User reviews

Average movie. What was best in this film (and that was really good) was the Sound, The Soundtrack and the Camera. All of these where at least worthy of a nomination, if not more.

On the contrary, the screenplay was totally lacking (I think the Director knew this, hence the very frequent and prolonged musical interludes...) and the dialogs empty, somehow incomplete. In spite of another great performance by Will Smith, the characterization is also sketchy to say the least, we never really get to understand the main characters, their motivations, the reasons for their actions, and therefore can never really identify. All in all, the movie feels superficial, there is no real 'depth' to it. Younger audiences who are not familiar with the actual occurrences 30 years ago will be totally at a loss watching this film. I must say that even I was lost at times (and I actually lived during the period).

Michael Mann is a very hit-and-miss director for me. His movies either blow me out of the water ("The Insider," "Heat"), or they leave me cold ("Miami Vice," "Public Enemies"). Unfortunately, "Ali" belongs to the latter category.

Mann's filmmaking is always very assured, so when his movies miss, I'm never exactly sure why. There's just something boring about "Ali." It tells Muhammad Ali's story, and it does so with what could be mistaken for passion, but it just felt rote and lifeless to me, and far too long.

Will Smith and Jon Voight were honored with Academy Award nominations for playing Ali and Howard Cosell, respectively, but clearly I'm not the only one to be underwhelmed by the film, as it bombed with audiences and couldn't even crack 7.0 here at IMDb.

Grade: B-

I don't think it deserved to bomb the way it did when it came out but it sure is a bit disappointing... I guess I always felt it would be, which is why I postponed watching for what, 19 years? Extremely good performance from Will Smith and basically the entire cast. However the pacing a little all over the place and rather dull script didn't help; how did they manage to make the life of one of the most entertaining athletes of the 20th century feel so boring?

Surprisingly quiet, slow, even dull biopic for such an aggressive, passionate, and charismatic athlete/historic figure. Probably Michael Mann intended to demystify Muhammad Ali; still I would appreciate if it were more fast-paced, more visually vivid, and more emotionally intense.

While well-crafted cinematography seems over calculated at times, improvisational editing in the boxing game scenes properly recreates the jazzy atmosphere of the historic moments. Will Smith could have done better job on the boxing realization, according to my boxer pal.

Great subject but, strangely, unengaging movie.

The story of Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, boxers who has ever lived. Shows from his first title bout (as Cassius Clay) until the conclusion of the "Rumble in the Jungle" versus George Foreman. Covers his conversion to Islam, his relationships, his being drafted into the Army and his refusal to go, his subsequent legal issues and a myriad of other details.

Interesting, from an historical perspective, but feels flat and unengaging as a human drama. On paper it should work - the movie is directed by Michael Mann, of Heat, Collateral, Public Enemies, The Last of the Mohicans and Miami Vice fame. However, he is more an action-drama / thriller director and it shows, to a degree, in this movie. Characters aren't developed very well but the action scenes (in this case, the fight scenes) are great.

Part of the problem is that Mann tries to cram as many events from Ali's life into the movie as possible. Even though the movie is fairly long at 2 1/2 hours, many of the lesser events are given a passing mention, with no real context. You often feel no connection to the event and they just feel like flashes across the screen.

A better way to tackle the subject would have been to concentrate on the big themes and events of Ali's life, and leave out all the miscellaneous life. This, or make a mini-series rather than a movie. The man did and achieved so much, 2 1/2 hours is hardly enough time to encapsulate his life.

On the plus side, as mentioned before the fight scenes are great. Well staged, well shot and very tense.

Will Smith got a Best Leading Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Ali, but I am not sure he deserved it. Physically he is not imposing enough to be Ali. Furthermore, while he does a great job at capturing Ali's bravado and trash-talking, his verbal tone just doesn't seem right in normal speech. It's as if every line of dialogue is a speech, rather than just normal dialogue, and this can be quite irritating at times.

Good supporting cast though. Jon Voight is almost unrecognizable as legendary sports presenter, and Ali's verbal sparring partner, Howard Cosell. He does a great job and got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his efforts.

Good work too from Jamie Foxx. The hidden gem is Mykelti Williamson who gives a great, over-the-top, often-hilarious performance as boxing promoter Don King.

Overall, considering the subject, this movie is disappointing but there is enough there to keep you interested.

Although this film was too long, it missed out the beginning and end of the Ali story. The omission of Clay being refused service in a diner upon his return from the Olympics and the 'Thrilla in Manila' leave huge holes in the make-up of the man and icon that is Muhammad Ali.

The fight scenes are superbly choreographed using real boxers and this is part of another problem with the film – is it a documentary or a movie?. As a boxing fan, I had difficulty believing that his opponents were who they were supposed to be - Joe Frazier was James Toney with an afro wig and never had me believing that he was Joe Frazier.

