Tyson

Ambivalence. formerly defined as watching your enemy drive off a cliff in your brand new car. now has a new description - watching the documentary Tyson. I've always liked the films of James Toback and Tyson is engaging to watch. But Mike Tyson lacks the kind of charm to make the film compelling, even as an antihero.
When Toback put Tyson in his features Black and White and When Will I Be Loved he was perfectly cast even playing himself, but in his own life story he comes across as arrogant and when he's asked about certain events he's downright evasive. In all fairness regarding his time in prison for rape Tyson did his time and paid his dues so he shouldn't hesitate to come clean about what happened regarding that incident. He certainly speaks frankly about other moments in his life, hard luck realities that forced him to fight, steal and plunder.
Then again denial is part of human nature and Tyson is a study in human nature. The film covers his early life as a street thug from a rough neighborhood to a turn of events that led him into the world of boxing. Taken in by boxing trainer Cus D'Amato was a godsend of sorts as Tyson remembers getting out of the trap of his Brooklyn surroundings to a training camp and solid home where he honed his fighting skills. If Cuz was an light angel then, according to Tyson, Don King was a dark angel. After Tyson became world heavyweight champion he reigned as a king even while losing his fortune.
Archival footage adds a needed dimension to the story giving the viewers a sense of Tyson's development as well as spotlighting precious moments of athletic acumen that just aren't available on demand on youtube. Toback splits the screen in artistic patterns throughout the docu making the viewer focus up close and personal to Tyson. In many ways the film Tyson seems like a spiritual cousin to When We Were Kings (1996), the docu about the Ali-Forman fight in Zaire in the mid-70s. Whereas that film is about the big picture of world heavyweight bouts Tyson paints a personal picture that provides the ups and downs of the profession without condescending to its audience. Boxing fans will want to experience Tyson for its wealth of information while documentary fans will admire its construction, even while distancing themselves from the subject.