Kobe Bryant's Muse

I can't hold back my tears when I watch this.

Kobe. GOAT. Mamba. The glory. That's what the media likes to call him in order to generate popularity.

But the Kobe in front of the camera here is the most raw and Kobe-like Kobe. A superman who's a human with badges on his front and scars on his back. The lonely kid sitting in the corner. The dreamer who believes in his dreams. The passion. The drive... That's what most people associate with when they mention Kobe.

But what cracks me into tears is when he said "I failed miserably." That's what truly makes a man great, the ability to see through his own weakness and failures and recover from that. That's what we do.

The pain and sacrifices right in front of your eyes. I can't stop my tears. This is the real Kobe. This is the real superman.

The director did an amazing job. Action speaks louder than words. This is the beauty of a motion picture. No words. Just background music. A physical therapist is working on Kobe's foot. Drop down a box of marbles. Kobe has to pick them up with his injured foot. I can't stop my tears.

Raw. Very Kobe. Nothing to envy about. The emotion. The highlight. The pain. The struggle. Behind his 30K pts and 5 rings. Thank you Kobe.

With love, Your fans

Just seeing this for the first time. I've been a Kobe fan since 1996! The only basketball player I can honestly say, of whom, I am truly a fan! The ONE and ONLY! Thank you, Kobe, for doing "Muse", for the 20 years, for you! I have been a fan of SO many sports players in MLB and NFL, going back to Mickey Mantle, my first! Through Walter Payton, Tug McGraw, Tom Seaver, Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, Madison Bumgarner, Peyton Manning, Cam Newton!! That special, trademark smug look Kobe would project just demonstrated, year after year, how dedicated and impassioned he was about his game. How could anyone not admire that kind of surreal dedication! Also, makes me wonder what kind of person could give this film anything less than a 7! In my opinion, only a hater or idiot could do so. And definitely not a sports fan or any kind. If you really love sports, then you can also admire adversaries and opponent greats, like Tom Brady for instance. I just wish I could thank Kobe for doing this feature. Guess I could on Twitter. Oh yes! And thank you Kobe for that last game! Just watched the whole think a 2nd time, this week. And loved the farewell, "Mamba Out", and 'dropped' the mic!!

LOVE IT!! Only wish it were two hours! ONLY one Kobe! Will miss your presence on the court in that Lakers uniform--forever.

Great documentary. Just found this on Prime and watched it here a few months after his passing and that made it kinda sad. What an incredible athlete and competitor this guy was. I had no idea his father played in the NBA for 8 years as well. The Black Mamba is a legend. RIP Kobe...

This is probably my favourite documentaries ever! I'm so sad my interest in watching nba basketball became an interest to me so late in my life and not realizing how valuable Kobe was in this world! 💜💜💜💜💜 ! #mambamentality #iwanttobethenextKobeBryant

I don't watch a ton of documentaries but I try to catch them when they concern things or people I'm interested in. So when I heard about the Showtime documentary involving Kobe Bryant, I knew I wanted to check it out. I have been a fan of him for a long time and specifically remember dropping 70-80 points with him in NBA 2k so I've been looking to find out more about his personal life and his road to being one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Most documentaries take the approach of finding many people close to the central figure in the story, and getting several interviews to comment on that particular person. Instead with 'Muse', we only get Bryant's story from his perspective. At first, I thought this would take away from the credibility of the piece, but it turns out it added to the emotional gravitas of the film. I will say when the film got less serious and focused on basketball, I would have liked former players, columnists, or coaches to shed some light on the Black Mamba. The film focuses a lot on his rehabilitation of his Achilles tear in the 2013 playoffs. It's an interesting approach and it's a great example of a man doing everything he can to keep fulfilling his dream. Kobe is a rare type of a player and person in the NBA. Him and Michael Jordan are two of the most competitive and relentless players the league has ever seen, and this documentary was a good template in showing those particular qualities.

Luckily the film used a lot of archive footage showcasing Kobe during his early years as a high school phenom in Philadelphia all the way up until his several championship years with the Lakers. It was also nice to see him open up about his personal problems throughout the film. You don't usually get to see that side of athletes and I'm glad they didn't set out to make Kobe a godlike creature, although anyone who scores as easily as he does is near godlike. So 'Muse' showed multiple facets of Kobe's life and gave us the best in depth look at his career yet. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes Kobe or just loves basketball, and the road to becoming great.

+Kobe opens up

+Archive footage

+Different approach to doc

-Still wanted more interviews with other people involved

8.1/10