It was really well done and professional...but could have been so much better. Was hoping for a little bit more depth.
It was probably fantastic if someone hasn't read or seen anything on Andre the Giant, but if you have, there was very little new there. Subtract the Princess Bride interviews, which were a very nice touch, and it basically could have been just another WWE-produced advertiseme...(cough) I mean documentary, along the lines of "Koko B Ware: The Birdman Cometh!" or something like that.
Most of his wrestling career was summed up by the same WWE voices, without alternative perspectives or challenges, that you get with everything. Didn't need 30% of the documentary dedicated to WMIII, a story that's been told a hundred times, by the exact same people.
Would have liked a lot more about his growing up, his dealing with his size as a young man...early days in Canada and the AWA, more about his experience in Japan and internationally, more from voices who were inspired by him OUTSIDE wrestling, and at least outside the WWE. They talk about how famous and captivating he was, but they can't find one football player, writer, celeb of any kind to talk about what Andre meant to them? Instead, you have the WWE folks spinning Andre for us?
Again, there was some good stuff...about 20-25 minutes of the 90 was solid, but it could have been so much more.
I have to say, it really didn't hold a candle to the Ric Flair doc from ESPN, or even similar 30 for 30s about guys like Bo Jackson. That's what it should have been. But for someone with just fleeting familiarity with Andre, or even none, maybe it's appropriate for the HBO audience, whereas ESPN assumes their audience has more than a vague name recognition to the people it features in a 30 for 30. 30 for 30 maybe doesn't feel like it needs to explain what an Auburn University is in the Bo Jackson documentary, and isn't afraid to feature stories from people other than those your grandmother would recognize as "hey that's the wrestling guy!".
