Ali Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)January 2nd, 2002
'3BlackChicks Review...'
ALI (2001)
Rated R; running time 160 minutes
Genre: Drama/Biography
Seen at: Lowes Star Southfield (Detroit, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/ali/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0248667
Written by: Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth Directed by: Michael Mann
Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Barry Shabaka Henley, Albert Hall, Mykelti Williamson, Giancarlo Esposito, Joe Morton, Michael Bentt, James Toney, Charles Shufford
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001
Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsali.html
I named my Boxer puppy "Ali Muhammed", after the only boxer I ever really followed in my youth. I mention this only as an aside about my youngest son, who once told me I should've named my dog "Tyson". The irony here is in history: just as my son had no idea who The Greatest really was, Mike Tyson, unfortunately, didn't learn his history well from Muhammed Ali - or to be more precise, Ali's wife Belinda. Unlike Tyson, the Belinda in ALI saw right through boxing promoter Don King, saying he "talks Black, lives White, and thinks green."
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
Michael Mann's interpretation of the life of legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammed Ali (Will Smith) spans a very short period in his life and career. Here, we see Ali's life from just before his first title bout - still using his "slave" name, Cassius Clay - with then-champ Sonny Liston (Michael Bentt); his friendship with freelance photographer Howard Bingham (Jeffrey Wright) and Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles); the dawning of his mutually beneficial relationship with Howard Cosell (Jon Voight); three of his four marriages, to Sonji Roy (Jada Pinkett Smith), Belinda Boyd (Nona Gaye), and Veronica Porsche (Michael Michele); his fight with the "whole United States Government" over his refusal to participate in the draft; his belief in, struggles with, and abandonment by, the Nation Of Islam and its leaders, Elijah Muhammed (Albert Hall) and son Herbert (Barry Shabaka Henley); and ending with his association with Don King (Mykelti Williamson) and Ali's fight with George Foreman (Charles Shufford) in Kinshasha, Zaire.
THE UPSHOT
My Issues with ALI are many, and far-reaching. First and foremost, we learn nothing new about Ali, either as a legend, a fighter, or as a private citizen of the world. I suppose I should rephrase that: even for someone as relatively disinterested in sports as I am, there was nothing I saw in ALI that I haven't seen before in far greater detail, told in a much more interesting way. For young guns like my son who seem to think that the history of boxing began when Tyson showed up, perhaps this watered-down version of Ali's life will do. But I've seen the Ali documentary THE GREATEST, watched too many hours of ESPN and WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS, and read too many pages of JET MAGAZINE, to be satisfied with the small, relatively meatless chunk Mann presented. A filmed ending that leaves you wondering "hey, what about the rest?", while you are simultaneously grateful that you can finally leave the theater, misses the mark, in my book.
Which leads me to my next point: it was far too long for such a condensed period of time. Mann seemed to be in love with his shots, to the point where I (and many of the members of the audience I was in) became anxious for the story to get on with itself. Scenes such as Ali's first meeting with Sonjy Roi, and Ali's run through the African village, had me dying to scream "We get it, ok? Can we move on now?", truly. Unfortunately, such lengthy scenes were common in this movie.
Third, and somewhat related to my original Issue with this film, is the notion that Ali could Do No Wrong. The best Heroes, in my view, are those with flaws; in the world of ALI, those flaws barely exist, except in everyone but Ali. This film barely glossed over the significance of Joe Frasier (played by James Toney) to Ali as a champ and as a symbol - and, more to the point, Ali's role in unnecessarily provoking Frasier the way he did before their first fight (they had a guaranteed purse, so his "stoking the fire" added nothing to the amount of money they'd get from a bigger draw). And aside from Ali's off-the-cuff admission about his tendency to chase skirt, and a brief scene with Bundini, you wouldn't really know that Ali had a life outside the ring; sure, others revolved around him, but we never saw Ali really relate to those others, beside Malcolm X (played surprisingly well by Mario Van Peebles). This huge gap is boo-worthy, so...boo on you, director Michael Mann, for doing Frasier - and Ali - such a disservice here.
And unlike my problem with Will Smith being miscasted as James West in WILD WILD WEST, I didn't have a big problem with Smith as Ali here. He obviously deeply admires the man, and does a good job mimicking his speech patterns, especially the more boisterous taunts that Ali was so famous for. In this, Smith excels, since he too is known for his gift of gab. But I was never truly convinced in his portrait of Ali; never did I get so caught up that I forgot it was Will Smith As Ali, not an actor, immersed in his part. I blame the material Smith was given to work with, though. He seemed very hamstrung and restricted in this role. But for the love of pete, why play Ali as if he didn't have a thought running around that pretty little head of his? Which reminds me: whoever plastered on all that goop to try to make Jon Voight look like Howard Cosell, needs their butt whupped.
So what worked? To an extent, the irony of history that I spoke of earlier. Though Mann didn't depict it well, it's fairly easy for those of us who "know" Ali - what we've seen of him on TV and read in the news, anyway - to fill in the blanks Mann left behind, on our own. The outline Mann drew, and Smith didn't overplay, was probably more effective than if they had forced the issue by making Smith's Ali more wordy (which, again, is ironic, considering Ali's public persona). Combined with an outstanding performance by Nona Gaye as Belinda, and a solid turn (when given the chance) by Jamie Foxx as Ali's cornerman Drew 'Bundini' Brown, ALI almost overcomes its top-heavy length and failure to utilize supporting characters and actors (uh, I seemed to remember trainer Angelo Dundee was an important part of Ali's posse; why was Ron Silver kept so mute?). My recommendation? See ALI, but don't expect it to be The Greatest.
THE "BLACK FACTOR" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]:
I know some folk who've said that ALI should've been directed by a Black person, with the mindset that a White director couldn't Tell Ali's story as it should be told; generally, Spike Lee's name is bandied about in those circles. Me, I don't have a problem with Michael Mann having directed the movie; not on those terms, anyway. I've noted above the Issues I have with the way he did his job. None of my Issues have anything to do with his race.
What I *do* have a problem with, however, is something I heard him say in an interview a few days back. Now, I understand his need to defend his choice of Will Smith; and considering Smith's closeness to Ali, his ability to mimic the champ, and frankly, his box office status, I even grudgingly accept that choice in the end. But I think Mann is quite wrong when he says (paraphrased) that Smith was "the only actor who could've played Ali". No, my brother, he wasn't. It's an exercise in futility, I know, but I can think of quite a few young Black actors who could've beat the tar out of Smith's performance, without having to resort to histrionics to do so. And at the top of that list? Terrence Dashon Howard, star of THE BEST MAN and the upcoming HART'S WAR. In a way, it's too bad we'll never know what Howard could've done with such a juicy part; but on the other hand, given the material available to work with, maybe Mann did Howard a favor after all.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
I struggled with rating ALI, not sure whether to give it a cautionary flashing yellow (maybe worth seeing, but don't rush out) or the full-stop yellow (simply average fare). I decided on flashing yellow because ALI does have some bright spots, and it was certainly more than merely average. And if nothing else, it gives my son the opportunity to learn a little something about a boxing legend who truly earned the title, "World Champion".
ALI (rating: flashing yellowlight):
I would have loved to have loved ALI - and I probably would have, if I hadn't already Seen this so many times before, on WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS. I'll give Will Smith credit for the effort; he just never quite let me forget he was there underneath all the makeup.
Rose "Bams" Cooper
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Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001
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