Movie Review: ‘Manny’ is a Candid Documentary About the Octuple Boxing World Champ

Boxing isn’t the sport it used to be, at least in the United States. While the rules of boxing have changed very little over the last 150 years, the popularity of the sport in America has waned since the sport became scandal-ridden in the 1980s. One of the few boxers who has become a marquee name in the U.S. because of sheer force of popularity is Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. While he is one of the top names in boxing in the U.S., that represents only a tiny fraction of his true popularity. In the Philippines Pacquiao is essentially a saint, being not only the most popular celebrity in the country but also a singer, actor, basketball coach (and sometimes player), and even a member of the Philippines House of Representatives. But above all, Pacquiao is one of the best boxers of the last two decades, and Manny, a warts-and-all documentary about his life from directors Leon Gast (who directed the Academy Award-winning Ali-Foreman documentary When We Were Kings) and Ryan Moore, narrated by Liam Neeson, who should probably narrate every documentary that Morgan Freeman can’t do.

The documentary opens with footage of Pacquiao in a position not normally seen: when he was knocked out by Juan Manuel Márquez in their December 2012 fight, the fourth match between the pair in eight years. It is an appropriate start for a man who is a champion but has faced hardship all his life. The documentary explores Pacquiao’s poor childhood during war-torn years in the Philippines. Boxing was a way for him to earn money for his family and he became a pro in Manilla at sixteen when he lied about his age and put weights in his pockets to make the minimum weight. Pacquiao was a natural and beat all of his opponents until there was essentially nobody in Manilla left to fight. Much of the documentary covers his road to the United States and how Pacquiao became an international superstar, beloved for not only his skill but his affable charm.

Pacquiao’s hardships weren’t over once he became a famous boxer. His management was screwing him out of his portion of his fight purses, he has been exploited by the media, and his choice to pursue ventures outside of boxing — especially politics — have hurt his focus in the long run. Manny also doesn’t shy away from the seedier aspects of Pacquiao’s career, particularly his extramarital affairs and numerous other non-boxing distractions.

Manny also celebrates Pacquiao’s most important accomplishments, like when he became the first (and only) boxer to hold world titles in eight different weight divisions. It also highlights very amusing trivia about the champion boxer, like when the Philippines actually tried to pass legislation to make it illegal for Paciquao to box Oscar De La Hoya when they feared he would lose against the famed Golden Boy. It also covers his laughable appearances in low-budget Power Ranger-like superhero movies, his singing career, and his memorable singing appearance on Jimmy Kimmel with Will Ferrell.

Naturally, Manny also goes in depth about the barriers preventing the fight that boxing fans all over the world have wanted to see since 2008: Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather. We get the usual runaround from arguably the two best boxers in the world explaining why this fight has yet to happen.

Like most good documentaries, Manny is full of characters. There is Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, whose story of boxing until he damaged his health only to rebound as a champion trainer could inspire a documentary itself. There is Michael Koncz, the classic slimy manager, who has likely made Pacquiao millions but has made dozens of enemies along the way. Of course, no boxing documentary would be complete without an appearance from boxing journalist/personality Bert Sugar even though he died in 2012. Lastly, there is Bob Arum, the masterful boxing promoter who might actually be hurting his client Pacquiao more than helping him build his ultimate legacy. Naturally, there are also celebrity talking heads, including Mark Wahlberg and Jeremy Piven, though they don’t particularly add much.

The degree that Manny gets close to its subject is surprising, but this is still a documentary for fans of boxing. Those who have little interest in Pacquiao’s career or cult of personality won’t enjoy this quite as much, but Manny is still a fascinating look at one of the all-time greats.

RATING: Manny celebrates and examines the boxing legend at his best and worst (7.5/10)