Will Smith gives his all in portraying the iconic boxer who electrified the sport of boxing with his trash talk and fancy footwork. Smith's energy gave the smack talk entertainment but his scenes defending his beliefs against the draft of Vietnam make it the most powerful. Ali was not perfect and Smith gives us that look at a man who lived in his hype and decisions but watching the fights done by Smith and interviews lets us relieve the moments that made Ali a legend including the 'The Rumble in the Jungle' fight. I'd watch this again and again just to see a healthy and vibrant Ali be king again.

Best Muhammad Ali film ever directed. Right of the rip your gonna wanna put some time and noise to the side for this film , it's a long one and your gonna wanna follow every second of it. It's factual , and explosive. Full of action; with a blend of love, drama, comedy , and realism. It also digs deep in with the racism faced in the time eras. Staring will smith he runs his role so great you'd think he dedicated his life to it! You wouldn't want to be someone who hasn't watched this, it's pure enjoyment.

This movie rocks so god bless and stay safe

Some films are made great by their by action, others by being a great story, others by the soundtrack or special effects. This movie like a few others was made by one characterization. Will Smith IS Muhammad Ali, primarily because he has worked to make Ali's voice and inflections his own. It is an incredibly convincing performance, and to the reviewer who said that Smith could not capture Ali, I ask whom he would suggest instead? It is hard for me to disagree more with another Amazon[.com] colleague, and I would instead concur with another reviewer who noted this film shows the ability to have a single Oscar-caliber performance in a film which even the biggest fans acknowledge is not likely to be the best film of the year.
I guess the real challenge accepted and dealt with admirably by Director Michael Mann comes with making a film about not just someone we all know, but THE most recognized person in the world.. How can this story be told in just two hours? As some of the detractors have made clear, this is a tough task. But Mann did a great job, in my opinion.

Where to start this story; and where to end it? No mention of the young boy's going to learn to box after some neighborhood kids humiliate him by stealing his bicycle. No mention (rather surprisingly) of his Olympic gold medal and the even more significant return to the States where he threw his medal into a river in protest of racial mistreatment. And even once we get that issue resolved, where to end this saga? How about Summer, 1996 in Atlanta, with the Champ holding the Olympic torch (or even better, at a preliminary boxing match in those same Olympics when an incredibly bitter Joe Frazier was, when introduced, met by cheers of "Ali, Ali!"). This is by no means a criticism, because this one incredible life is far too large to capture in one movie.
Those who lament the lack of great boxing misunderstand what the film and Ali were all about. He transcended his sport in a manner that no athlete has in the past fifty years (and perhaps ever). America in the 1960's, racism, and the draft were far larger issues and more formidable competitors for him than Liston, Frazier, Foreman could have been if he had to fight all three one after the other! If all he had done was fight and defeat them, he would have been just one more name in the record books. This leads to my only real substantive lament: While the "Rumble in the Jungle" was a singular and a true epic event, I think the three Frazier bouts were the greatest one-on-one competitions in the history of sport, and were among the defining moments of their respective careers. For this reason, I would have like to have seen more time devoted to that relationship.
Great supporting actors. Before seeing this, I could not imagine Jon Voight as Howard Cosell (just like Will Smith, Voight also made this role his own merely with the use of tonal inflection). Ditto the efforts of Jamie Foxx as Drew Bundini Brown. Mario Van Peebles would have been memorable as Malcolm X, but for the fact that we ALL know that he could never again be portrayed after the efforts of Denzel Washington.
Just like the Man himself, some people liked him, and some people hated him. Not surprisingly, the reviews turned our correspondingly. It is, as noted a better than respectful telling of the life of a great figure in the history of America. For my money it was worthwhile, and I enjoyed it more the second and third time.

If it wasn't for Will Smith the movie would have been sub par at best.

This was more cohesive than the original theatrical release.

Ali was Michael Mann’s biography of Mohammed Ali.

The start places Ali within the larger context of African American history. Sam Cooke is performing at a concert. A young Ali sees the paper with a picture of a young Emmett Till’s face bashed in from his murder in Mississippi. Ali listens to a sermon by Malcolm X. That leads up to Ali as he fights Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title in 1964. Before and after the fight he’s visited by Malcolm X. Afterward Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay to Mohammed Ali as he became a Muslim in the Nation of Islam. The point of all this was that Ali was making history along with his times. This theme would continue throughout the movie. That was important. Mann could have just stuck with his boxing career, but Ali was always far more than that. Without including his role in politics and culture it would not have been a full picture of his life and impact. It’s also what makes this a must see.

A great movie about one of the greatest athlete and human being this country has known. Ali played so well by Will Smith do credit to him and Muhamad Ali.
I remember growing up and watching all that was happening to Ali about the draft and so on. I have family that fought in WW-II, Viet Nam, and I in Iraq and Kuwait; None of my family had an issue with what he did or how he did it. They also believed he was treated wrongly too. Being an American does NOT mean you must fight in a war; It means you have the right not to is your beliefs dictate it. One can "serve" your country in many ways. Too bad it took 10 years or more to see he was right.
I was struck by how the "Nation of Islam" threw Ali away-Under-the-bus when it suited them And "Forgave him" when that "Nation" could gain money off his name. Not too mention the people who sucked away his money when he needed support, and they took his money. So sad, and telling about those who say they care, but only care about money and power...…. I digress.
A great movie, well done in all areas. Wish it showed more about his life and how he became the icon that he is. Bravo