Ali (2001)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Plot In A Paragraph: Focusing on sports legend Mohammad Ali during the years 1964 to 1974.For this reviewer, Ali was overlooked and undervalued at the time of its release. As despite Will Smith's star power, the movie didn't hit the $100 million mark at the box office, a rarity for a Smith lead movie in those days!! (As even Wild Wild West crosses the $100 million barrier) and despite two Oscar nominations, I feel it was ignored, and should have had more.THE FIRST 10 minutes of Ali are great!! Time hopping and covering a lot of ground all at once. Set to the vocal delight of Sam Cooke, we see Cassius Clay, Jr. taking a night time run being harassed by a pair of cops, then he's a child, walking toward the "coloreds only" section of a bus, then we cut back to Clay in the gym on the speed bag, then back to the child watching his father paint a blonde haired, blue eyes Jesus, before we get to the the weigh-in with Sonny Liston, where he delivers his "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" line, dominating proceedings and sparring with reporter's. It is probably the best opening 20 minutes to any Mann directed movie. I think it was a wise decision to focus on the years the movie does as we see him become champ by defeating Liston, deepen his commitment to Islam, change his name from Cassius Clay to Mohammed Ali, lose the title by refusing induction into the army, and regain the title in the rumble in the jungle against George Forman.As a sports biopic, it's light on action, and it actually devoted as much time (if not more) on what happens before and after the fights, as what it does on the fights. It's not a feel good flick either, the movie doesn't fall into a lot of the trappings of this type of movie, and at times, it's not afraid of showing Ali in an unflattering light. His troubled relationships with his wives, father and his struggles with the Muslim community are all covered in detail. Which could explain its lack of success at the box office upon release.Will Smith is amazing here!! In Mann, he found a director who could finally help him deliver a performance nobody thought he had in him. Surprisingly the movie doesn't play to Smith's strong suits, such as his comic timing or his fast talking, quick with a one liner persona, that wasn't so different from Ali's. Instead we get a thoughtful, dialled in dramatic performance that I think should have won him the Oscar that year. I totally forge I'm watching Smith, and all I see is Ali. For me it seems the bigger the star, the better the performance Mann seems to get. The full movie is ridiculously well cast. Jon Voight, (an actor I adore, and was also nominated, and again I think should have won) or his performance as Howard Cosell. Jamie Foxx, Ron Silver and Jeffrey Wright It's not perfect, it could use a bit of editing to sort out some pacing issues, things such as the whole Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles) and Martin Luthor King (LeVar Burton) subplots could have gone. Some bits seem drawn out, whilst others seem rushed over. Like when he goes for a morning run in Zaire, it feels like he is running longer than Forest Gump did!! Ali grossed $58 million to end the year the 41st highest grossing movie of 2001.I'd rate the movie an 8/10, but I'm giving an extra point for Smith's performance.

Ali (2001): Dir: Michael Mann / Cast: Will Smith, Jon Voight, Jamie Foxx, Mykelti Williamson, Mario Van Peeples: Boxing film is poorly edited, written and directed by Michael Mann who made the intriguing suspense drama The Insider. Cassius Clay became one of the biggest names in boxing history and certainly a celebrated champion. He switched from Christianity to Muslim resulting in a name change to Mahammad Ali. Highlights includes bouts with Sonny Lipton, Joe Fraser, and a bout in Africa against George Foreman. Unfocused with Ali being drafted and arrested for refusing induction; his brother shot; bad marriages. Many of the shots do not match. The nightclub singers footage is also unnecessary. Boxing footage is exhilarating with a fantastic performance by Will Smith as Ali. Smith holds strong and is the best aspect of the film but Ali deserves a tighter screenplay as oppose to the laziness scribbled down for the screenplay. Jon Voight plays a promoter in what is a fine effort but a one note role. Jamie Foxx seems out of place as Ali's brother, and the footage comes across as distracting. Cameo by Mykelti Williamson as fight promoter Don King but none of it is inspiring or worthy of our attention span. Mario Van Peeples also makes an appearance as the infamous Malcolm X, but again, more would be better. Fine attempt is down for the count. Score: 4 ½ / 10

Ali is a brilliant movie with a very well written and well developed storyline with an outstanding cast.Will Smith does a fantastic job portraying boxing legend Muhammed Ali and was without a doubt perfect casting,I honestly didn't think a character like this would suit him,even though he is without a doubt one of my favourite actors of all time,I just thought his personality didn't seem like one that could pull off playing Muhammed Ali,but I was wrong,I should never have doubted him,he clearly studied this mans history and really became him,it is really hard to believe watching this movie that that is actually Will Smith.I was also concerned that there would be too many fight scenes and not enough story development,but that also was not a problem,there were several fight scenes,but they were put in at very necessary times and were great while they lasted.Ali is a fantastic movie tad to would recommend to all fans of Will Smith and biography films.Biography of the famous boxing champion Muhammed Ali (Will Smith) as we look at the early beginnings of his career,forward to his rising popularity.Best Performance: Will Smith Worst Performance: Mykelti Williamson

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