Customer Reviews

Mel Gibson: Man on a Mission

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Mr. Clarkson wrote a book in 1994 titled "Mel the Inside Story" (hardcover). This book was held up and not released in the United States because Mr. Gibson's lawyers were trying to stop it from being published. I have that book and can understand why he didn't want it published. Although it does give and excellent film history, throughout the book the author seems to have a jealousy of Mel and his success and repeatedly slanders and denigrates his father and religious beliefs. This book in paperback is the same book, a little updated. I am a big Mel fan and don't like the author's tone at times, but if you are a fan you will find it extremely interesting and informative. You will just have to take some parts of it with a grain of salt- "he said, she said" stuff and rumors. In any case, if you have the hardcover "Mel the Inside Story", dont bother to purchase this update. I could only rate either of these 3 stars because of the sense of personal bias throughout. A good book on Mel is Lethal Hero which is out of print (I have it, too) but you may be able to get a copy. It has better personal views of Mel, but, surprisingly, some really juicy stuff that Mr. Clarkson missed out on. In any case, MEL RULES!!!

I am ashamed to say I read this entire book. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn't. It is filled with typos and poor organization of thoughts and topics. Clarkson actually spells Mel Gibson's name wrong several times throughout the book, and refers to Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner as "Dormer" for several pages! He jumps back and forth from one movie production to another making it difficult to follow. Lastly, he relies on the accounts of people who had met Mel Gibson at one time but who had either a personal or professional conflict with him. In the retelling of these conflicts and what went down, we hear one point of view only - and generally that is the view of someone who is harboring bitterness and resentment towards Gibson, so their accounts are slanted and untrustworthy. The best part of the book is the end for two reasons: Clarkson finally gets to Gibson's most recent project, The Passion of the Christ. The subtitle and the picture on the back of the book gives the impression this project will be a major focus of the book, but after 300 pages of reading, I was still waiting for the subject to come up. I have to say I felt that this was the only well written part of the whole book - thoughtful and interesting. The second reason the end is the best part of the book is that it was finally over. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I can't help it. I highly recommend reading the book about the making of the Passion of the Christ - you can learn a lot about Gibson there - but I cannot recommend this biography.

If you are looking for every detail known to modern man regarding all of the OTHER movies Mel Gibson ever starred in or directed, this is the book for you. If you are looking for true insight into The Passion, just skip to the last few pages and you will still be disappointed. I, too, am ashamed to say I spent a good deal of time wading through all of the details in the bulk of this book, hoping to get to the point. Very disappointing.

While I did enjoy most of the Lethal Weapon movies, I don't consider myself a big fan. I picked this book up at the bargin bin section of my local bookstore and after forcing myself to finish it, I now belive it belonged in the trash or maybe recycled as a doorstop. Boring, tabloid type writing, with mutiple grammar and spelling mistakes. Also I'm left not really knowing much more of Mr. Gibson and the author seems to really love Kevin Costner, he's mentioned praised so many times in this book. This book is for a hardcore fan...maybe. I hope he someday writes his own book.

Full of hatred as the first one, just the sources of this last one tell us everything about how the writer of that biography has written it : using tabloids and people magazines....
That's all, so no doubt about the poor accuracy of the content.
Better buy other books on Mr Gibson.

Wensley Clarkson has done a very thorough job in researching the life of Mel Gibson. Through this book the reader comes to know him intimately, warts and all. Mr Clarkson has literally followed Mel Gibson's tracks around the world, interviewing friends, co-workers, and old girlfriends. From the utterly fascinating history of his Irish Catholic family to his spectacular rise to Hollywood prominence and the tales from behind the scenes of his most famous movies and box office failures. Mel's father, Hutton Gibson, a former Catholic seminarian, World War II veteran, and all around cut up, proves almost more interesting than his famous son. The book also unintentionally details the struggle he has faced as a religious conservative working in the most Godless industry on the planet. Mr Clarkson's writing, however, is often skewed by his clearly Liberal politics. THis is all fine and dandy for him but for those who do not share those politics and who genuinely admire Mel Gibson for taking on the Hollywood Establishment, they come across as very patronizing anbd sometimes even worse. Mr. Clarkson's characterization of Traditional Catholics as "callow reactionaries" who are opposed to "progress in most forms," was as painful to me as a brutal slap in the face. The problem I faced with this book was that if one desires to know about Mel Gibson, there is very little else that one can look for in the way of reading material. Therefore as far as Mr. Clarkson is concerned, one cannot live with him, and one cannot live with out him.

I found this book in a discount book section and although it did add to my knowledge about Mel Gibson's early life and behind the scenes of some of his movies, I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the story seemed to be in the style of the gossip press.

I'm not disputing the facts, since I have no knowledge really at all about Mel Gibson, but the book seemed to concentrate a little too much on all the gory details! I think I would enjoy a more balanced view of Gibson and his life instead of this one that seemingly hovers mostly around the negative.

If you really want to know about the life of Mel Gibson, this is the book for you. I swear it must have every little thing that has happened to him since he was born! It doesn't have many pictures and the ones it does have are not very high quality but, if you want information about Mel, well then you've come to the right book. It doesn't miss a thing!