Overall, this film dealt well with Ali's womanising and relationship with 'Bundini' Brown and Howard Cosell but was superficial and left me unfulfilled. Maybe this was mission impossible but the movie set out ambitious targets and missed most of them. You are better off getting a video of Ali's fights, watching 'When We Were Kings' and reading his biography by Thomas Hauser.

A biopic about Muhammad Ali, possibly the greatest boxer of all-time, should not be as understated or practically forgotten as Michael Mann's 2001 picture is. It isn't as if "Ali" was some low-budget effort with an unsung team behind it. Directed by Michael Mann, who was a big name at the time following 1995's "Heat", and starring Will Smith as Ali. It took a lot of courage to take on this role, and Smith, in my opinion, is perfect. He's seen as a comedy and summer-blocker-buster star, with his career-defining roles in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", "Independence Day" and the "MIB" films. Here, Smith took on the most challenging role any actor could hope for, and he is triumphant. It is hard to picture a better performance, and any nay-sayers about him before this film was released were undoubtedly silenced.

The weakness of "Ali" and the reason why it is now so understated lies within a highly convoluted script and the fact that director Michael Mann appears to have become overwhelmed by the material. The directing is rather weak as in Mann appears to lose all focus in generating the excitement and drama and instead he shoots the film like it were a documentary. The boxing scenes are very well-done and the script is good in that it does well to grapple with so many events which took place between 1964 and 1974. We have everything from Ali's refusal to join the US Army when he was drafted, to his famous bout with George Forearm in Africa. But herein lies another problem; the film is obviously geared towards a viewer that has some grounding in the life of Ali, because otherwise you would be completely lost, especially when it comes to the political side of things. While this is a good film and well-rounded, it is far from the "Raging Bull" quality that it should have been, and is ultimately forgettable and probably not something you'd watch a second time.

I know this movie came out nearly 20 years ago, but I recently re watched it, and wanted to share my thoughts. First off, if you've never seen it, and like Ali, it is definitely worth watching. Production and directing are both really well done. It does feel a tad bit too long, and can feel dragged out in different scenes. All in all, the acting is pretty good, especially Jamie Foxx. I didn't love Will Smith cast as Ali. Throughout most of the movie it definitely felt like you were watching Will Smith play Muhammad Ali, rather than trying to see it through Ali's eyes. In some scenes where he had to act cocky, and confident, it reminded me of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The boxing scenes were definitely Smith's strong suit. All in all though, like I said if you're interested, it's definitely worth the watch.

The best thing in Ali is the acting. Will Smith, Jon Voight, Jamie Foxx, Mario Van Peebles, Mykelti Williamson; everyone in the cast gives a great performance.

The worst thing is the length of the film. It goes for nearly three hours and it drags (it felt like Lord Of The Rings went for two hours) due to some long, boring sequences. We want to see Ali fight, or hear him launch verbal attacks at a press conference or finding out about some major incident in his lifetime. Instead we get to see Ali running around in Africa for nine minutes (which feels like twenty) and we suffer through pointless montage sequences which make no sense.

This had the makings of being another Raging Bull, but it just isn't as entertaining. Will Smith does carry some of the film, as you put up with the slow parts to see more of his performance. It also felt like parts of the movie wanted to deal more with Malcolm X or the Black Muslims than Ali himself. It needed more focus, quicker pacing and more character depth.

It doesn't take a fan to know that the aura of Muhammad Ali transcended the limits of the ring, the limits of his country… the limits of his era.

Ali wasn't just a boxer, he was an entertainer, a poet, a man who literally contextualized his time with actions such as joining the Nation of Islam, befriending Malcolm X, refusing to fight in Vietnam because no Vietcong ever threw a N-word at him, he traded his glory for courage, earning even more glory over the long haul. The historical magnitude of a legend like Ali is so powerful that a biopic was indeed overdue, and in 2001, when it was announced that the story of Ali was to be released, that the greatest boxer of all-time would be played by Will Smith, the most flamboyant and charismatic of the then-young actors, and directed by Michael Mann, known for his complex, methodic but ultimately rewarding directing, "Ali" was expected to be a knockout. Alas, it wasn't.

The film disappointed the fans who expected new insights about their hero and the non-fans who thought they would learn one thing or two about the legend: how and why did he convert to Islam? Was his 'arrogance' genuine or was it just an act? How much hardship and humiliations did he undergo as a kid to be so proud and eloquent about his achieved greatness? How did Ali deal with the loss of the title and the years of ban on a personal level? Or simply, how about his private life, what kind of a husband or a father he was? The film provides shades of answers but Ali is still a mystery at the end. We don't know more about him and we might even question the things we took for granted. And the weaknesses aren't just on the content but the form, too. How can a film that deals with a larger-than-life and enthusiastic personality, played by a magnetic actor, and directed by a competent director be so frustratingly flat... and even, dull.

