Ali: Review By moviegeek

Will Smith was placed with an insurmountable task in portraying the semi-modern legend Muhammad Ali. Not only is the character he is playing someone extremely well-known, but the boxer also is still relevant to the viewing generation. Because of that, his performance is unfairly easy to pick apart. His predestined disadvantage pardons him in some way, but there are still many things that could have been better in this solid, yet slightly underwhelming biopic.

The film chronicles the life of Ali from his early days as Cassius Clay, an up-and-coming boxer, to his steadfast friendship with Malcom X, and eventually through his rise to stardom as the champion boxer, Muhammad Ali. Director Michael Mann chose a good selection of events to cover and portray, but he hovers over some of the smaller details too long. Training sequences drag. The boxing matches come and go too quickly. Ali's relationships are undernourished.

One problem that many critics dwell on is Smith's portrayal. While I won't criticize his efforts, for they were impossible to achieve, I will criticize his execution. Never for a second did I believe that he BECAME Ali. It was always evident that it was Will Smith giving a solid portrayal of Ali. Instead of inhabiting the role, he merely acts it. Part of the problem is Smith's recognizable name and face. I believe this film would have been better and more powerful had they picked a lesser-known star.

The visual style of the picture, though inconsistent, is breathtaking on every level. The use of lighting is magnificent. The slow-motion, though it seems out of place, is still captivating to look at. The punches thrown look real and seem to make contact. The score is fascinatingly original, matching whatever setting it is placed in. On a technical level, this is a remarkable achievement.

Michael Mann (Director of great films like "Heat" and "The Insider"), however, seems unsure of a position to take on this film. What does he want to focus on? Ali the religious man? Ali the fighter? Ali the jokester, the civil rightist, the romantic, what? He touches on all of these elements, but they are all so different that it seems like we are watching a collection of intriguing short films on the same character, each made by a different person.

Ali was a charismatic guy. His television interviews with Howard Cosell (played here unrecognizably by Jon Voight) sent the two bickering hilariously. Smith has the right amount of charm to pull it off, but, again, audiences will see Smith rather than Ali. There are quite a few funny moments in this film. The picture covers Ali's rapid-fire jokes, though it struggles to keep up with them.

This is one of those pictures that, I suppose, audiences are duped into thinking that they are "supposed to like". It has a good director behind it, it's a true story, it has a big star in it. Everything about the film shouts "acclaim". I did enjoy this picture, and I did find it extremely watchable, and I did love the technical quality, and it had dozens of great moments; but the movie never challenges itself to become something more. It never strives to push itself beyond the norm. Ali is too reliant on the assured prowess of its cast and crew that it steps back from ever being more, from demanding more from itself, from packing in the winning blow.