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Ali 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Michael Mann
R, 167 min. (profanity, brief violence) |
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Starring: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Paul Rodriguez, Jada Pinkett Smith, Giancarlo Esposito
Producers: James Lassiter, Jon Peters, A Kitman Ho, Michael Mann, Paul Ardaji
Screenplay: Eric Roth, Gregory A. Howard, Michael Mann
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Released: 12.25.01 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Ali has moments of brilliance, but at times is also jagged, incoherent, and frustratingly disjointed. Director Michael Mann (The Insider)
tackles the difficult task of cramming ten pivotal years of Ali's life (1964-74) into three hours, predictably with mixed results.
While some of Ali's familiar flair and arrogance is well-conceived by Will Smith, he's helpless in the hands of the editing
room, which inexplicably cuts short each subsequent period in his life to the point where someone who is unfamiliar with the
revered figure wouldn't know what's happening. This is a calculated gamble by Mann, one that leaves the film far short of
its potential. It's never boring or uninvolving, but its confusing plot is a major stumbling block to embracing it whole-heartedly.
The film is long, but it's probably not long enough. There simply isn't time to explain anything in meticulous detail, leaving the
viewer to fill in the blanks when necessary - a task that wears on your patience level. Mann begins the film with Ali's stunning
1964 upset win over Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title. Then, the first of several confusing parts ensues. We see the
relationship between Ali, Malcolm X, and the Nation of Islam. Once Malcolm X is assassinated, we move on to Ali's long fight
against the U.S. government for his refusal to enter the draft for the war in Vietnam. Although stripped of his title in 1967,
the charges against him were cleared by the Supreme Court after several appeals. Finally, we see his various relationships
as, one by one, they end in disappointment. They include his three wives, Sonji Roi (Jada Pinkett Smith), Belinda Boyd (Nona M. Gaye),
and Veronica Porsche (Michael Michele), and his trainer, Angelo Dundee (Ron Silver), close friend, Bundini (Jamie Foxx), and
the controversial Howard Cosell (Jon Voight). Ali's own skewed view of the world shape his interaction with these people,
affecting each one in a different way. The story ends with his regaining of the heavyweight title from George Foreman in
the infamous 1974 Zaire fight.
Many times films involving legends of society are postponed until that person has passed, but Mann probably felt the time
was appropriate considering Ali's current popularity as he battles Parkinson's disease and his apparent approval of the project. Much
of Ali's spirit and bombastic personality come through as clearly as if we were seeing the Ali of old, full of vigor with an
unquenchable thirst for greatness. Mann is also clear to point out his many detractors and those who disliked the "people's
champion." He was a lightning rod for criticism, especially during his fight against enlistment, and Mann obviously doesn't
shy away from Ali's love of women, and their love for him.
Will Smith gave himself completely to this role - he trained and put on considerable muscle to make himself as believable as
possible. His mannerisms are right on, and at times he's eerily similar to Ali. He gives us another view of Ali - the
compassionate, human side of him that showed he was a man of greatness, but also a man that struggled to balance his
personal life with his public one. Smith is so good here, he dwarfs those around him, even though there are some other
good performances. Of note is Voight's Cosell, which captures the heart of who Cosell was, to completely convincing levels.
Despite its shortcomings, and there are many, Ali never loses sight of its goal of portraying Ali as we remember him. In the
hands of a talented actor, Ali's deficiencies can be easily overlooked, focusing us on the man who changed the boxing
world forever. At best, it can be considered a good character study, at worst, an unfocused effort short on coherency.
Fittingly, Ali lands somewhere in the middle - above mediocrity, but short of greatness.
© 2001 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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