Folks, there was a point in time where I never thought I'd get this review done. I watched the movie twice, read a whole host of reviews (positive and negative), and just could not find anything original or insightful to add. But I think that despite that, and regardless of what you may think of Mike Tyson as a boxer, as a tabloid figure, or as a human being, this documentary is worth watching.
The title could not be more apropos: from beginning to end, Tyson is one man's story, told by him in the way he sees fit. Director James Toback chose to interview no one else. Any other "talking head" footage comes from vintage sources. This is Mike Tyson telling his story in a way that he feels you haven't heard.
I would be inclined to shy away from calling it a documentary, but Mike Tyson isn't afraid to talk about the (lots of) bad that makes up most of his professional life. To hear him tell it, "Iron" Mike was a fat kid in the projects who got tired of being picked on and turned to crime. A chance encounter with boxer Bobby Stewart in juvenile sent Mike on a different path, one away from crime and towards fighting in the ring. He was successful, but lost his way when his trainer, Cus D'Amato, died.
Tyson kept fighting because that's what he knew to do; that's what Cus trained him to be the best at. He unified the titles, was at the top of the world, and it crumbled. But Mike Tyson doesn't shy away from the crumbling. He talks about womanizing, his hazardous professional and personal relationships, and becoming lazy in the ring. Tyson himself gives us blow by blow accounts of the Buster Douglas fight and the first two Holyfield fights, the point where he truly "lost it" in the minds of boxing fans.
And to my surprise, much of the blame Tyson has lies squarely on his shoulders. Yes, he pushes some of it off on his upbringing, and some of it on the death of D'Amato, but more often than not, when Mike Tyson has a fall, he admits it is his fault. Even when he's genuinely angry at someone, like Don King, he confesses that the public beating outside hotel was something that shouldn't have happened.
Tyson only remains vigilant in defense of his rape conviction. He contends that he was unfairly imprisoned and that it turned him against humanity. His conversion to Islam was initially a violent reaction against perceived enemies, but further introspection seems to have softened his position. I love that the Maori tattoo on his face was originally going to be hearts.
But then, that's why Tyson is so fascinating. Toback, a long time friend of Mike Tyson's, allows his subject to open up and reveal things about himself that many of us (including Mike) didn't know. Little verbal slips, like a discussion of the countries he visited when famous but never being able to go visit Mandela in South Africa because "parole makes traveling difficult", come out unrehearsed. This is a documentary that seems to unfold in front of you, even if you know Tyson's career trajectory in its entirety.
For that, and for the perplexing, self-contradicting, and totally magnetic figure at the center, I'm recommending you watch this. It may not change your opinion of Mike Tyson as a boxer, but it is an intriguing portrait of the man most of us know the lurid side of.
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