This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Memorable, crazy movie

Good start, but then it gets ruined

An action-packed slog

The life of Muhammad Ali (both inside and outside the ring) is one of the most fascinating in all of sports or US history. At times, this movie captures those moments. Sadly, it doesn't catch nearly enough of them, focuses on the wrong things, and ends up a bloated, ponderous exercise in preachy film-making.For a basic plot summary, "Ali" opens with Cassius Clay (Will Smith) defeating Sonny Liston (Michael Bentt) to become the boxing heavyweight champion of the world. Shortly after this event, Clay falls in the Muslim Brotherhood, befriending such figures as Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles) & Herbert Muhammad (Barry Shabaka Henley). He also begins a romantic relationship with Sonji Roi (Jada Pinkett Smith) that is often tumultuous due to Ali's interpretations of the Muslim faith. Entering the prime of his fighting career, Ali is then drafted into the Vietnam War, which he refuses to participate in. As a result, he is stripped of his boxing license and not even able to leave the country. After years of fighting the U.S. government, Ali is finally able to be reinstated, where he gets the "Fight of the Century" with Joe Frazier (James Toney) and then the "Rumble In The Jungle" against George Foreman (Charles Shufford).Judged purely on film-making and directing, "Ali" isn't even a three-star effort. It is overly preachy when it comes to the "political stuff", and director Michael Mann uses such a weird style. About every 20 minutes or so, there is an extended musical sequence, all of which (besides maybe the opening one) only serve to grind the intensity of the film to a complete halt. Every time the action starts to progress again...it's back to another strange interlude.There are two other problems with the film that are quite glaring:1. There is nothing (at least in terms of style) that director Mann really gets right during the film. The political side of things is definitely important to the Ali story, but in this case it is preachy and over-the-top. Then, when it comes to the boxing fare, there are too many historical inaccuracies to consider even those scenes a true success. Maybe those who know nothing about Ali won't care, but those who have a little background will be appalled to hearing Ali's famous poem used before the Frazier fight instead of Liston, or seeing Ali & Frazier getting buddy-buddy with each other before their fight (in reality, Frazier couldn't stand Ali until very late in his life when some amends were made).2. For a movie titled "Ali", this should have focused on the entirety of Ali's life. That would have made for a much better story. Ali had a very interesting childhood, and also had some genre- defining moments late in his life as well. Those areas weren't even sniffed in this adaptation, which is a shame, as the film instead to give so much valuable time to the political/religious side of things.I'm sure by now you are probably wondering why I can even give this film three stars. Well, the main reason is because Will Smith turns in perhaps the greatest acting performance I have ever seen...bar none. He IS Ali in this picture, plain and simple. The times (sadly rare as they are) where Smith is given the chance to rant and rave like Ali once did are easily the best parts of the film. His interactions with Howard Cosell (played by Jon Voight) are also special.Also, the fight scenes are probably the most well-done boxing action I've even seen in a film. The fights manage to be both dramatic and realistic at the same time, which is no easy task in such a violent (yet also very tactical) sport.Overall, though, "Ali" is first and foremost a disappointment. Even a three-star rating probably holds some personal bias of how much I simply WANT the film to be better than it is. While Smith's iconic Ali performance will certainly stand for ages, it's sad that it has to be surrounded by such sloppy film-making. I would suggest "When We Were Kings" or "Facing Ali" for a much better nod to Ali's unique career and culture-defining role in American society.

I'm not saying he's the worst actor out there but, he just didn't seem to fit the look of the real Mohammad Ali. I think he seemed to be more himself than Ali and plus, he doesn't fully look like Ali. They really should've concentrated and been more careful on the casting side while they were making this movie.Now I have to say, the boxing scenes were really well done but what puts me off was just the bad casting. Also I even didn't think Jamie Foxx should've acted as Ali's trainer, Drew Bundini Brown. He just acted too chilled just like himself but with this serious role, he just didn't seem to be prepared to be encouraging type. Thankfully I didn't watch the whole movie because honestly, it just bored me to tears. Its sad that the real Ali left us this year with Parkinson's disease. RIP Ali (The Greatest) <3

Michael Mann's 2001 biopic of "The Greatest" heavyweight boxer that ever lived, Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali (expertly played here by Will Smith, in a rightfully Oscar-nominated performance) is a beautiful film biopic about a beautiful man and a wonderful human being. A controversial and polarizing figure at the peak of his fame, he has earned his spot in sports history and as one of the greatest icons of the Civil Rights Movement. Set over the course of 1964 to 1974 - his peak years - the film covers Muhammad Ali's historic win against Sonny Liston on February 25th 1964, to become the new heavyweight champion of the world; their equally historic rematch a little over a year later on May 25th, 1965 (just as an aside, I found a colorized version of Neil Leifer's famous photograph of Ali standing over the downed Sonny Liston and I have it saved on my computer as a wallpaper); Clay's joining the Nation of Islam and changing his name to "Muhammad Ali"; his friendships with devoted corner-man Drew "Bundini" Brown (Jamie Foxx), Howard Cosell (Jon Voight), trainer Angelo Dundee (the late Ron Silver), photographer Howard Bingham (Jeffrey Wright) and especially, Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles); his numerous affairs; to his refusal to be drafted into the Armed Services for the growing U.S. war in Vietnam; his comeback in the early 1970s and the slew of historic matches he fought then; and concluding with his historic match in Zaire with George Foreman on October 30th, 1974 ("The Rumble in the Jungle"), to reclaim the title of world heavyweight champion (which he had been stripped of seven years earlier in 1967 over his anti-war stance). And thus we witness a legend being born. Look at me using the word "historic" so many times; that's the feeling that Mann's film, and Smith's brilliant portrayal, gets out of the viewer. You're watching history being meticulously recreated by a skilled team of actors and filmmakers. There's a reason why Muhammad Ali's bouts are considered some of the greatest fights the sport of boxing has ever seen: Ali brought a brashness and confidence (some might call it arrogance), and a bravado, and beauty and grace - not to mention a poetic lyricism - to the ring that the sport had never seen before. And the sport of boxing is never likely to ever see a figure as larger-than-life and amazing as the one and only, Muhammad Ali, a.k.a., "The Greatest."10/10

To me, there are two separate things to review here: the film-story and the acting.In terms of the film-story, I really disliked it. You might ask how can that be since it's a bio-pic, and a fairly accurate one, at that. The problem for me was the way the film was fashioned, rather than a cohesive story line, it seemed more like a series of vignettes loosely tied together, with the viewer left to draw some conclusions. I really disliked it, and if it were not for the strength of the performances, I would have turned the over-long movie off rather quickly.But, the performance are terrific. The strongest, in my view, is actually that of Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X; perhaps the best performance of his career, though it ends (with Malcolm X's death) fairly early in the movie. But there is no denying that Will Smith's portrayal of Mohammad Ali is stunning; perhaps the best of his career. The look is "okay", but the voice mannerisms are startlingly accurate.There are issues with Jon Voight as Howard Cosell. I think his performance is quite good, but the makeup is almost laughable.The other supporting actors do their jobs well, though none stand out. I include in that comment Jamie Foxx...nothing notable there; his best role as Ray Charles a while off.Of course, a legitimate question is whether this is simply a movie that glorifies Ali. I don't think so. It portrays him as an interesting mix of a man who is, perhaps, a bit intellectual, but not well-educated. Who had less than a healthy respect for women (particularly his wives). But, ironically, also a man who understands dignity.The film ends with the win over George Foreman, so it's an incomplete biography.Not something I'd want to watch a third time.