In terms of his hilarious trash-talking media personality and lightening-fast combination punching and footwork, he's a man that stands at the top as one of the most entertaining and toughest sports personalities of all time. Very few would doubt that he justly deserves his self-proclaimed title "The Greatest".
With that in mind, he is a near-impossible man to replicate. God knows Will Smith tries his best, though. The actor impersonates the champ's swagger and wit very convincingly from scene to scene, without coming across as cartoonish or clichéd. An immaculate training schedule -- Smith trained six hours a day, five days a week, for a whole year -- allowed him to bulk up to a 220-pound Ali, making him fit enough to accept the role. From the evidence here, you wouldn't think Smith was the same man that played the Fresh Prince for five years in the early to mid '90s -- it would seem he's matured considerably as an actor.
Lacking in Substance
Aside from Smith, though, it's disappointing that the film lacks substance and leaves too many questions unanswered about Ali's life. Like, what was the real reason the fighter was not imprisoned for his draft evasion charges? Did Sonny Liston really take a dive in the first round of their rematch? And what really attracted him to the nation of Islam and then later motivated him to convert to Sunni Islam? Ali hints at certain issues but fails to explore a majority of them in detail, and with this being a biopic, lasting over two and a half hours long, you'd expect a lot more.
The overall pacing of the movie suffers as a result -- and for Mann, who masterfully directed classics such as Heat, The Insider and Collateral, that's surprising. After a great opening depicting Ali/Clay's fight with Sonny Liston from 1964, where he first won the WBA/WBC Heavyweight titles, the film descends into pedestrian storytelling, taking too long in its decision to focus primarily on The Champ's liaisons with various women and his connections with Malcolm X (played by Mario Van Peebles), in what seems like a rehash of the 1997 biopic starring Denzel Washington.
More Than Just a Boxer
Admittedly, Mann deserves some of the blame for his direction, but the root of the film failing to get to the heart of its subject lies in the script. Except for a few intriguing moments ("Ain't no Viet Cong ever called me nigger"), Ali's philosophy is barely touched upon; after his pal Malcolm X is shot, for example, he spends his time overlooking the city and not saying anything. What Ali lacks is a compelling, narrative understanding of the events that occur, which would show young viewers, as well as remind the older ones, what made the man so influential outside of the ring, and earned him the reputation as the people's champion.
That said, the film is still worth seeing. The fight scenes are stylistically shot by Mann, focusing mainly on Ali/Smith's exceptional footwork, and there are other odd moments outside of the ring that do bring excitement -- Ali's pre-match outbursts and interviews with Howard Cosell (brilliantly played by an almost-unrecognizable Jon Voight) are among these. Apart from Smith in the lead role (who I have no doubt saying that he was the right man to play Ali), and Voight as the self-assured sportscasting legend, the film also has some noteworthy performances from Jamie Foxx as Drew Bundini Brown, Ali's self-destructive speech writer and cornerman; Ron Silver as trainer Angelo Dundee; and Mykelti Williamson as flamboyant promoter Don King.
If Ali must be summed up in the general sense, however, the bottom is the film fails to generate enough steam to justify the importance of the man that many people admire, and it ultimately ends up being rather bland and uninspiring.
Andy Carrington - Andy Carrington is a Freelance Poet/Writer from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, currently residing in Bradford. He was educated at Wakefield ...
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