I read that it was the Academy Award nomination for "The Insider" that earned Michael Mann the project. Comparing the editing of "The Insider" and "Ali", I still scratch my head, Mann had a simpler story to tell in the sense that the focus was one man, but as if he's used to deal with multi-character driven stories, "Heat" being another remarkable example, Mann seems only able to indulge to many long silent scenes punctuated by elements of context, generally music, as if he was sure that the audience will always be receptive to the shots of Ali running with a puzzled expression, Ali looking sad and thoughtful. These fillers are so numerous that even the joyful moments, supposed to be the high points of his life, don't elicit the enthusiastic responses they aim for. When Ali defeats Sonny Liston and shouts that he "shook out the world", I didn't feel the goose bumps from the original footage, I was just glad that needlessly detailed game ended.

This feeling is even more frustrating because Will Smith gave the performance of a lifetime, you can tell he pulled a 'Raging Bull' in his characterization and at the end, you could almost feel you had the young Ali on screen, the other actors did good, Jon Voight, unrecognizable behind his Howard Cosell mask would earn an Oscar-nomination along with Smith and Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X Jamie Foxx as Bundini Brown did justice to the story. But Foxx would later pair up with Mann for the most superior and better-prepared "Collateral", "Ali" seemed to have been made in a rush, with a lack of preparation that is baffling from Mann. I liked Ebert's comment that the film features many scenes that looks like ready to get a few cuts in an editing room. I don't know how long did the running across Zaire took place, but did they really expect us to be enjoying it, it was so long that even when the Fight of the Century started, I was exhausted already.

Will Smith immersed himself into his character; he gained weight, trained, and was ready to take real hits. I don't think Mann put himself in the same mindset, he should have seen "Raging Bull" to check how you can make a terrific and exciting boxing game that lasts less than five minutes, he should have watched (or watched again) the remarkable documentaries about Ali, including "When We Were Kings" to try to extract from them the substantial elements about African-American conscience. He should have watched "Malcolm X" to see what a good biopic is, that you can make a long film that doesn't feel long, or to realize that the 'Malcolm X' part didn't need to drag on because it would never equal Spike Lee's. The film focuses on 1964-1974, the most defining chapters of Ali's life, but we could have earlier glimpses of his past to understand him instead of a second retread of Malcolm X' final years.

Again, Mann is a terrific director but for some reason, he wasn't ready for "Ali", and my guess is that Spike Lee would have been a more interesting choice, he would probably have focused on the aura and persona of Ali in a more exciting and engaging way. That's what the fans expected, an intimate view on the champ, and this is why the film flopped, I could see the crowds in the theaters when the film was released but it didn't last, bad word of mouth, as simple as that. Foxx would later play in Ray Charles' biopic and if "Ali" was half the film "Ray" or "Malcolm X" or half any other Mann's film, it could have been something. A flop, that's what it is, and of the puzzling kind, at that.

This is the last Michael Mann film I wanted to catch up on before Ferrari, because they're both biographical films with one-word titles. I'd heard a good deal about Ali, and it always looked a little bit interesting, but not really enthralling. I'm not crazy about sports or biopic movies, and while I think this is pretty good by the standards of sports and/or biographical movies, I don't think it was particularly excellent. It's really long, at over 2.5 hours, too, and I just wasn't really with it for that kind of length.

It goes through lots of events and a number of years, and you get a snapshot of Muhammad Ali's life, but not a great or comprehensive understanding (at least that's how I felt, not knowing much about the man going in). I appreciated it not being a generic underdog story, or typical sports movie. There were mildly interesting choices made when it came to narrative, and some bolder ones visually. It wasn't Michael Mann going all out on an unusual style the way he did in Miami Vice, but those night sequences were definitely aggressively digital, and they felt distracting to me more than anything.

Will Smith is good. You can sense the passion he would've had for playing this larger-than-life figure, and I think he showcases Ali's confidence well. Other actors pop up here and there and generally give solid performances. Jon Voight's make-up took a little while to get used to.

If this was half an hour shorter, I'd probably like it more. Ali felt a bit bloated to me. There are good performances and some interesting sequences, but I've come away from it thinking it's just mostly decent, so I can't find myself with many exciting things to say about it one way or the other.

I think Will Smith is a bit vacant in the role of Muhammad Ali, not so much because of his acting ability, but there seemed to me not to be that much acting in the script. Most of the time he is either womanizing or staring vacantly into the air. This is supposed to show his look on the world, how it affects him, but it doesn't come across very well in my opinion. Not a bad movie though, the fighting scenes are very well made.

