Ali

Rating:
Summary: Too Long, But Strong
Review: This is not a perfect movie by any means. But Will Smith is brilliant as Ali, particularly during the early part of the film, where he superbly portrays the boxer in his young Cassius Clay days. I remember those years when Cassius Clay came to prominence, and Smith captures his spirit, his cheekiness, his strength, and his sheer, confident youth to a tee. As Clay grows as a boxer and as a man, embraces the Muslim faith, and becomes Muhammad Ali, he changes more than his religion and name. The cockiness is still there, but so is the cynicism and disappointment brought on by too much fame, too much money, too many women, too many hangers-on. Smith handles the change from brash youth to more thoughtful man with subtlety and aplomb.

The disappointing part of the film, which begins to drag on and on, is the lack of depth in Ali's relationships. His marriages are glossed over quickly...we get no sense of what he is really thinking, or what his private life is really like. The same holds true of his relationships with his entourage, from his manager on down. If this was meant to come across as aloofness, it didn't work; this viewer found it very frustrating.

Nevertheless, the movie is worth seeing, for the sheer exuberance of Smith's acting, and the absolutely dead-on portrayal of the late sportscaster Howard Cosell, rendered fabulously by Jon Voight. It is not a brilliant movie, but in my view, it deserves more than 3 stars. I think it is inexplicably under-rated.

Rating:
Summary: Will Smith Ain't Ali
Review: The life of Muhammed Ali could have made a great film. But this attempt comes up way short for two main reasons: 1) Instead of portraying Ali in a balanced way, it attempts glorification of someone who had more than his fair share of human failings. 2) Will Smith is seriously miscast. In the film, he doesn't look like, talk like, or act Ali. Will Smith might be good in the role of a light-weight boxer, but it was a big mistake to think he could portray a heavy-weight.

Rating:
Summary: Great....If You Happen To Like Will Smith
Review: I didn't purchase this film and I really don't plan to since I really didn't like it that much when I rented it. I got confused for a second and thought I'd rented a Will Smith[movie]...I thought that this movie was at least watchable especially during the fight scenes. The choregraphy was on the money. Smith even talked trash like the original and the greatest Ali...He would've been Ali had he been a boxer and had a big mouth but Ali was more than that, he refused to go to Vietnam, he stood against what society during his hayday thought he should've been complacent with like racism and to some degree class discrimination... I think if you don't like Smith, you won't really like this movie. You ought to check out some of the movies staring the real Ali! You get to see the Man in action albeit black exploitation but still a lot better than Smith's Ali!

Rating:
Summary: Poor editing destroy it
Review: This films failure is at large due to poor editing. Then opening sequence is played out over about 10-minutes using the same song played live, the opening boxing match that follows is slow, boring and long (where is the editing??) I felt like the film was wasting my time and I had almost already gone to sleep. I let it play out about fifteen minutes and then noticed the full running time of the movie (where is the editing). Didn't finish it so my two star rating is only for the first thirty minutes or so of the film. I wouldn't bother.

Rating:
Summary: Too slow
Review: I was fairly entertained during parts of the movie, but overall it moves quite slowly and I found myself checking how many minutes had passed (in order to calculate how many there were left!) I agree with those who wrote that it is a very difficult task to try to create a biopic about a man with so many different sides, which separates him a bit from other African-American leaders of his time (Malcolm X, MLK). There's not just his boxing, but also his religious affiliations, his issues with the US government, his womanizing, his relationship with the press (Howard Cosell), etc etc. Will Smith does a pretty good job, but he didn't have much to work with. For learning about Ali, I would recommend "When We Were Kings." Unless you're 14 and want to get jiggy wid' Will Smith. A lot of the movie could have been cut.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best but good enough
Review: The movie Ali was not the best but it was good enough. The sound effects were good, the vision was good, and about everything else was good. But I wouldn't spend [the money] buying this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Dont waste your time
Review: I watched this on PPV last nite and spent much of the movie with the volume off. Too much bad music, no character development, Wil was wasted and the movie skipped the only thing that makes Ali an interesting person: his battle with Parkinson's and his advocacy for research. I dont even recommend renting it - wait till it's free on TV if you have some time to waste.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Deserve a Movie
Review: In short and I know I'm not going to make many friends out there for this review but Muhammad Ali doesn't deserve a movie about his Draft dodging racist life. He was just an egotistical nightmare of what athletes should not be like, if you want a boxing story make one about George Forman or Rocky Marciano (the undefeated champion 49-0). In short Will Smith did alright but the basis of this movie and story are morally degrading.

Rating:
Summary: I'd be embarrassed to have my name on something like this
Review: I feel sorry for Muhammed Ali. It must be tough being a charismatic, interesting person, and having your life displayed in such a terrible fashion as this movie presents. I get the feeling most critics really wanted to like this movie going in, and were afraid to talk about how bad it really was. It opens with an incredibly boring ten minute musical, and progresses to get even worse. If you can stomach more than 30 minutes of this travesty, you're more of a masochist than I.

Rating:
Summary: don't bother
Review: Will Smith did well. His portrayal of Ali is all this film had to lean on, the storyline was weak and drawn. I'd suggest renting it once, not buying it.