NEARLY THE GREATEST

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2002)

ALI (2001) *** Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Nona M. Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Shabaka Henley, Laurence Mason, Candy Ann Brown, Albert Hall, LeVar Burton, Paul Rodriguez, Bruce McGill. Ambitious undertaking by Smith (in an excellent display of his range) as The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, nee Cassius Clay  The Louisiana Lip  at the height of his career during the timespan of 1964  1974 with the glories and pitfalls along the road to immortality as one of the most graceful and boastful athletes of the world. Smith manages to get under the skin and give a decent impersonation with the acquired braggadocio of the legendary pugilist but the screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard, Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth and director Michael Mann (who does a superb job overall especially the bout sequences) seems to meander and not find a complete focus in an otherwise better than average biopic. (Dir: Mann)