A brilliant film that helped define a genre

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Mike Tyson tells the story of his life from the mean streets of Brooklyn to his pigeons and his boxing life and his father figure trainer Cus D'Amato to his failed marriage and prison. It's great to hear him reflect on his life. He strikes me as a simple child-man who has gone through a lot and grown a lot. He seems honest and open. There isn't much that he won't talk about. It's a tour de force performance of a naturally charismatic man. One can see the man truly feel what he's saying. He may not be able to confront all of his demons yet. He is still a work in progress but this is a man on a journey and it's a fascinating one. Filmmaker James Toback dips his toe into documentary and it's a great start.

I am a boxing fan, and I watched many of the fights in this documentary when they occurred. I was initially a fan of Tyson, as he knocked out 20 opponents in a row to start his career, and knocked out poor Marvis Frazier in less than 30 seconds. But, by the time he fought Buster Douglas in Japan, after all the years of his trash talking, I disliked him and cheered and jumped for joy when Douglas knocked Tyson senseless. From then on, I was always glad to see Tyson take a beating. But, after watching this, I have begun to feel less animosity toward him. He had a very hard life; and he himself admitted he did most of the things he did out of fear and insecurity. I can understand now why he bit Holyfields ear, but I still can never condone it in a boxing ring. I still think he should never have been allowed between the ropes again after doing such a thing. I watched his last fight with McBride, and he was gracious in defeat, admitting he had no stomach for fighting anymore. He's left boxing for good, and he even seems a little happier nowadays.

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

In depth and eye opening documentary of former World Heavyweight Champion Iron Mike Tyson who tells it like it is, or was, about his wild and violent life in and out of the boxing ring.In a soft and almost angelic-like voice Tyson describes his turbulent life that brought him to heights that he never dreamed of ever attaining and depths which most men would have never been able to recovered from. Growing up on the mean streets of Brownsville Brooklyn Mike a shy and quiet kid had to learn to use his fists at a very young age in order to survive. For a while Mike was headed for the state penitentiary and a life behind bars or, like most young men like himself in the Brooklyn Ghetto, an early grave before he reached his 30th birthday.As things turned out fate had different plans in store for young Mike and that came in the person of wise old old Cus D'Amato who took Mike under his wing and instilled both respect and discipline into him. This was to later help overcame Mike's deep inferiority complex in him feeling that he'll never amount to anything positive in life. Cus a boxing trainer who had guided Floyd Patterson to became the youngest Heavyweight Champion in the history of professional boxing was going to do the same for Mike. But in the end it was Mike who was going to have to take as well as throw all the punches to archive that lofty goal!On the evening of November 22, 1986 Mike Tyson made history by becoming the youngest Heavyweight Champ, at age 20, in history by knocking out Trevor Berbick in the 2nd round of their title fight in Las Vegas Navada. The only thing missing for Mike was that the person most responsible for making all that possible Cus D'Amato wasn't there to see it happen ; Gus died at age 77 the previous year. Tyson turned out to be a fighting champ ducking no one and defended his title 10 times over the next 3 1/2 years. In what was to be the fight of the century, in Las Vegas on June 28, 1988, Tyson annihilated the former and undefeated world Heavyweight Champ Michael Spinks-to reunite the title-in less then two minutes of the first round! Not only did a fired up Tyson knock Spinks, who's never been knocked off his feet before, out cold but did it with a combination of bone crunching body, not head, shots!It was after the Spinx fight that Tyson's invincibility in the ring started to came apart at the seams. Dropping those who, trainer and adviser Rooney & Jacobs, guided him to the Heavyweight title Mike got in with blood-sucking manipulators like boxing promoter Don King who not only ended bleeding Mike dry of almost all his, estimated to be over 300 million dollars, purse money but drastically cut back on his rigorous training schedule substituting it with all night parties and non stop sexual escapades! It didn't take long for Mike to lose his boxing ability and that all came to the surface on February 11, 1990 at the Tokyo Dome when he was knocked out, in the 10th round, by journeyman boxer Buster Douglas losing the Heavyweight title at the ripe old age of 23.Being very philosophical about himself, during the hour and a half interview, and what he went through in life Tyson only lost his cool twice when discussing his relationship with promoter Don King whom he decked, in front of a number of eye witnesses, in public and beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington. It was Desiree who claimed, which Tyson strongly denies, that Tyson raped her in his hotel room which ended his quest to regain the Heavyweght title. Being convicted of rape in early 1992 put Tyson's boxing career on hold with him serving three years behind bars for it. Out of prison in 1995 and more then ready to rumble Tyson ran up a string of knock-out victories that landed him a shot at his former Heavyweight Title against the reining Champ Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas on November 9, 1996. Tyson taking command early in the fight soon became frustrated when a plucky Holyfield refused to be intimidated by him and stood toe to toe with Tyson for the first five rounds of the champion fight. Holyfield not backing away but mixing it up with Tyson held his ground until he found an opening in the sixth round catching Tyson with a left-hook to the body dropping him flat on his back! Unable to defend himself against Holyfield's brutal non-stop barrage the fight was stopped early in the 11th round with Tyson barley conscious in the fact that he lost the fight! The rematch with Holyfield next June 28, 1997 had a desperate Tyson try to cannibalize his way to the title by almost biting off, a shocked and outraged, Holyfield's right ear! Disqualified by the referee for un-sportsmen like conduct Tyson who seemed not to give a sh*t about what people think of him was never able to came close to being the same destructive and unbeatable boxer, that he once used to be, again!Tyson now retired and happily married with six children has finally found peace in his very troubled and violent life with his converting to Islam being the main reason for it. Recovering from a serious drug addiction, while the movie was being filmed, Tyson has now become both older and wiser in his seeing what a mess he made of himself and is now doing everything to help correct it! With him putting the same dedication and determination into straighting himself out like he did in getting to the top in the boxing world that unattainable goal, for most people, should be nothing but a piece of cake for Iron Mike Tyson.