Pretty Good

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This was a documentary that kept up all the fictitious pretences of the WWE universe. Very disappointing.

Andre the Giant is a documentary co-produced by WWE. So a chunk of the documentary is spent on how Vince McMahon sr & jr built up their wrestling empire from the north eastern territory to a national wrestling organisation, gobbling up smaller rivals and joining up with the emerging cable television stations. Andre Roussimoff takes a back seat in his own film.Andre was a normal child in a French village, he played football and rugby. It was only at the age of 15 he started to grow and grow. Later in his life it was discovered that he suffered from a disorder called acromegaly, which caused his gigantism. I know these were the days without the internet and Google. It does make you wonder that all those medics in wrestling and no one figured why this 7 foot plus person was still growing?However you get to hear more of Andre Roussimoff, from fellow wrestlers, his friends and more importantly his family that includes his daughter who he did not see often. Andre was a gentle man who could never run away from his size. A legendary drinker, actor Cary Elwes mentions it was to dull the pain in his joints. By the end of his career, he was in immense pain caused by his size.Andre the Giant is a look at a figure who bridged the gap when US wrestling moved to a new era but it feels superficial when you have scenes of Hulk Hogan in Rocky III.

When it comes to sports entertainment, there is no doubt that Andre the Giant is one of the most iconic figures ever to walk the planet. In a land of mere mortals, he was a literal giant, both in physical stature and prosaic legend. He deserves a documentary befitting that sort of gravitas, which is exactly what this doc provides.Basically, this documentary tells the story of Andre The Giant though three distinct lenses:Andre the man: Chronicles his family life (I had never seen interviews with his siblings and/or daughter until now), as well as his very early days in France and when he was just breaking into the wrestling business. Some of the early videos of him in the ring are truly spectacular. The youthful giant!Andre the myth: A decent chunk of this doc is spent re-hashing the old stories about Andre, such as his legendary drinking habits and sometimes irascible temper at those he didn't like (although for the most part he was very much a "gentle giant" in every sense of that phrase). Also, a good look is given at just how difficult traveling was for him, as basically an oversized man living in a normal-sized world (cars too small, airplane bathrooms a no-go, etc.)Andre the wrestler: As is fitting, more time is given to this portion than anything else. Beginning with Andre's run through the wrestling territories of the 1970s, it then heavily focuses on his time in Vince McMahon's WWF, where he (and the business as a whole) rose to international fame. One of the highlights of the entire documentary is the multiple interviews with Hulk Hogan, especially his recollections of the iconic Wrestlemania III showdown between himself and the Giant. That was the match that truly got me into professional wrestling (and I'm guessing I'm not alone in that statement), so deservedly it gets a lot of rope here.Overall, "Andre" is a wonderful documentary about the life of one of the world's most interesting figures. The only reason I can't give it the full 10 star treatment is because it probably could have used a bit more structure in its storytelling technique (it really bounces around from topic to topic and in time as well). Other than that minor quibble, though, the strong HBO production values and the ability to procure interesting and relevant interview subjects (always key when the subject being covered is no longer living) vault this to the rarified air of top documentaries. Even if you don't necessarily have a vested interest in professional wrestling, you can find something to be fascinated with in this hour and a half.

One time in the 80s I ran into Andre in Quebec. We got in an argument over blue vs bleu. I had to give him 7 powerbombs onto an order of hulkaroos and a figure 4. After he tapped we went out for beers and everything was cool. Good guy, good documentary.