Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona opens with a pulsating 80's synth score laid over images of what seems like a car chase, some vicious on field violence and scenes of nightclub excess. If you went into it cold you couldn't be blamed for assuming it was some kind of soccer meets gangster movie concoction. It's exciting stuff, it's hooks you instantly and it's an intoxicating way into an excellent documentary about a man who flew too close to the sun and died a thousand deaths on his way back to earth.

Diego Armando Maradona was born in Buenos Aires in 1960 into a life of poverty. The youngest in a family of 7, young Diego was the mammy's boy. As a child he was preternaturally gifted with a football and it wasn't long people started taking notice. At the age of 15 he began to play for Argentinos Juniors and became the breadwinner for his family. At the age of 22 he joined Barcelona but his time there was an unhappy and unsuccessful one. His next move was to the faltering Napoli team in the Italian Serie A league and here was where his legend began. His sudden rise to fame combined with a burgeoning ego......well you all know what happened next.

The best sport documentaries are the ones that grab you even if you aren't a fan of the sport. Hoop Dreams, Katie, Murderball, Red Army, When We Were Kings & Senna amongst many others. That last one was directed by Asif Kapadia who also directed Amy. Like Diego Maradona, Amy and Senna were about ordinary people elevated to godlike status because of their talents. Unlike Amy and Senna the subject in Diego Maradona is still alive, but sadly he's not really living much. It's a tale that's been told a million times. A person with a gift becomes famous too fast and it all goes to their head. Like the other 2 documentaries this one is a sympathetic portrayal too. We see deeper into Diego than we were let by the infamous tabloid headlines everyone remembers from back in the day  We begin to understand how things ended up the way they did. We begin to empathise with Diego and then finally we realise just how tragic it all ended up.

Imagine it. You're in your mid 20's. The world is at your feet. You've helped your club hit the top spot. You're the reason your country has won the World Cup. Everyone is worshipping you. Your blood is looked on as godlike (seriously). The Mafia wants to be friends with you. You've no family around to keep you grounded. Women are throwing themselves at you left, right and centre. Cocaine is flying. Is it any wonder Diego lost the plot. This is all stuff we knew already, even if you don't follow the sport. But hearing it all over archive footage of a young man clearly out of his depth makes you analyse it all differently. The smug arrogance disappears and instead you see a person struggling to come to terms with the madness around him. Imagine it. Horrible. Then, just as you peak, your own talent comes back to bite you on the arse and the world that previously loved you despises you instead. It's all quite brutal.

Even if you don't like football you'll be gripped watching this. It's as packed with action, intrigue, backstabbing and tension as any thriller. There's stuff in here that would seem far fetched in fiction. The horrible coincidence involving a World Cup fixture that snuffed out any bit of love Italy had for Diego. That lovely little lob that made him a god in his own town. The blatant foul that made him infamous around the world (brilliantly, England are made seem like the bad guys here, big laughs in the cinema at this part). Knowing the truth of what's coming makes it all a tense watch too. At times you'll think "how did it get so fucked up" and then it starts, the inexorable fall from grace that turns genuinely upsetting rapidly. Here we see vividly what Asif Kapadia has been getting at all along. Fame is not good, fame never ends well.

It's a story that could be transferred to any sport, any arena of celebrity. It's exhilarating and then it's tragic. It is really worth watching. In cinemas now.