A beautiful man, a beautiful film

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2014)

Michael Mann's 2001 biopic of "The Greatest" heavyweight boxer that ever lived, Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali (expertly played here by Will Smith, in a rightfully Oscar-nominated performance) is a beautiful film biopic about a beautiful man and a wonderful human being. A controversial and polarizing figure at the peak of his fame, he has earned his spot in sports history and as one of the greatest icons of the Civil Rights Movement. Set over the course of 1964 to 1974 - his peak years - the film covers Muhammad Ali's historic win against Sonny Liston on February 25th 1964, to become the new heavyweight champion of the world; their equally historic rematch a little over a year later on May 25th, 1965 (just as an aside, I found a colorized version of Neil Leifer's famous photograph of Ali standing over the downed Sonny Liston and I have it saved on my computer as a wallpaper); Clay's joining the Nation of Islam and changing his name to "Muhammad Ali"; his friendships with devoted corner-man Drew "Bundini" Brown (Jamie Foxx), Howard Cosell (Jon Voight), trainer Angelo Dundee (the late Ron Silver), photographer Howard Bingham (Jeffrey Wright) and especially, Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles); his numerous affairs; to his refusal to be drafted into the Armed Services for the growing U.S. war in Vietnam; his comeback in the early 1970s and the slew of historic matches he fought then; and concluding with his historic match in Zaire with George Foreman on October 30th, 1974 ("The Rumble in the Jungle"), to reclaim the title of world heavyweight champion (which he had been stripped of seven years earlier in 1967 over his anti-war stance). And thus we witness a legend being born. Look at me using the word "historic" so many times; that's the feeling that Mann's film, and Smith's brilliant portrayal, gets out of the viewer. You're watching history being meticulously recreated by a skilled team of actors and filmmakers. There's a reason why Muhammad Ali's bouts are considered some of the greatest fights the sport of boxing has ever seen: Ali brought a brashness and confidence (some might call it arrogance), and a bravado, and beauty and grace - not to mention a poetic lyricism - to the ring that the sport had never seen before. And the sport of boxing is never likely to ever see a figure as larger-than-life and amazing as the one and only, Muhammad Ali, a.k.a., "The Greatest."
10/10