perspective. However, this bias is balanced, or perhaps even tipped in the opposite direction, by Tyson's remarkable honesty. Despite his past behaviour, Mike being the first to acknowledge it, there's part of you that can't help but pity him, he has led a life of confusion and anger, with interference from his numerous demons, one of which being Don King.It is his honesty that makes me, like many others, doubtful of his rape conviction in 1992. Considering how Tyson talks so freely and candidly about his chequered past of hedonism and violence, I doubt that he would repeatedly lie about Washington (who had several years prior allegedly made a false accusation of rape against fellow student Wayne Walker.) He has no interest in concealing his past or improving his reputation, he seems to only want to tell the truth, which I suppose could be a method of reputation management. In reference to the Washington case, the wise Frank Bruno once said: 'You don't go to someone's hotel room at 1am to play chess.' Tyson's narration is at times embarrassing, particularly when he talks about sex, detailing how he likes to 'dominate' his women as if they're prey (corroboration for Washington's defence, perhaps.) He also tells an anecdote of how he 'performed fellatio' on a woman, I'm sure he has since realised he meant 'cunnilingus'. This malapropism is largely an isolated incident however, as Mike is a lover of words with a far greater articulacy than many would think. Tyson brilliantly combines high-register English with African- American vernacular, on multiple occasions he describes things in the most emphatic of ways, such as his verdict on the infamous boxing promoter Don King - 'He's just a wretched, slimy, reptilian motherf*cker... he's ruthless, he's deplorable... he doesn't know how to love anybody.' No matter what one thinks of him, there is no denying that he has more sensitivity and intelligence than he is generally given credit for. This is why I advise anyone, particularly those who disregard Tyson, to watch this eye-opener, it won't necessarily change your opinion of the man, but I think you will appreciate his origins and admire his honesty.80%www.hawkensian.com

It is hard to believe that Mike Tyson was bullied as a young boy. We had known about him since he came into the spotlight as one of the best boxers of his generation. In this amazing documentary by James Toback, we get to know more of the man himself, rather than the persona in the media.Early on, Mike Tyson experienced fear as older guys taunted him in his own neighborhood. His passion at that early stage of his life was to raise pigeons. One day, a boy got hold of one of them and killed the bird senselessly. That incident served as a sort of transformation for Mike Tyson to avenge the slaying of the creature he loved.As he grew up, he joined the gang, beginning a career of robbery and getting into trouble. He came from a broken home. Son of a prostitute that decamped the home as Mike was a young boy, he grew up with a lot of anger. It was not until Tyson found boxing that made his attitude change. Finding a role model and a champion in Cus D'Amato, marked a turn for the boxer as he life took a different direction.We are shown moments of triumphs in his amazing career beating opponent after opponent until his incredible defeat. The glamorous life now was accessible to him. Robin Givens and the boxer had a short, but tempestuous marriage that only lasted for a short time. Right after that Tyson was involved in an infamous incident involving Desiree Washington, which caused him to be jailed for a while.The jail experience probably what decelerated his magnificent career. He went from being on top of the world to being the laughing stock and the butt of all kinds of jokes. Fortunately, Mike Tyson finally understood that if he wanted to succeed even more, he had to toe the line. It is amazing he has been able to keep some of the money he made, something that most of his peers have not done.James Toback assembled the material as an intimate conversation of Mike Tyson with the viewer. We feel as though we finally got to know what made the man what he is. Mr. Toback is a wonderful man who we met once casually, but we were impressed by his no nonsense attitude and his approachability. "Tyson" is made better by Mr. Toback's intelligent account on a larger than life personality.

Director James Toback's insightful documentary "Tyson" does not pull back any punches on the controversial & eventful life of former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson. The uppercut of this doc is that it investigates its subject matter solely featuring none other than Tyson himself. No one else besides Mike Tyson is featured in documentary disclosures throughout the flick. Tyson is not chicken to disclose his feelings on his contentious life including his: impoverished childhood, boxing mentor, rise to the top, rape conviction, prison experience, Buster downfall, "eary" cannibal craving, drug addiction, and a few more Tysonisms. Toback does not orchestrate the film as a 90-minute Tyson confession to glamorize Mike, but rather as an authentic perspective on a man whose self-centered behaviors knocked him down physically, mentally, and emotionally. The Mike Tyson bio footage revealed throughout the documentary accentuates Mike's revelations of his life. The film does not present Tyson in an altered state but in more of a self-realization state. Nevertheless, "Tyson" make you root for Mike Tyson to win the game of life, even through all its technicalities. Lesson of it all: "don't be like Mike" and Iron Mike is the first one to say it in this doc! My unanimous decision is that the documentary "Tyson" does deserve its viewing rounds. And that is no raging bulls*it! **** Good