The
one thing that struck me while watching this documentary is that Ric Flair’s
life deserves more than an hour and a half of screen time. Rory Karf, who directed
this documentary could have made a four-hour film about Ric Flair’s life and it
still wouldn’t have been long enough. However, Karf does an admirable job on
capturing the hilarity, the triumph, and the tragedy of the life and times of
Ric Flair.
This documentary shows to the generation of
fans that never saw Ric Flair in his prime just how great he really was. In his
prime while he was the NWA Champion, Flair wrestled in the main event of the
card, every day of the year and drew a sellout crowd every time. Flair’s in
ring persona of ‘The Nature Boy’ was also a major part of his popularity. He had the most the most
expensive cars, flew in fancy jets, slept with the best-looking women, and he
had the world title. There will be no doubt in the viewer’s mind after watching
this documentary that Ric Flair was the greatest wrestler whoever stepped foot
in the ring.
The one thing that struck me about this
documentary is how honest it was. None of the people interviewed in this
documentary held back their opinion on Flair, including Ric Flair himself. The subjects interviewed in this film both
praise Flair for what a great wrestler he was, but are also brutally honest
about Flair’s conduct outside the wrestling ring. Flair himself admits that he
was never there for any of his children and his four ex-wives. His children and
ex-wives all admit that Flair was simply incapable of being a family man and
that The Nature Boy persona completely consumed him to the point that Ric Flair
never really figured out who he really was. Flair is genuinely remorseful for
how he acted in the past, but the damage he’s done to his family can never truly
be repaired.
Flair’s peers like Triple H and Shawn
Michaels give interviews that were truly eye opening. The interviews these two gave are incredibly raw
and it’s safe to say that Triple H is responsible for saving Ric Flair’s life. In
a way, Triple H acted like a father figure to Flair despite the fact that he’s
twenty years younger than him. Shawn Michaels gives the best explanation for
why Ric Flair acts the way he does, even though he knows he’s hurting himself.
I won’t give away what Michaels said here, but this documentary shows that your
friends will always be honest with you, no matter how hard the truth maybe.
Is being The Nature Boy worth it? That’s
the main question this documentary raises. This isn’t exactly an inspirational
story. Being The Nature Boy made Ric Flair famous and millions dollars, but it
left his personal life in tatters and nearly penniless. At the end of the day,
all Ric Flair has is his reputation as the greatest wrestler who ever lived,
which is all he wanted out of life to begin with.
Overall Rating: ****1/2
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