Smith tries, but it's just not there...

Rating: Null/10 (26 December 2001)

Maybe if they'd trimmed the first hour of the film out, it would have been okay. I found the whole Malcom X thing to be a complete bore. I respect the religion and what Malcom X tried to do, but I just didn't think it tied in with Ali's life. Perhaps that's because the whole thing jumped around with no explanation at all as to what was happening. There probably is a very interesting connection and relationship between Ali and X, too bad the director couldn't do any justice to it. Will Smith doesn't do a bad Ali, and he's actually making sure that he's not in the Sly Stallone boxing shape because Ali was never a body builder, but some of the lines Smith delievers would come off better if it was Ali delivering them.
Maybe the movie is worth seeing if you have the time or just want to see a new direction for Will Smith. If not, turn on ESPN Classic and watch the real Ali - it's much better.