tomgillespie2002 'Iron' Mike Tyson is a man mainly defined by his media portrayals and the various controversial incidents that plagued his boxing career and his life post-retirement, such as biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a hot-tempered slugging session, and his conviction for the rape of Desiree Washington. James Toback's documentary makes no attempt to give both sides of the story, but instead focuses the camera on Tyson himself, slumped in a chair at his home, and let him tell his own story. It becomes clear from the get-go that the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history is a man plagued by demons, stemming from his troubled childhood.Early on, Tyson describes an incident where he was beaten up by a larger bully and was unable to fight back, and another that saw one his pigeons killed in front of him for no reason at all. This childhood trauma could have left him shaken, but it instead turned him into a man terrified at the thought of humiliation, and determined that it never happens again. After some petty crime landed him in prison, he began to fight, and his potential prowess saw him eventually in the hands of Cus D'Amato, a man Tyson clearly loved and respected with every fibre of his being. D'Amato helped turn Tyson into a beast of a man, lightning-fast and ferociously strong, capable of beating an opponent before he even stepped into the ring.After he won the belt, Tyson's life became hedonistic; full of drugs, orgies and violence. He describes achieving worldwide stardom at the age of 20 as a blessing and a curse, and the people - or "leeches" - who immediately surrounded him as leading him down a dark path (he calls Don King a "reptilian motherf****r,"). He also calls himself a leech for letting himself get sucked in, and frequently recognises his own flaws. Speaking with his famous high- pitched lisp, he comes across as a humble man; his monologues are mumbled and full of mispronunciations, but occasionally eloquent. His lust for women, mental instability, violent temperament and fear of fear itself explains his actions, but Tyson never attempts to use them as an excuse. We don't need another side of the story, as he dresses himself down better than anyone else can, helping Tyson to become a very human portrayal of a man often thought of as a monster.

billcr12 James Toback lets Mike Tyson talk at length about his interesting life, beginning in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, a rough and tumble and drug and gang infested neighborhood. It was survival of the fittest at its lowest level.His rise after father figure and trainer Cus D'Amato makes him into a great boxer and eventually heavyweight champion is a compelling documentary; one of the best I have ever seen.Mr. Tyson is refreshingly candid and articulate about his many mistakes, he never makes excuses for his actions. The deep sadness after the death of Cus D'Amato when Tyson was 19 is the turning point in the former champs life, he was changed forever without his mentor. A sad story, but a very human one and a great film.

Sean Lamberger I stepped into Tyson with a pretty distinct idea of who the subject was, where he came from, and what I thought of his legacy. Ultimately, I was hoping this kind of long-session chat in a comfortable place with the former champion would reveal some special insight into his complex identity and deliberately checked my preconceptions at the door to better facilitate an open mind. Turns out I really shouldn't have bothered. Despite his best intentions to prove otherwise, Mike Tyson comes across as a simple man who desperately wants to be deep but is either unwilling or unable to hide the truth. At the core of his being he's pure reflex, which is a trait that served him well during his days in the ring but left him ripe for coercion outside its boundaries. Phenomenal athletes rarely double as tangible role models, and Tyson himself offers dramatic proof of that fact. Little more than an ego stroke, the documentary focuses almost exclusively on the ex-champ's point of view and skims over or accepts thin excuses for each of the more intriguing moments of his life. The most surprising thing about it came from Mike's old training footage, and the realization of just how blindingly fast he really was at his peak.

jotix100 It is hard to believe that Mike Tyson was bullied as a young boy. We had known about him since he came into the spotlight as one of the best boxers of his generation. In this amazing documentary by James Toback, we get to know more of the man himself, rather than the persona in the media.Early on, Mike Tyson experienced fear as older guys taunted him in his own neighborhood. His passion at that early stage of his life was to raise pigeons. One day, a boy got hold of one of them and killed the bird senselessly. That incident served as a sort of transformation for Mike Tyson to avenge the slaying of the creature he loved.As he grew up, he joined the gang, beginning a career of robbery and getting into trouble. He came from a broken home. Son of a prostitute that decamped the home as Mike was a young boy, he grew up with a lot of anger. It was not until Tyson found boxing that made his attitude change. Finding a role model and a champion in Cus D'Amato, marked a turn for the boxer as he life took a different direction.We are shown moments of triumphs in his amazing career beating opponent after opponent until his incredible defeat. The glamorous life now was accessible to him. Robin Givens and the boxer had a short, but tempestuous marriage that only lasted for a short time. Right after that Tyson was involved in an infamous incident involving Desiree Washington, which caused him to be jailed for a while.The jail experience probably what decelerated his magnificent career. He went from being on top of the world to being the laughing stock and the butt of all kinds of jokes. Fortunately, Mike Tyson finally understood that if he wanted to succeed even more, he had to toe the line. It is amazing he has been able to keep some of the money he made, something that most of his peers have not done.James Toback assembled the material as an intimate conversation of Mike Tyson with the viewer. We feel as though we finally got to know what made the man what he is. Mr. Toback is a wonderful man who we met once casually, but we were impressed by his no nonsense attitude and his approachability. "Tyson" is made better by Mr. Toback's intelligent account on a larger than life personality.