I think it's the natural inclination for a lot of us to see a person on television represented as a bit off naturally assume that they are quite crazy. And of course this isn't the case. And actually, I didn't need this documentary to tell me that Mike Tyson wasn't just a monster. Back in the early part of the decade, I was watching Jimmy Kimmel and it had Mike Tyson as a "guest host" for the week. And there was this bit in which they showed Mike Tyson with a bunch of pigeons. It wasn't a comedy bit, it wasn't meant to be ironic or anything... it was just a piece showing how much Tyson cared for these pigeons. That there was when the illusion of the "baddest man on the planet" disappeared.
Of course, the fact that Tyson participated in one of the most brutal sports possible doesn't help his perception, meaning the fact that he has been convicted of rape and bitten off a man's ear supplements his boxing persona as a ruthless bloodseeker. So what this film does is just give Tyson the floor, letting him tell his side of the story... which might easily seem like a fluff piece where the person does nothing but defend every single one of his actions, resulting in a boring, one sided story.
Thankfully, Tyson is honest enough to tell his story through the eyes of someone who is much older and much more mature, so he spares us little in detailing his own faults and misgivings. I mean, I don't know if he's telling the *whole* truth, but when he paints himself in unflattering lights on certain stories, you lend credence to the entire story.
And in the process, this dude who once declared that he was going to eat Lennox Lewis' children becomes much more human and--dare I say it--more identifiable. For example, the ear biting incident: sure, it was a terrible and unfortunate incident, and Tyson says this himself in admitting that he let his anger get the best of him. But this is what unfolded in my eyes--Tyson is trained to be animal-like in the ring. Holyfield uses dirty headbutts to get advantage in first fight. Uses dirty headbutts to get advantage in second fight. I would be pretty pissed in that situation, and if I were going to retaliate in some way, I'd guess I'd go for some part of the head.
Again, it doesn't excuse the actions, but everyone has moments in which they are pushed to the limit and let their demons come out. And Tyson isn't any different, only his demons came out in the spotlight as one of the biggest sports figures in the world.
(Some points off for random interludes where the director has Tyson reciting poems by the beach. I think these sections were inserted to alleviate the director's guilt that most of the film was just Tyson talking about himself the entire time.)
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