The first sequence of the miniseries Mike reconstructs before our eyes one of the most incredible incidents in the history of boxing. In 1997, during the WBA heavyweight championship, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear. The public present in Las Vegas is dumbfounded by what has just attended, while the images filmed by the cameras go around the world, precipitating the fall of the one who dominated the world of boxing for several years.
After this brief presentation punch, the series takes its wanders to go on the boards of the Majestic Theater of Broadway, place where the former champion gave himself in show several times with Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, awkwardly recounting the stages of his life. This time around, Tyson is played by Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), which surveys a dark scene while returning to the great moments of its existence, all accompanied by flashbacks and extracts of fights on the rings.
Note that this unauthorized program produced by Hulu has already been talked about, even before its broadcast on August 25 with us on the Disney + platform. Mike Tyson recently stepped up to denounce the eight-episode series that was made without his consent. A big unexpected publicity stunt for the producers and certainly not wanted by the former boxer. The reasons for this anger remain financial, since the drama series created by Steven Rogers (I, Tonya) tells what we already know about the character. Nothing new under the sun, then.
Bad boy
On the border between fiction and fake biographical series, Mike narrates the horrors of a self-destructive and tormented boxer, from his youth in the heart of urban violence in Brooklyn until adulthood, passing through his conviction for rape in 1992. We first discover a child Tyson (played by Ethan Barrett), wmartyred in the early 1970s by the neighborhood bigwigs because of his high-pitched voice and the hair on his tongue.
Neglected by his mother, who thinks he is “retarded”, he plunges into delinquency at a very young age, but it is as a teenager (BJ Minor) that he discovers boxing, in a house of correction. In the ring, his explosive and spectacular style attracts attention. Supported by trainer and mentor Cus D’Amato (perfect Harvey Keitel), who sees in him a future legend, Tyson is heading straight for glory with repetitive knockouts.
Despite the achievement and success, Tyson will never—in the ring and out of the ring—be able to shake off his bad boy ways. Addictions, sex and violence become his daily life, at least until the fifth episode, which we were allowed to see exclusively.
Even if the beginnings are lively, the whole thing becomes repetitive, especially when becoming champion, Tyson accumulates conquests and crap shots. Still, the series enjoys an electric staging, with effective cutting. One episode in particular stands out, the one directed by Tiffany Johnson, which is told from the perspective of Desiree Washington (Li Eubanks), an 18-year-old young woman who accused the boxer of raping her. The latter received a six-year prison sentence in 1992 after a resounding and over-publicized trial.
In the end, what stands out from this production is the impressive interpretation of Trevante Rhodes. The actor, totally invested in the title role, manages to give his character a human depth, almost touching, despite his brutality. The actor is able to show another side of the monster, a wounded man more traumatized by a childhood lived in extreme poverty and lack of maternal love.