Tyson (2009) Critic Reviews

A documentary with no pretense of objectivity. Here is Mike Tyson's story in his own words, and it is surprisingly persuasive.Read the full review

Toback has found a documentary subject as tragic and ridiculous, as bizarre and driven, as the heroes of his other films.Read the full review

Mr. Toback's film, partly because it restricts itself to Mr. Tyson's point of view, offers a rare and vivid study in the complexity of a single suffering, raging soul. It is not an entirely trustworthy movie, but it does feel profoundly honest.Read the full review

The result is as gripping as a title fight and as mesmerizing as a conversation with a cobra. You may not be happy with everything said, but you will not be bored.Read the full review

By getting Tyson to open up as he has, Toback has succeeded in illuminating one of the most polarizing, complex and -- the film almost forces one to admit -- misunderstood figures of our time.Read the full review

Terrifically compelling and, more than that, unexpectedly moving.Read the full review

You won't know what hit you after watching Tyson. This power punch to the gut is one of the best movies of any kind this year.Read the full review

It's a sympathetic portrait of a complex man driven by an anger that still bubbles beneath the surface.Read the full review

What's so affecting about him in the film, though, is that he doesn't seem monstrous at all. To the contrary, Iron Mike, having meted out epic suffering in the ring and other venues, seems to be a man who has suffered genuinely, even terribly, in the course of a life that he never believed would last 40 years.Read the full review