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ALI
Many watching the film will
not understand the confusion that Ali went through prior to his
decision to follow the Muslim faith. While watching many of the
scenes and flashbacks I was reminded of the racial attitudes that
existed throughout America at the time.
REVIEW
BY MIKE FURCHES
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ALI
(2001)
This page was created on December 26, 2001
This page was last updated on June 12, 2005 |
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Directed
by Michael Mann
Screenplay by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth
& Michael Mann
Story: Gregory Allen Howard
Will
Smith .... Muhammad Ali
Jamie Foxx .... Drew 'Bundini' Brown
Jon Voight .... Howard Cosell
Mario Van Peebles .... Malcolm X
Ron Silver .... Angelo Dundee
Jeffrey Wright .... Howard Bingham
Mykelti Williamson .... Don King
Jada Pinkett Smith .... Sonji Roi
Nona M. Gaye .... Belinda Boyd
Michael Michele .... Veronica Porsche
Joe Morton .... Chauncey Eskridge
Barry Shabaka Henley .... Herbert Muhammad
Giancarlo Esposito .... Cassius Clay Sr.
Laurence Mason .... Luis Sarria
Candy Ann Brown .... Odessa Clay (Ali's Mother)
Michael Bentt .... Sonny Liston
James Toney .... Joe Frasier
Charles Shufford .... George Foreman
Vincent De Paul .... Roving Reporter
LeVar Burton .... Martin Luther King Jr.
Produced by Paul Ardaji (producer), Howard Bingham (executive producer),
Lee Caplin (executive producer), Gusmano Cesaretti (associate producer),
A. Kitman Ho (producer), Graham King (executive producer), James
Lassiter (producer), Michael Mann (producer), Jon Peters (producer),
Kathleen M. Shea (associate producer), Michael Waxman (co-producer)
Original music by Pieter Bourke, Bill Brown (additional music),
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (songs), Marvin Gaye (songs), Lisa Gerrard
R. Kelly (songs,
Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki
Film Editing by William Goldenberg, Lynzee Klingman and Stephen
E. Rivkin
MPAA
Rating R - for some language and brief violence
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Ali
Various Artists - Soundtrack - 2001
1. The World's Greatest - R. Kelly 2. Fight - Alicia Keys 3. Hold
On - R. Kelly 4. A Change Is Gonna Come - Al Green 5. Ain't No Way
- Aretha Franklin 6. Sometimes - Bilal 7. 20 Dollars - Angie Stone
8. For Your Precious Love - Truth Hurts 9. Bring It On Home To Me
- David Elliot 10. E - Ali The Greatest-Everlast 11. Mistreated
- Shawn Kane 12. Tomorrow - Salif Keita 13. All Along The Watchtower
- Watchtower Four 14. Odessa - Martin Tillman 15. See The Sun -
Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke
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Forget
what you think you know
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 STUDIO
SYNOPSIS:
With wit and athletic genius, with defiant rage and inner grace,
Muhammad Ali forever changed the American landscape. Fighting all
comers, Ali took on the law, conventions, the status quo and the
war-as well as the fists in front of him. Ali both ignited and mirrored
the conflicts of his time and ours to become one of the most admired
fighters in the world. Forget, now, what you thought you knew. Behind
Ali's seismic accomplishments, superstar Will Smith and Academy
Award®- nominated director/writer Michael Mann will take you into
the heart and life of the boxer, the legend and, more importantly,
the man. He talked and danced. He fought and struggled. Ali shook
the world.
-- © 2001 Columbia Pictures
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 Review
by
MIKE FURCHES
mike@furches.org
Web site www.furches.org
Mike is the Senior Pastor at United at the Cross Community Church
in Wichita Kansas. United at the Cross is a church made up of
individuals not often accepted in other churches. The church consists
of former gang members, drug addicts, prostitutes and others. Mike
also speaks nationally on various topics and is a freelance writer.
To learn more about Mike and his ministry link onto www.furches.org.
In the arts Mike has worked with top music artists such as Steppenwolf,
Marshall Tucker Band, Kansas and has an active interest in film.
Mike is pictured with his music band "Route 66."
