Manny (2014)

Pretty Good

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Opening with an intense sequence of highlights and lowlights from one of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao's many fights with Juan Manuel Marquez, the documentary film, Manny, hopes to quickly establish that in fighting, just as in life, things don't always go as planned. Within the opening moments, we see Manny Pacquiao, for whom the film is named, eat shot after shot. Then get dropped to the mat."If you're a fighter, truly a fighter, then you get back up."Those are the words of celebrity narrator Liam Neeson, setting the stage for the film's ultimate purpose: to establish Pacquiao as courageous, determined, and tough.He is most certainly that.Manny spends much of its 87 minutes showing the man behind the boxer who has held titles in eight different weight classes. Pacquiao hails from the humblest of beginnings. Raised in a hut in the war- torn Philippines by his mother, Pacquiao recounts how, "Sometimes we would go days without eating." To help his family, he dropped out in the sixth grade. By age 13, he realized he needed to do more to raise his family out of poverty—and so he snuck away from home to become a professional boxer.What sounds like the plot of a campy novel actually happened. The film shows footage of fight after fight in which a small, scrawny, teenage Pacquiao competes, dominating and then knocking out opponent after opponent.The name he builds for himself begins to grow, and with it his world.The highly entertaining film includes a chorus of voices from Pacquiao's life as he moved from the Philippines to the United States to pursue his boxing dreams. From his family, coaches, and trainers to sports journalists and even the celebrities who sought to be a part of his entourage, the film offers a wide variety of perspectives on Pacquiao. Hollywood stars Mark Wahlberg, Jeremy Piven, Jimmy Kimmel, and boxing greats like Evander Holyfield weigh in on Pacquiao's legacy and what makes him such a tremendous fighter and charismatic individual.In an enjoyable but clear marketing attempt to hype the then- unscheduled but highly clamored for Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight, Manny does much to charm the viewer into liking its star. Pacquiao is presented as a dedicated family man, a driven humanitarian, an adorably terrible singer (with singing aspirations!), and the victim of exploitation at the hands of crooked promoters. Meanwhile, Floyd Mayweather, whose role in the film is small, is portrayed as a WWE- style heel—an individual so self-interested and contemptible, that the viewer is forced to want Pacquiao to punch his face off.The overall film is a great ride: Manny is a popcorn documentary with a compelling story, some big stars, and a solid mix of action and humor. Whereas the documentary may fall short for die-hard fight fans, who might desire true insight into his Pacquiao's training habits or technique (and will find little of that here), the casual sports fan will likely be satisfied with the story of a boy who came from nothing but fought his way to fame and fortune.

If you've followed Manny Pacquiao's career then have a basic understanding of what the Documentary is about, I say basic because this goes really deep, it doesn't pull any punches (no pun intended)it shows the devastating KO at the hands of Marquez in slow motion with such clarity and from different angles even more clearly than I've ever seen it, it reminded be of how clear the Kennedy Assassination was shown in the movie JFK, well the KO is shown more clearly than you've ever seen it, but it's necessary to tell the tale of Manny Pacquiao, sure it's a bias documentary, after all it's about Manny Pacquiao so what can you expect, this film was produced prior to the Brandon Rios fight, so I wouldn't be surprised if this documentary evolves to include more recent events up to maybe including the Mayweather match up, it shows a more detailed relationship between Manny Pacquiao and Alex Ariza, these guys were friends for sure, sad they're not working together anymore, the relationship between Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao is more of the father and son type, they love each other and it's shown in great detail, you'll see what a hectic schedule Manny had and why we saw a decline in his skills due to being unfocused leading up to the Marquez KO, there are limitations to everyone without exceptions and to how much you can fill your plate up before it overflows, this is show again in detail, his Politian schedule, his fundraising events, his preacher appearances, his singing concerts, his live appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, fight promotion tours etc. then add at least a couple of hours a day training at the boxing gym, and you can understand why something had to give, the tale is told beautifully, and leaves you uplifted at the end, truly a one of a kind man, one of the nicest men you'll ever meet, a humble man who consoles others after his devastating KO loss, a man of unwavering faith, and consoles those who are saddened by his loss with a simple "God wanted it this way for a reason" and God knows best, what a powerful message this documentary sends, you'll understand what I mean, it's not just a boxing documentary, it's also a motivational video and much more

