Overly Long yet Incomplete

Rating: 4/10 (4 July 2019)

If one really wants to know the history and legacy of Cassius Clay/Mohamed Ali, there are a number of great documentaries about the man, his life and his fights.
This was an ambitious film with good sound editing and cinematography. The issue here was the screenplay. Its not a complete or satisfying telling of the man's life. There is nothing about his early life, his Olympic Gold Medal days. It all begins with the first Liston fight and ends with the Foreman fight, and at the same time, this film runs almost 3 hours.
Ali's most famous fight, the 3rd Frazier fight, is completely omitted. Ali almost died after this fight. Ali becoming a mental vegetable in his 50s was considered to his taking way too much punishment during his fighting days. Surely this is an important part of the story?
Another thing missing, his horrific treatment of Joe Frazier. He called the man an ape, a monkey and an Uncle Tom.
This was a huge waste of resources. It was well regarded when it came out, but this will become a forgotten film. Will Smith was a B- as Ali.