"At The Movies

Tyson (14A) * * * *

Punchy!

By ROBERT WALDMAN

Set to be a knockout is Tyson, a smart look at a controversial character from Sony Pictures Classics and Mongrel Media now beating a path to doors at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas. Sports fans aren’t the only people sure to find this documentary like tale intriguing, to say the least.

Boxing fans need know introduction to Mike Tyson. Even die hard enthusiasts of this sport are bound to learn lots about the one time heavyweight champion of the world. No stone is left unturned as we go one on one with Mike. Straight into the camera this man never wavers as he recounts his youth, rise to power and the screw ups he frequently engineered.

Full of vintage shots of a host of fights and more importantly vintage highlights of his meteoric rise to the top and unceremonious downfall, director James Toback (When Will I Be Loved) manages to get up close and personal with this lightning rod who lets his fists do the talking.

Good times and bad times are in abundance in this dynamic career which includes bouts not only with fellow boxers but women and the law. Through it all what this 91 minute movie reveals is that there’s more to the image than the relentless brute in the ring. Overall we come across learning of a troubled youth, a motivational mentor who steered him in the right way, and a fall from grace with scores of leaches ready and willing to bleed the champ try.

Toback has a unique way of filming with the inclusion of many split screens that at the start may be distracting but actually work out well in the long run. Stark, blunt and to the point, Tyson makes one hell of a portrait of a true superstar whose pension for trouble seems to be wavering as he now looks like he’s cleaned up his act and ready to garner support for a once battered image.

Read more reviews by Robert at www.moviereviewssite.com "