Sounds to me like many of you weren't there...

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2002)

This was not an epic motion picture. And certainly some of the scenes between the boxing matches were boring, causing the film to drag. Some important elements are omitted from the story. Such as the second Frazier fight, what exactly influenced Ali to join Islam, and why he was broke after winning the heavy weight championship. Other elements were given undue importance, especially the intense focus on the prevailing civil rights battle during the period.
That being said, the boxing match re-enactments were very well done. Great effort went into creating much of what actually transpired in those fights. And Will Smith's performance duplicated Ali's manner of speech and body language exactly. The supporting cast was adequate.
Despite his flaws, Muhammad Ali was a folk hero. He single handedly turned the sport of boxing around. He backed up his talk by defeating stronger and more heavily favored opponents. The heavy weight division of professional boxing has been going down hill steadily ever since the Ali era ended. For boxing and/or Ali fans the movie is well worth viewing.