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 This
is a movie that I have been looking forward to for some time. You
see: I come from a boxing family and actually boxed myself. My uncle
(my mother's brother), J.D. Estep, won numerous Golden Glove Championships
and lost by 1 point in a split decision to Jimmy Ellis during the
Olympic Trials. Ellis went on to win the Gold Medal that year as well
as later on to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World. So, you
can see that boxing is, so to say, in my blood. |
 I
remember J.D. talking about Ali and Marciano being the best fighters
ever and I, watching many of the Ali fights with him, couldn't help
but agree that Ali certainly was "The Greatest." So it was
with a great deal of anticipation that I have awaited this film. |
 Michael
Mann has done a great job of making this an 'Art' film. The usage
of music, soft lens effects and more make this film rather remarkable
to watch. I couldn't say enough about the ensemble cast. Will Smith
turned down the role for approximately 5 years before accepting it.
It is obvious that he put his whole person into the once in a lifetime
opportunity of playing Mohammed Ali. He put on approximately 37 pounds
of muscle and spent almost a year in the gym learning the sport. There
are moments in the film where the similarities between Will Smith
and Ali are quite remarkable. Not only does he look just like him,
he sounds just like him. |
 Others
in the film also stand out remarkably. Jon Voight is notable as Howard
Cosell and if you didn't know it was Voight you wouldn't believe it.
This has certainly been a standout year for Voight. Along with his
role in Pearl Harbor he certainly deserves an Academy Award nomination
this year for best Supporting Actor. This movie includes many others
that could be taken into account for that award, as well as Smith
for consideration as Best Actor. |
| Jamie
Foxx, as Drew 'Bundini' Brown, plays the part perfectly. He provides
much needed comic relief, and insights into the life of this individual
that very few fans of the sport know about. 'Bundini' was a friend
and supporter of Ali for most of his career. He is the one that is
responsible for many of the great sayings that Ali is known for. |
 Others
include Ron Silver, who plays the part of longtime great trainer Angelo
Dundee, and Mario Van Peebles, who bears a remarkable resemblance
to Malcolm X. Both of these actors do an exceptional job and could
easily be considered for supporting role nominations. |
 The
film starts with Ali in the gym prior to his initial Sonny Liston
fight. Through the sequence we see Ali as a youth in a number of flashbacks.
One of those scenes shows him in a Christian Church looking at some
individuals within the church paint a mural of Jesus Christ: with
pure white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. It is clear from the early
beginnings of Cassius Clay that he has difficulty with Christianity.
Much of the remainder of the film explores Ali's commitment to the
Muslim faith and his fight with the United States over his refusal
to fight in Vietnam. |
| Many
watching the film will not understand the confusion that Ali went
through prior to his decision to follow the Muslim faith. While watching
many of the scenes and flashbacks I was reminded of the racial attitudes
that existed throughout America at the time. I was also reminded of
the words of a valued musician friend of mine who once told me that,
"Sometimes what is important in Christianity is not so much how
many we win to the Lord but how many we have turned away from Him."
Recalling these words and thoughts I couldn't help but wonder what
role inappropriate Christian attitudes played in developing the dedication
to the Muslim faith that Mohammed Ali has. |
 In
the above mentioned area I was reminded of the importance of loving
my neighbor not just in word but also in action and deed. If Christians
had been greater advocates for the rights of African Americans in
the 1950's and 60's instead of placing them in the backs of busses
and viewing them as less than human, it is highly possible that Ali
would have accepted Christianity rather than rejecting it. At the
very least, he would view it differently today. While there can be
no certainty to this, we cannot hide from the fact that as 'Christians',
we certainly have a lot that we need to go to God for and ask forgiveness
for. A large part of that is our unwillingness to 'Love your neighbor
as yourself,' a charge that Jesus Himself identified as among the
greatest commandments. |
 The
film continues on with the struggles of Ali in his relationships with
women, within his church, with the United States Government and much
more. The real Mohammed Ali has to be credited for his willingness
to allow the bad as well as the good to be portrayed in this film.
If I were to give credit to the movie for anything besides the ensemble
cast it would be the human nature given to Ali. |
 From
the above you would think that I really liked the movie but the truth
of it is that I didn't. There were many reasons I didn't. While many
have hailed this as the greatest boxing movie ever, I beg to differ:
it is far from it. Many of the boxing sequences were poorly staged;
while extravagant, they were not true to the nature of the sport.
