Ali Reviews

I already saw this movie (I think I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released) but, since it was such a long time ago, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, there is no denying that it was a fascinating story dealing with one of the greatest athletes that ever lived but, to be honest, this movie turned out to be only decent, I’m afraid. At some point, Spike Lee was also eager to make a movie about Ali and I wonder what he would have done with such great material. On the other hand, I think Will Smith did a fine job here. Back then, for more than a decade, Smith completely ruled the box-office and he even holds the record for the actor to star in the most consecutive movies grossing at least $100 million. Right at the middle of this Golden age, he made also this attempt for Oscar glory with this high-profile biopic. Obviously, you might wonder if Will Smith was the best choice to play probably the most famous boxer that ever lived since he never displayed some really impressive acting skills so far but I thought he was actually pretty good. Eventually, the main issue with this movie was maybe that it was directed by Michael Mann. I mean, back in those days, Mann was probably at the height of his career and I always had a weak spot for this director but the guy is/was above all a fine technician and maybe it wasn’t sufficient for this material. Eventually, most of the characters were barely developed whatsoever, even Ali himself, and the movie just goes from one milestone to another without really analyzing the impact it had on the boxer, on the people around him and even sometimes on the USA in general. Anyway, Ali was one of the most fascinating athletes and this movie was still a good starting point if you want to get more acquainted with his life. To conclude, even though it was maybe not a masterpiece, I still think it was a decent biopic and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Muhammad Ali.