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When I was a kid, I watched Mike Tyson knock out Michael Spinks and it blew my mind. I had no idea who this guy was and he took society by storm in and out of the ring. My memories of him consisted of fast KO's and celebrity appearances whether it was in a Fresh Prince music video, a video boxing game, or even in a wrestling ring. In the film TYSON though, you will see none of those memories other than the knockouts and you will see a side of him that you might not be too familiar with.
Here is my personal review of the film that I had the pleasure of watching during last Monday's NYC premiere screening with Mike and his guests.
TYSON
He is the most feared boxer ever.
After the red-carpet screening in New York, even Mike himself said that after watching the documentary as objectively as possible, he found himself scared of this person on the screen. It is not something that he’s used to even though, during a period of his life, he would call himself God and feel capable of anything. This, in fact, was something totally new to him and, for most in the audience, it too was a very different way to see Mike express himself.
Some were used to seeing the Tyson that won the heavyweight championship at a tender age of twenty growing up with him during his storied boxing career. Some were used to seeing the Tyson whose drama outside the ring constantly put him in the spotlight. While some were used to seeing him as the introverted kid he describes himself as on a windy path just like a lot of people we are likely to already know in our own lives.
You do not hear the questions being asked, you only hear Mike. In his words, and you listen and hear a truth about Mike you haven’t heard from him before. Gone is the fear in the words that sometimes had no meaning and were only said to entice fear in his opponents whether they be in or outside the ring. Gone are the attempts of his ego trying to win another battle, for fear of loss is the worst fear of them all especially for a competitor such as Iron Mike. What is left is just Mike and a look back at one of the greatest boxers that we will ever know.
This film will remind you of why he became so feared in the ring at such an early age. Watching the clips from those fights you see the intensity in his eyes when he walks to the ring. He walks with purpose and electrifies audiences just by entering it. Every fight is the culmination of years of training with one of the most skilled boxing minds in the game, Cus D’Amato. He was the man Mike describes as one of the only persons he ever trusted, raising him from the age of twelve to become a defensive master who would bob and weave and lean and punch in combinations that nobody had ever seen before. Power punches with remarkable speed that came from places they shouldn’t, and with accuracy and precision that only years of training could provide. Kid Dynamite, as he was first nicknamed, was the post-Muhammad Ali fighter the world dreamed of.
This film will challenge what you think you know about Mike. You will need to let go of what you have seen in the media during some of that time. In today’s social media, truth is as prevalent as ever, and this will be one truth you will never forget as Mike takes you within and bears it all for the world to see.
Do some people still long for Iron Mike? The adored God of the ring who couldn’t be stopped; who travelled all over the world, and was greeted by millions of adoring fans wherever he went? If I want to re-live Iron Mike, I’ll pop in my copy of Fight Night Round 4 when it comes out and watch old fights on youtube.
I now understand that for Mike, it isn’t about going back, it’s about moving forward and accepting everything he’s done, without any need to ask for forgiveness. As one of the most influential beings on this planet, when he does this, just as we followed him in his boxing career, we will follow him in his film career and, forgive him anyway, because he’s only a man who is not anymore a God than you or I am.
And I don’t believe that is taking anything away from him at all. He talked afterwards that he’s still in awe of how people are responding to the film and how he’s not used to not having to train hard for this type of approval that he would normally receive from winning a fight. Here he was, letting it all hang out, take it or leave it, and people were accepting it. People were looking beyond it and accepting him.
The question was asked from the audience of what he would do now. He mentioned he is working with Jamie Foxx on a feature movie on his life. After watching the documentary about it, I am intrigued how Foxx will portray Tyson as I’m sure this film will have much influence on the making of that one.
In the end, I learned more about Mike than I ever thought I knew about him. I was always a fan since the first time my father and I watched him KO Michael Spinks in 1988. And now, I’ve gained a level of respect for the man after what I’ve seen of him in this film.
He is one of the most influential people in the world today.