To say that former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has had an interesting life is an extremely naive understatement. Violence, poverty, drugs and rape are just a few things that have consumed his highly prolific adventure, prompting many to wonder just how a kid from the slums of Brooklyn could ever make it into the big leagues. But now, thanks to first time director James Toback, we get to hear the story straight from the mouth of Tyson himself. And though the details and truth is intriguing, the butchered speech, monotone delivery and blotchy editing prevent this film from ever becoming watchable. Instead, it rests among the many that carried a wave of potential, but never really amounted to anything.
As the film starts off, and we are introduced to our lead subject, I immediately knew that I was in for a long trip. Sitting in a chair, dressed casually, was the infamous Mike Tyson. And while he looked to have it all together, from the moment that he opened his mouth and showcased his inability to fluently speak the English language a foreshadowed destruction was reveled; one that I hoped and prayed wouldn't prove to be true.
Now don't get me wrong; I fully understand that Tyson's education and speech are not controllable by either the director or editors of the film. However, the decision to sit in on Tyson for much of the film (and all of the first 20 minutes) makes me doubt director James Toback's creative juices, as well as his respect for his central subject. Whether he intentionally put him in a bad light or not, that I will never know, but the overall presence of the film makes a strong case that it all wasn't accomplished by mere accident.
Missing throughout the entire film were other interviews and opinions. Instead of reaching out and finding what people feel like today, Toback opted to use archival footage from the golden years. These tapes offer, though at times interesting, offer sparingly limited moments of escape from the visual presence of one of the most controversial men to ever serve as a public icon.
But like I said, none of that was completely controllable; however, the editing was. Often showing several different interviews at once, all from separate angles, the screen becomes overcrowded and confusing. Instead of focusing in on what is being revealed, viewers become distracted with the constant unneeded movements on screen. Not to mention that the audio of each angle is never turned down completely, giving viewers a headache as they attempt to drown out the whispers and focus in on the main statement.
These two factors, when brought together, help to pave way to one of the most uncreative, undeserving bio-docs to surface in the last several years. The direction, the interviews and the editing are all miserable; ultimately leading me to believe that despite words to the contrary, Tyson really is a story better left untold.