This documentary is about the life and career of Manny Pacquiao, probably the most famous Filipino celebrity the world over now. While we in the Philippines idolize him as our "National Fist," it would be very interesting to hear what other peoples have to say about him.The film was narrated by Liam Neeson. It starts with Manny Pacquiao contemplating on why he boxes. Pacquiao mostly narrates his story in Filipino (with English subtitles). We learn that he joined fishermen when he was a poor boy growing up in Sarangani province. He credited that experience for developing his physical strength. From there, we will meet various people who have influenced his life and career.Manny's mother Dionisia was restrained and sincere when she talked about his childhood. Too bad that would only be her only part in the film. His wife Jinkee had more participation, talking about their personal life. There was an obvious hesitation in some parts when she was going to say something negative, but that was understandable. Too bad there was no interview with his kids. It would have been good to know how he was as a father.The bulk of this documentary will of course be about his boxing career. We will meet his uncle Sardo Mejia who taught 12 year old Manny about boxing. His childhood friend Buboy Fernandez was trained by Manny to be his assistant trainer. We will get to learn more about Freddie Roach, his own career, how they met and their present relationship. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and innovative conditioning coach Alex Ariza are also featured prominently. Former managers Rod Nazario and Michael Koncz were not so favorably mentioned.We get to witness the best scenes from Pacquiao's most memorable fights. There was that 1995 match with a certain Rossel, Manny's first significant win that started him on his winning path. There was that match vs. Hussein in 2000, the first actual match Jinkee watched live, and she was six months pregnant then. His first match in the US, vs. Ledwaba, which Manny convincingly won despite being a longshot. There were highlights of his matches with Barrera, Morales, Solis, Diaz, Marquez, dela Joya, Hatton (that chilling knockout), Cotto, Margarito (that unprecedented eighth world title), and Bradley (that controversial loss by decision). There was of course mention of the dream match which may never be, that elusive one vs. Floyd Mayweather.We will also see Manny's forays into the entertainment scene. There were movies like "Wapak-Man" and "Anak ng Kumander", which did not exactly get good reviews nor good box office. There was his singing "Imagine" on TV with Will Ferrell. We see inside footage of Manny recording "Sometimes When We Touch" in Capitol Records, with no less than Dan Hill himself coaching him (which I found so funny). There was also a quick montage of his multiple product endorsements locally and abroad, many of which we have not seen before.We will see his career in politics as congressman of the lone district of Sarangani. There were even predictions posed about a possible presidency. There was also footage from a prayer meeting where Manny was the motivational speaker. There were thoughts shared about how these other activities were affecting his boxing career.The celebrities they interviewed were also interesting, from Mark Wahlberg to Imelda Marcos! It was heartening to hear testimonies of Manny's greatness from foreign boxing experts, how he is mentioned in the same breath as Muhammad Ali. It was not all roses and plaudits though, as his early financial problems (not yet the tax woes) and many vices were also brought up.This must have been a nightmare to wade through all the footage and media appearances and edit it together into an inspiring and truly touching feature-length documentary such as this one. One of the directors is Leon Gast who won an Oscar in 1996 directing another documentary about boxing "When We Were Kings." That film was about the iconic Ali-Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" match. The other director is a Fil-American Ryan Moore. This is Moore's first commercial film project.I think "Manny" succeeds in its aim to craft a fair character study of a man who came from nothing, who pushed himself to achieve great things for himself and his whole country. This is a very well-made documentary feature, unexpectedly an emotional film which will move many to tears.

Manny appeared to be well-received in its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. The film is certainly informative for those of us who haven't followed Manny Pacquiao's multi-faceted career carefully. His story of his rise from a hut in an obscure Philippine village to international superstar is a truly impressive rags-to-riches tale. He has managed to successfully leverage his boxing career to move into other arenas including acting, music, religion, product endorsement and most intriguingly now politics. His determination and hard work are extremely impressive as he has risen to become a transcendent figure in the Philippines. The film has a bit too much footage of too many fights and lacks in-depth analysis of who the man behind the fighter really is. The film often strays from documentary into hagiography so that it doesn't feel like a truly objective presentation. It comes off more like an extended campaign biography for his future political career as his boxing career is winding down. Some of the metaphors such as Manny as a "fighter" who fought for the pride of his country and now will fight for the people of the Philippines feel a bit forced. It is difficult to tell if his recent focus on his faith reflects a genuine transformation away from his past sinful ways - drinking and womanizing - or a political tool to enhance his future political career. The film remains informative and entertaining, but needs to be taken with several grains of salt.