Post by Rated-R-Superstar on Mar 9, 2011 21:50:28 GMT -6
The Main Event:
Rather than provide a basic biographical look at John Cena's life (which was already done in the WWE's John Cena: My Life in 2007), the newly released The John Cena Experience is more of a 'year in the life' style documentary. Given Cena's massive popularity and superstar status both inside and outside of the ring, he's the right candidate for something like this as the man is kept constantly busy not just with his wrestling career but with his different projects and appearances. It's here that the documentary portion of this three disc set spends most of its time.
When the film begins we get a chance to watch Cena as he gives us his thoughts on the U.S. troops serving overseas when he heads off to interact with and entertain some of the soldiers. Acting as a sort of goodwill ambassador to the WWE, this is an interesting start and it's inspiring to see him reaching out like this. From there we tag along as Cena makes various television appearances, some more interesting than others, which is a good way to segue into his thoughts on ESPN, sports in general. Cena's then invited to help out with the Fiesta Bowl, and we get to see him participate in the parade where he runs into mobs of fans.
John Cena has also had a reasonably interesting career in movies, having made a couple for WWE Films so far, so we get a chance to hear him elaborate on that side of his life. From there we touch on his aspiring music career, the pressures of gearing up for Wrestlemania, Cena's love of cars, and his approach to giving back to the country by working with the Make A Wish foundation and trying to be a responsible individual.
If you're not a Cena fan going into this set, it's probably not going to change your mind but if you appreciate his work and his enthusiasm you'll probably find a lot to love about this look into his work. This gives us behind the scenes access into what it's like to do what he does, as we see him preparing for various events and traveling around the country and abroad. Throughout all of this work, and there seems to be an awful lot of it, we get an appreciation for Cena's sense of humor and wit. He's a smarter guy than you might realize if you only know him from in the ring, and here that really manages to come through. You also get the sense that the guy genuinely cares about people, which makes his good guy persona in the WWE all the more tolerable. The guy's fan base absolutely adores him and this documentary does go a long way towards at least partially justifying some of that love.
As stated, again, this isn't specifically a biography of Cena, that's already been covered so those expecting such treatment might be disappointed by this documentary, but the WWE has at least done something different here in their attempts to cash in on all things Cena these days. Say what you will about his nigh-invulnerable presence in the ring and the WWE's writer's tendency to have him swoop in and save the day with almost superhuman abilities, but the guy has got loads of charisma and it's hard not to like him when you see him out there trying to make the world a better place.
That said, it might stand to reason that some WWE fans might be put off of this release from the lack of wrestling or wrestling industry related activities in the documentary. While it's true that the focus tends to be on what Cena does outside the ring, there is still a fair bit of involvement with some of his WWE counterparts and even if it isn't always in the spotlight, the documentary also spends a good chunk giving us some insight into the positives and negatives of having to prepare both mentally and physically for an event as big as the annual Wrestlemania pay-per-view special. So even if the actual wrestling isn't really the primary focus, it's always at least there, even if sometimes only in the background.
Rather than provide a basic biographical look at John Cena's life (which was already done in the WWE's John Cena: My Life in 2007), the newly released The John Cena Experience is more of a 'year in the life' style documentary. Given Cena's massive popularity and superstar status both inside and outside of the ring, he's the right candidate for something like this as the man is kept constantly busy not just with his wrestling career but with his different projects and appearances. It's here that the documentary portion of this three disc set spends most of its time.
When the film begins we get a chance to watch Cena as he gives us his thoughts on the U.S. troops serving overseas when he heads off to interact with and entertain some of the soldiers. Acting as a sort of goodwill ambassador to the WWE, this is an interesting start and it's inspiring to see him reaching out like this. From there we tag along as Cena makes various television appearances, some more interesting than others, which is a good way to segue into his thoughts on ESPN, sports in general. Cena's then invited to help out with the Fiesta Bowl, and we get to see him participate in the parade where he runs into mobs of fans.
John Cena has also had a reasonably interesting career in movies, having made a couple for WWE Films so far, so we get a chance to hear him elaborate on that side of his life. From there we touch on his aspiring music career, the pressures of gearing up for Wrestlemania, Cena's love of cars, and his approach to giving back to the country by working with the Make A Wish foundation and trying to be a responsible individual.
If you're not a Cena fan going into this set, it's probably not going to change your mind but if you appreciate his work and his enthusiasm you'll probably find a lot to love about this look into his work. This gives us behind the scenes access into what it's like to do what he does, as we see him preparing for various events and traveling around the country and abroad. Throughout all of this work, and there seems to be an awful lot of it, we get an appreciation for Cena's sense of humor and wit. He's a smarter guy than you might realize if you only know him from in the ring, and here that really manages to come through. You also get the sense that the guy genuinely cares about people, which makes his good guy persona in the WWE all the more tolerable. The guy's fan base absolutely adores him and this documentary does go a long way towards at least partially justifying some of that love.
As stated, again, this isn't specifically a biography of Cena, that's already been covered so those expecting such treatment might be disappointed by this documentary, but the WWE has at least done something different here in their attempts to cash in on all things Cena these days. Say what you will about his nigh-invulnerable presence in the ring and the WWE's writer's tendency to have him swoop in and save the day with almost superhuman abilities, but the guy has got loads of charisma and it's hard not to like him when you see him out there trying to make the world a better place.
That said, it might stand to reason that some WWE fans might be put off of this release from the lack of wrestling or wrestling industry related activities in the documentary. While it's true that the focus tends to be on what Cena does outside the ring, there is still a fair bit of involvement with some of his WWE counterparts and even if it isn't always in the spotlight, the documentary also spends a good chunk giving us some insight into the positives and negatives of having to prepare both mentally and physically for an event as big as the annual Wrestlemania pay-per-view special. So even if the actual wrestling isn't really the primary focus, it's always at least there, even if sometimes only in the background.
