Tyson (2008)

A Masterpiece!

A different way of telling a story

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

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

'Iron' Mike Tyson is a man mainly defined by his media portrayals and the various controversial incidents that plagued his boxing career and his life post-retirement, such as biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a hot-tempered slugging session, and his conviction for the rape of Desiree Washington. James Toback's documentary makes no attempt to give both sides of the story, but instead focuses the camera on Tyson himself, slumped in a chair at his home, and let him tell his own story. It becomes clear from the get-go that the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history is a man plagued by demons, stemming from his troubled childhood.Early on, Tyson describes an incident where he was beaten up by a larger bully and was unable to fight back, and another that saw one his pigeons killed in front of him for no reason at all. This childhood trauma could have left him shaken, but it instead turned him into a man terrified at the thought of humiliation, and determined that it never happens again. After some petty crime landed him in prison, he began to fight, and his potential prowess saw him eventually in the hands of Cus D'Amato, a man Tyson clearly loved and respected with every fibre of his being. D'Amato helped turn Tyson into a beast of a man, lightning-fast and ferociously strong, capable of beating an opponent before he even stepped into the ring.After he won the belt, Tyson's life became hedonistic; full of drugs, orgies and violence. He describes achieving worldwide stardom at the age of 20 as a blessing and a curse, and the people - or "leeches" - who immediately surrounded him as leading him down a dark path (he calls Don King a "reptilian motherf****r,"). He also calls himself a leech for letting himself get sucked in, and frequently recognises his own flaws. Speaking with his famous high- pitched lisp, he comes across as a humble man; his monologues are mumbled and full of mispronunciations, but occasionally eloquent. His lust for women, mental instability, violent temperament and fear of fear itself explains his actions, but Tyson never attempts to use them as an excuse. We don't need another side of the story, as he dresses himself down better than anyone else can, helping Tyson to become a very human portrayal of a man often thought of as a monster.

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

Must see if you ever hated Mike Tyson for anything. Starts with a stark accounting of his young life, the 38 arrests by the time he was 12, the teasings, the pigeons, the fight that he broke his teeth on, juvenile centers, and Cus of course. He took a hindsight view of the Barbara Walters interview with Robin Givens, admitted he too wondered how he sat there while she was basically saying he was a monster. Through his eyes you could see how his life spiraled downward after that point. Creative editing keeps you interested in Mike talking about Mike. Definite better understanding of him now. Glad he is no longer boxing, and is at peace with it.

A fascinating insight into the mind of The Baddest Man on The Planet.From his invincible crush of Trevor Berbick on November 22nd 1986 for the WBC Heavyweight Championship to the sad submission of a broken man against lowly Kevin McBride on June 11th 2005, every major fight is covered from Tyson's career.The real insight of the film comes from the insights into Tyson's personal problems. The broken neighborhood, the bullies, the petty crime, the jail time, the money, the missing $300 million, the rape, the "swines", the drugs, the fornications, the failed marriages, the loss of identity, the death of his trainer and Father figure Cus D'Amato. Everything you ever thought you would never see Tyson speak so heartwarming and honestly about is laid bare here, as James Toback successfully opens up an enigma that was previously unwilling to be unopened.Viewing Tyson upset in the film is beyond poignant, a man who has represented himself as an animal since the mid 1980s and struggled to discard that image ever since, a man who by his own admission never saved any money because he didn't think he would live to spend it. This is a man who ends the documentary with some closure, some honesty about who he was then and who he is now. A family man, a man who wants Grandkids, a man who accepts he no longer has the heart or passion to fight, a man who seems content with just living life like anybody else.The sad fact is that since the release of this documentary in 2008 the family he speaks so openly and lovingly about at the end of the film has tragically been cut short through the death of Tyson's 4-year-old Daughter Exodus. As a viewer, you can only hope Tyson can channel his loss and his probable anger without turning back to his demons......