Wonderful

Rating: 9/10 (15 January 2002)

I really enjoyed Ali. I thought it was well paced and it seemed to capture the essence of Ali and his times. Will Smith was perfect as Ali and the supporting cast was excellent. Jon Voight as Cosell was fantastic and Jamie Brown was wonderful as Bundini Brown. I really didn't think he had it in him. Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X, Ron Silver as Angelo Dundee, this movie was filled with convincing, touching performances. Others have complained about the Zaire running sequence, I found it evocative and meaningful. It wasn't blatantly presented. You weren't told what to feel but were presented with a situation and were allowed to extract what you wanted. (Spoiler possibly looming ahead). For me it showed Ali realizing that he was more than a popular boxer but was an icon of power over oppression for these people. His victory was not just for personal glory but would be a positive message to downtrodden people. He had to win for them. (Spoiler warning defunct.) This was not a boxing movie but was a movie of a man and a slice of his history. That said, the boxing sequences were very well staged. Ali's opponents were well portrayed and the punches looked like they hurt. Ali was more than a boxer and the movie investigates all of him. If you expect some kind of Rocky movie you'll be disappointed. This movie was so much more.