28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Float like a butterfy, sting like a bee., April 3, 2008
This review is from: Ali - The Director's Cut (DVD)
Ali DVD
Will Smith is eerily like Ali. It's like Cassiuss Clay is playing himself. I remember watching Clay fight in the Olympics and Smith has him down pat. I'd admired Ali for being willing to go to prison for his convictions instead of fleeing to Canada like all the other bed-wetting, Mommas boys who opposed the War in Viet Nam. Jon Voight is good as Howard Cosell, who was a nobody until he weaseled his way into Ali's life. I understand that Smith and Voight both received Academy Award nominations for their roles in this move. I wonder how Smith "bulked up" for this role.
Highly recommended for fans of Will Smith, Jon Voight, boxing the way it use to be, and Cassius Clay, aka Mohammed Ali.
Gunner April, 2008
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The most polarizing, thought-provoking film of 2001, January 15, 2002
Having seen Ali twice now, I am no closer to coming to any conclusions on what I think about it. Very few films have forced me to debate my opinions on the art of film and what constitutes great art and what constitutes failed great art. Ali gets so much right and the story is told with more verve than almost any other film this year. And yet for a film that was so clearly a labor of love made by focused, talented people we never get a clear portrait of the subject and we are constantly let down by a script that is often little more than an impressionistic sketch of a potentially great screenplay.
Why is Malcolm X's relationship with Ali given an entire third of the film's running length only for it to be completely forgotten for the next two hours? Did Malcolm X's assassination continue to haunt Ali? Were there any further emotional repercussions and regrets for shunning him just before his death? Did the assassination have any effect on Ali's relationship with the Nation of Islam? As Malcolm X, Mario Van Peebles gives a charismatic performance, completely stepping out of the considerable shadow of Denzel Washington's portrayal. Peebles' Malcolm is a more pensive, haunted figure. He is also the only character in the film to be given his own scenes without Ali being present. This confused me more the second time around. Why did they give so much weight to a storyline that is never brought up again for the rest of the film? It felt like an easy opportunity to grab viewers by presenting another major figure in American history as bait.
Michael Mann has gone on record stating that the ten year span of Ali winning his first world title to regaining the crown from George Foreman seemed to be the most intense and dramatic decade of the great man's life. And while there is never a shortage of historic moments and great conflict, the impact is muted by the lack of depth in the storytelling. We never get inside a single character's head, never quite grasp what we are supposed to take away from what we are shown. The ending, with Ali & co. celebrating the stunning Foreman upset, does not ring true with anything we are presented with over the course of the near 3 hour film. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Ali's life knows that it begans to go steadily downhill for his career and his health after Zaire. At no point are we prepared as an audience to be left on a Rocky Balboa-esque note of corny triumph.
Ali also shines brilliantly on several fronts. Every actor in this film is riveting in their commitment to character and story. It was very smart to cast an ensemble of dependably superb actors such as Jeffrey Wright, Ron Silver and Jon Voight in key supporting roles. Jeffrey Wright brings his usual quicksilver intelligence to the role of the photographer who follows Ali throughout both their careers and who himself is a mirror of the social upheaval of the times. Ron Silver, as Angelo Dundee, is an anchor of paternal warmth. Miles away from the feral mastermind villains he often plays, he makes it clear that his only interest is in the well being of his fighter. Unselfish and unwaivering, he is a calming presence throughout. Jon Voight, as Howard Cosell, is remarkable in his ability to find the balance between the flamboyance of the part and the no-frills realism required to keep it from turning into a sketch comedy piece. Voight is one of the rare few great actors, along with Sir Ralph Richardson and Fredric March, to gain a third career wind as a pricelessly eccentric supporting actor.
As "Wife #1," "Wife #2," and "Wife #3" (at least that is how the film presents them) Nona Gaye fares the best as #2. Sane, practical and protective of her husband, she radiates female strength and makes Ali look foolish for not taking her council.
Jamie Foxx, as cornerman "Bundini" Brown, is a revelation. Having already proven himself a major actor with his turn in Any Given Sunday, he is altogether something else here. Especially in the film's final hour, his mastery of body language is something to behold. Watch the scene where he defends Ali after the bitter Frazier bout. Truly an amazing piece of work. Foxx is fearless in making the character as pitiful as he is hilarious. At his best, which he is in this film, Jamie Foxx turns his line readings into poetry in the same way that Richard Pryor could make his stand-up material soar into literature on a good night.
And then there is Will Smith as The Man himself. There's something about playing a boxer that seems to spark actors to give career-defining performances. John Garfield, Robert Ryan, Robert DeNiro and now Will Smith. Smith improves on many of Ali's riffs by giving them an actor's refined sense of timing and showmanship. This makes up for the lack of legitimate suprise that Ali himself created so effortlessly. Smith also shows a frightening mean streak in the champ's easy dominance over slower, less artful opponents. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the unforgettable opening fight against Sonny Liston, played out in almost real time. Having established his physical and intellectual dominance over his opponent, Smith as Ali is merciless in dissecting them. And while the film fails us by never showing us the inner man, Smith keeps our attention glued to the screen with his presence and talent.
One of the few films to really merit the much-abused tag lines "No middle ground" and "Love it or hate it" Ali proves itself to be a substantial achievement just by the fact that it makes one care greatly in the first place. A film that deserves to endure and be watched by generations to come. Maybe one of them will figure it out for us.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He's a lover AND a fighter!, February 18, 2002
The movie "Ali" portrays the story of one of the world's most recognized boxers, Mohammed Ali (who was born Cassius Clay).
Actor Will Smith gives an excellent performance as boxer Ali. It is hard enough to portray a real character, much less a legendary one. Smith is successful in showing not only the physical side but also the charisma of the boxing personality, Ali, who has strong convictions and a funny wit.
The movie begins with Ali's fight against boxer Sonny Liston, which puts him on the map as a fighter. It ends with Ali's fight with George Foreman in Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo). This famous fight was billed as the 'Rumble in the Jungle.' In between, the movie covers the fighter's rise to success, his conversion to the Muslim religion, his name change and his fight against the U.S. government to keep from being enlisted in the army. We also see Ali's close friendship to two well-known people - sportscaster Howard Cosell and Malcom X.
The movie "Ali" also touches on the boxer's attraction to women and some of his many love relationships. (Smith's real life's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, plays the role of Ali's first wife.) Ali is certainly attracted to all pretty women!
All the actors give wonderful performances - Jamie Foxx as Bundini Brown (the man who worked to motivate Ali and help him with his rhymes - "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!"), Jon Voight as Howard Cosell, Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X, Mykelti Williamson as Don King, Giancarlo Esposito as Cassius Clay Sr., Jada Pinkett Smith as Sonji Roi (Ali's first wife) and Nona M. Gaye as Belinda Boyd, to name a few.
The shots especially of some of the African countries (Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa) are vibrant and rich.
Although I'm not much of a boxing fan and sometimes found the boxing scenes a bit prolonged, all in all I found the movie a great story of a great athlete set to a great music soundtrack.
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