Don't write lies, unless you despise!!

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2001)

I just got home from seeing "Ali." Mohammed Ali existed well before my time. The Ali I see and grew up watching is a crippled dying man, but tonight I saw a different Ali. Of course I've seen clips, and I emphasize clips, of the man who was the People's Champ box on television. But never have I seen the man fight another for the full amount of time he was in the ring. Tonight, I did. I didn't live in the Sixties, I didn't witness the atrocities by policing of the North Vietnamese in Vietnam, and I certainly didn't think this film skipped on those details. Think of the biographies, or those "from birth to death" films, and try to tell me those don't look cheesy or lose your interest. Look at the fake prosthetics or variety of unfortunate child actors stumbling up the life a revered individual. My point is that if I wanted to watch I documentary I would. I would go rent the old films, go to the library, search the internet for some armchair losers opinion. I wanted to see a film that would give me a glimpse in to the life of an individual I unfortunately couldn't grow up watching, and that is what I received.
Micheal Mann has delivered several excellent pictures to our world. He has presented us with many opportunities to witness the spectacle that is life, whether it be a dying Indian tribe, a bank robber who knows sacrifice, and a modern man willing to risk it all to put an end to an addictive chemical pushing company. What a fine choice by the producers to choose him as the main man. His use of composition and silence, seen in "The Insider," work well at shadowing a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. It does not bother me to sit still for almost three hours to just gaze at a man's profile. And this is no ordinary man's story, it is the story of Muhammed Ali. I think he represented the man who was the champ well. Pacing the film in such a way that the viewer identifies the struggle, but it does challenge those viewers with attention deficit disorder. You are asked to put the pieces together and to follow along the tumultuous timeline, but remember, this is a man who did a lot, and again, people who are looking for greater depth, go watch "Life." Overall, I feel Micheal Mann represented a figure so dominant in and out of the ring, with a quiet dignity that the man so rightly deserves.
Will Smith, characterized by his goofy, senseless, egotistical roles fills the shoes of the world's greatest in this biographical vignette. Not looking for much and blasted with an overhyped Oscar nod, I was trying not to expect anything. I was rewarded with a powerful performance. Not only was Will Smith's physical transition clearly recognizable, you can see the Ali he crawled into by looking into his eyes. As serious as he is about his role, and there is no other that I can think of to fill it, Will is able to use Ali's humor and not begin to show any signs of breaking down and getting jiggy with it. He gives a solid performance and it appears that roles which demand great physical metamorphosis (i.e. Cast Away) create Oscar buzz, than so be it, however, it was the actors performance which sold me, not the muscle.
Clearly this film was meant to be a nod to the greatest boxer who ever lived, and thankfully it wasn't sugarcoated. It shows the struggles of a man being pulled in a variety of directions and who only aimed at greatness. Micheal Mann delivered a great picture, and Will Smith performed to his true ability. I loved this film, and I appreciated its honesty. If I missed something, I'll read a book about it, but for now, I'll stick to watching Mann's vision of a fighter who won more than titles. Nine out of ten.