Andre the Giant (2018)

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

Towards the end of this film, someone compares Andre to Davy Crockett - as much myth as man. It is an apt comparison, and it makes a film like this pretty tough to make. You could tell every mythic Andre legend and skip the humanity...you could focus only on the humanity and miss the legend. This doc resides right at the intersection, and it succeeds for that reason. They capture what made Andre Andre while resisting the urge to tell every single story for 5 hours. As a child of the 80s, simply revisiting the first few Wrestlemanias and The Princess Bride was a blast. It is entertaining, and - just as importantly - it is human. Also, it is captivating.

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.

Always was a pro wrestling fan grew up with it in the 1980's during it's height of fame. And all of us remember and were thrilled with the 8th wonder of the world the one and only "Andre the Giant"! And this new "HBO" doc is wonderful and great as it tells of his upbringing and rapid growth in a small French town. And the stories of how "Andre" started his journey to the ring, finally breaking into the "North America" circuit during the days of regional and territorial wrestling.As the doc showed it was in the early 80's when Vince McMahon took over the then "WWF" and would expand it nationwide with the use of cable TV by putting it on the "USA Network". This prime exposure helped "Andre" grow into a superstar and household name. Also along with his feud with star "Hulk Hogan" helped put the giant on the map and his popularity would grow as even movie roles became available.Also shown and seen was the pain and sorrow that "Andre" faced due to his size like knee injuries, and his body was slowly breaking down due to his size as common things like sitting, sleeping, and travel was such a challenge due to his freak size, plus he was a food and alcohol freak! The highlights and footage is classic and revealing interviews are given from "Hulk Hogan", "Ric Flair", and "Vince McMahon" as they remember the good times and were sad and emotionally touched by his tragic downfall at the end. Overall this is one doc to watch if your a classic wrestling fan as it's a historical tribute to an icon and liked legend who was special for being different and being himself by being the one and only giant and that was "Andre"