Ali Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)December 23rd, 2001
ALI (2001) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez and Bruce McGill. Story by Gregory Allen Howard. Music by Lisa Gerrard & Peter Bourke. Screenplay by Stephen J. Rivele & Christopher Wilkinson and Eric Roth & Michael Mann. Directed by Michael Mann. Running time: 2 hours, 38 minutes. Rated R.
A middleweight script KOs the heavyweight film biography Ali.
Imagine looking at a photo of the “Rocky” statue in Philadelphia. The photo lacks the depth and detail you would appreciate if walking around the monument. The same analogy describes Ali.
It frustrates. You sit, waiting for some revelation, an original glimpse inside the man, a look into his soul perhaps. But the movie offers basically public record, a sequence of events that, if you know anything about the career of Muhammed Ali, will neither surprise nor enlighten you.
I came away feeling a bit cheated and disappointed. I knew about Ali’s bouts with Sonny Liston, Joe Frasier and George Foreman, as well as his biggest battle outside the ring with the U.S. government over his refusal to accept induction into the armed forces.
What I didn’t see in Michael Mann’s finely crafted feature were the forces that molded Cassius Clay. What initially compelled young Cassius Clay into the ring? What led him to investigate and embrace Islam? What demons drove him? I wanted to learn more about the relationship between him and his trainer, Angelo Dundee.
Unfortunately, none of these are forthcoming. The film opens in 1964 with Clay on the verge of greatness, already working with Dundee, and contemplating his conversion to Islam. I felt like I had walked into the middle of the movie.
So, these are Ali’s shortcomings. And I can forgive them all because of Will Smith.
Smith has captured the essence of the champion who so ignited the emotions in millions of people. You either loved or hated Ali. He either struck you as a loud-mouth, obnoxious, braggart, an ingrate who refused to do his patriotic duty; or you admired him for his artistry in the ring and his determination to remain true to his beliefs outside the fight game.
Ali was unlike any sports figure before him. He cared little what the establishment wrote or said about him. He followed his own course, damn the consequences.
Smith embodies Ali’s defiance and cockiness. His portrayal also captures a man so sure of his own convictions that he is willing to risk his career as well as serve time in prison to preserve his principles. He reproduces the man’s mannerisms, his speech patterns and inflections.
In one powerful sequence Smith expresses Ali’s contempt and anger when, surrounded by reporters, he rants about the hypocrisy of those insisting he travel 10,000 miles to fight for the freedom of others when he cannot embrace that same right as an American citizen. When the time comes to vote for the best actor Oscar nominees, this clip will be Smith’s knockout punch.
Smith, who worked out for months and added about 30 pounds of muscle, also performs magnificently in the ring. He moves and shuffles like Ali, bobbing and weaving his head, performing the patented Ali rope-a-dope, taunting opponents in a voice eerily similar to the champ’s.
Another cast standout is Jamie Foxx as Drew (Bundini) Brown, Ali’s longtime friend and confidant.
The most fascinating support, though, comes from Jon Voight as sportscaster Howard Cosell. Voight seems possessed by the late commentator, booming his lines in the stentorian tone of the egotistical Cosell.
Voight’s makeup job, including a terribly obvious toupee, will have those who remember Cosell doing double takes.
Voight truly excels in the private moments in which he shows his genuine concern and fondness for the champion.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast gets short shrift, especially the wonderful Ron Silver as Dundee, most of whose lines seem inaudible. Silver spends most of his time whispering sage advice into Ali’s ear, yet no evidence is presented of a personal relationship between the two.
Ali’s dearth of revelation is compensated by its style. The boxing sequences are the best and most brutal since Raging Bull. The camera dances around the ring with Ali, showcasing his speed and agility. The fight choreography is first-rate.
Ali, coming in at a little more than 2 1/2 hours, closes in 1974 with his triumphant comeback and reclaiming of the heavyweight crown by defeating George Foreman in the famed “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire.
Despite the movie’s flaws, Ali offers a sincere, unflinching portrait of one of the most controversial sports figures of the 20th century. No rose-colored glasses are turned on Ali; his imperfections are spotlighted as well as his many attributes.
But this movie belongs to Smith. If anyone ever doubted this popular entertainer’s acting ability, Ali will put that to rest. The movie is his triumph as well as a fitting monument to Muhammed Ali.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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