Ali Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)January 22nd, 2002
ALI (2001) / **
Directed by Michael Mann. Screenplay by Stephen J Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth and Mann, based on a story by Gregory Allen Howard. Starring Will Smith, Jon Voight, Jamie Foxx. Running time: 157 minutes. Rated AA by the MFCB. Reviewed on January 21st, 2002.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: An account of the life of heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (Smith), from his days as a promising boxer under the name Cassius Clay, through the stripping of his title belt due to his refusal to fight in Vietnam, culminating with his opportunity to finally win back the championship against George Foreman at the famous Rumble in the Jungle. En route, Ali's high-profile life is beset with problems of all kinds, from the racial and religious to the financial and marital.
Review: Despite assembling a talented cast and exploring the life of one of the twentieth century's most irrepressible figures, "Ali" is a curiously passionless viewing experience. Mann does not seem interested in tackling the specifics of the boxer's life; rather, he lets the movie drift along, touching on a number of themes but never exploring them in any detail. We get hints of Ali's importance as a boxing icon, his key position in the racial struggles of the 1960s and '70s, his own personal strengths and flaws. But Mann never succeeds in tying all these together into anything approaching a focussed and coherent profile. Aspects such as Ali's devotion to Islam, his womanizing ways, and his single-minded adherence to what he thinks is right are haphazardly glossed over. "Ali" is the cinematic equivalent of a rock skimming across a pond, touching down only occasionally, almost randomly, before finally sinking like a stone once its energy is exhausted. At least the acting is excellent. Smith, although hardly physically reminiscent of the real Ali, does a good job of capturing the man's immense charisma. Foxx is fallible yet loyal as Ali's confidant, Bundini. And Voight -- almost unrecognisable beneath a remarkable make-up design -- is perfect as Howard Cosell; the scenes with Ali and Cosell together are the film's undeniable highlights.
Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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