Love Smith but he ain't Muhammad, Michael Mann wasn't the man

Rating: 4/10 (5 July 2009)

Let's start with Mr. Smith. Smith has really come a long way. He is good no matter what people say. "I am Legion" etc etc. He is committed to the art. But he is not qualified, no matter how much I love him, to play Muhammad Ali. He did look a little like him and I appreciate the level of skill it took to take on the role. However as one commentator said at no point did he stop being Will Smith and become Muhammad Ali. I avoided this film for years because I knew I would be disappointed. Well I finally saw it and I made the mistake of watching it with the top rate "When we were kings." Now if anyone reading doesn't understand acting let me give an example of what an actor should do. In the film where Angela Basset played Tina Turner, by the end of the film I was convinced that Angela was the real Tina Turner. When the end showed the real Tina I actually said "Is that Tina turner?" Angela did such a job it was unbelievable. I don't know why my boy Mario was Malcolm apart from looking a little like him (height etc) he was pretty poor. Now the film I think was balanced but M Mann isn't the Man. Yes you had to include the current events around Muhammad, how can you take Muhammad out of the environment and treat him as he wasn't a product of it? So the film took the correct path in re-counting that period in history. Regardless of how many times we have seen King and X and the Nation they are all relevant to Muhammad Ali, critical for the film. Some minor historical facts were blurred and they were small but silly mistakes; there was no white co-pilot on the plane. The original video was clear, so why put one white face in the plane when it contradicts the message of why Ali was impressed? You are dealing with subject matter like this show some respect. And I love West African music, but Ali didn't fight in West Africa, he was in Congo, so why the music which wasn't relevant to that history? Naturally I think an African-American director would have been better. The film didn't hold together well at all. But Smith did try but as a whole the film lacked spirit. M Mann is amazing with those Mohican boys and stuff, and even better with Heat but this stuff no no.