Impeccably produced, but with a haphazard narrative

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2002)

Will Smith's physique is impressive, and his performance as boxing legend Muhammad Ali is rock solid, but Michael Mann's handsome, striking film does meander(especially in the final 45 minutes)and the script darts around issues and lets situations flag(especially in dealing with the Ali-Joe Frazier fight, which is cut awfully short). Never less than interesting, and with lots of room for introspection, but only half a success. The picture does look fantastic, though, and the supporting cast is uniformly excellent. **1/2 from ****