Although Will Smith spent a year or so in the gym it was obvious that
the editor had not. He chose sequences that show poor boxing form
and certainly not similar to Ali. |
| How
anyone could portray Ali was actually another problem with the film.
Ali is a real life character who is truly one of a kind. In his prime
there was no faster Heavyweight, I believe ever. His famous footwork
and shuffle were truly exceptional and if Will Smith tried any of
it, it certainly didn't make it into the final cut. |
| There
are other problems with the film though. Ali's life is certainly more
detailed than any 3 hour movie can make it out to be. My personal
belief is that you would need a 8-10 hour mini-series to make this
film and concept even begin to work. As a result the film jumps from
scene to scene with no continuity. There is little done to develop
the story line and therefore, I was often lost as to where I was in
the movie and what was going on. I have heard many say that the film
was too long but I refuse to say that. If anything, I believe it was
not long enough. This was likely a studio decision and, if so, they
are now paying the price for the lackluster attendance. |
 This
is one movie of which I have to say that the trailers and HBO Making
Of Special are much better than the movie. I remember watching many
of the premovie interviews with the cast and hearing their comments
on how good this movie was. I refuse to believe that they actually
thought it was that good. It was simply a matter of receiving a portion
of the gate revenues as a part of their salary contract. This movie
also contains one of my pet peeves in regards to movies. There are
numerous sequences that are in the trailers and publicity materials
that are simply not in the movie. This is another indication that
the studios pushed this one out before the final product was ready. |
| This
movie may have potential but only in the future DVD release. I would
hope that the release would include an extended version of the film
with many of the deleted sequences. I would also hope it would include
extras with the real Mohammed Ali. His life and his character were
certainly much more interesting than portrayed in this film. |
| While
there was certainly wonderful acting in this movie there was no story.
For whatever reason, editing, story line, script or whatever, this
film fell far short. I would recommend that if you want to learn more
about Ali that you check out a number of great videos from the video
store. Otherwise wait until this one arrives on Video or DVD. |
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AVID FAN
Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2005
From: Heather
Ali, the film. I must say as an avid lifelong fan of muhammid ali will smith playing the part of ali is fine and will is a loverly guy but I dont really think anyone could play ali. with alis looks, wit dignity and charisma, I dont think theres anyone that could do him justice.Just to look at alis angelic face and his whole aura, no one else could capture that because they are not ali. Any way theres plenty of real footage and info out there on ali. who needs a film of his life with an actors who cannot compare. No disrespect to will smith hes a wonderfull actor
Heather
from chester, England
A
MIXED REVIEW
Subject: ALI
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002
From: "AL CRACKENBERG"
I
GAVE THE MOVIE A MIXED REVIEW. THE MOVIE SEEMED LITTLE MORE THAN
A BIOGRAPHY. ALI DID THIS; THEN ALI DID THIS; THEN ALI DID THIS.
I WAS EXPECTING MUCH MORE FROM SOMEONE WHO SAID HE WAS THE GREATEST.
THE MOVIE SEEMED TO CAPTURE THE FORM OF ALI, BUT NOT THE SUBSTANCE.
I SAW THE MOVIE WITH MY FAMILY, AND MY TWO TEENAGE KIDS LIKED IT
MUCH MORE THAN MY WIFE AND I. THEY KNEW LITTLE OF ALI. ALL THE BIOGRAHY
STUFF WAS NEW AND INTERESTING TO THEM. I REMEBER MOST OF THE INCIDENTS
IN THE FILM AS THEY OCCURRED, SO IT WAS ANCIENT HISTORY TO ME. JAMIE
FOXX AND JON VOIGT SHOWED REAL ACTING SKILLS AND TRIED TO FLESH
OUT WHY ALI COULD CLAIM TO BE THE GREATEST. WILL SMITH ON THE OTHER
HAND SEEMED TO SAY "WELL, I LOOK LIKE HIM AND TALK LIKE HIM. I GUESS
I AM THE GREATEST!" I WAS JUST HOPING FOR BETTER. AL CRACKENBERG
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