The movie develops too much on the other aspects of Ali's life. All of them interesting enough to keep the movie going ok. But fighting aspects (his training and the sequence on his career) are given very low attention. Besides, boxing scenes are weak. And that is a major setback for anyone who watches a movie on the greatest boxer of all times...

this films is well made, it looks slick, will smith does well as ali and the boxing scenes are well done BUT

thats it, the movie has nothing too say that we didnt already now about ali. its boring and the trailer had the best bits in int..

avoid watching paint dry wud more entertaining.

a shame coz a film about Ali pardon the pun should pack a punch.

Do not expect to see a boxing movie, expect to see a movie about a boxer. And not only about any boxer but probably the greatest boxer of all times and also a great civil rights fighter, probably one of the most important and influential ones, which at least surprised me when I saw Ali.

There is not a lot of boxing in Ali, but the boxing you will see is ultra realistic (forget the Rocky-style boxing, blocking with the face) and I found the scenes very exciting and well done. There is also a good assassination scene.

The combining of sound and pictures is brilliant in Ali and it shows already in the beginning, good enough to give you shivers and the music works as an ignitor of feelings in the same way as in a gospel church.

Even though the movie is more about Ali himself than his achievements in the ring, we will not follow him for more than about ten years and (unfortunately) there is nothing about the beginning of his career or what happened afterwards (maybe just as well).

The acting is absolutely first class, Will Smith is phenomenal, which shows that a good director like Mann (remember Heat, the movie that among other things contains the best robbery scene of all movies, except The Long Riders) can bring out hidden talent. Of Course Jon Voight is very good, but he is always good even if the movie is not (Anaconda) and when the movie is good (i.e. Runaway Train) he is remarkable.

I would have preferred an even longer movie with more boxing and maybe a little shorter scenes from Zaire prior to the Rumble in the Jungle, except the scene where Ali is moved by the support from the common people in the street of Zaire, which I found emotional and important for the movie.

I was disappointed that we didn't get too see the whole match against Joe Frazier and nothing of what happened in the rings after Zaire. I also think that it would have been beneficial for the excitement if Mann had chosen to show us how Foreman crushed his opponents prior to the Ali fight.

My rating is a weak 8 / 10. Younger people and those who only want action will be disappointed. Otherwise I think Ali can interest the mature viewer even if he/she is not a boxing enthusiast.

Will Smith portrayed Ali almost perfectly! And I believe he deserves and Oscar or at the most a nomination. However, the story even though at times had its movements, but was most of the time was just lame and ordinary. I think this is an just above average movie.

The acting makes the movie. Some scenes were too long and meaningless. The movie tried to be a documentary. I would like the Olympic Gold Medal at least mentioned in the movie. Will Smith,Jon Voight and Mario Van Peeples were excellent playing people familiar to most of us. The fight sequences were well staged.

first off....too long. Period. 40 minutes should be taken off to bring it in at an even 2 hours. As pragmatic a person (and star) as Ali was...the ongoing saga of his life between the years 1964 to 1974..often left me bored, waiting for and wanting some adrenalin to set in. It just couldn't hold my interest throughout...which is why I thought it would be more entertaining if it was 2 hours long and not 2 hr. 40 minutes. That being said..I thought Will Smith did a good job in the role, although at times I found it hard to imagine him on screen, as the character he was portraying.

Jon Voight is superb as Howard Cosell...absolutely terrific. The movie, overall, was worth seeing, and entertaining. It dragged too much; during the middle some scenes were far too drawn out. Also, it was amusing to see pay phones in the 1960's scenes that were far too modern...they had the 1980/1990 aluminum and electric blue casings...a little goof, I believe.

It's a shame. Will Smith finally gets a chance to show us his acting chops, rather impressively I might add, but his performance is diluted by a lackluster script and shoddy direction. Michael Mann has the ability and talent to create engrossing films. His last two directorial outings ("Heat", "The Insider") are both perfect examples of how focused and intriguing his work can be. However, he completely missed the boat on this one. Perhaps "Ali" was too great of a task for him, or maybe the studio was leaning on him to hurry up and finish the picture. Who knows? But "Ali" plays like a film that was hastily put together. Any person who doesn't know Muhammad Ali will surely walk out of this picture still wondering who the man truly was. The fight scenes were decent enough, although I have yet to see fight scenes as beautifully brutal as that of "Raging Bull". The supporting characters were hit and miss. Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight were excellent choices as Drew 'Bundini' Brown and Howard Cosell. Mario Van Peebles and Albert Hall as Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad didn't seem quite right. The relationship between Ali and Malcolm X seemed disjointed. How did they meet? What truly drew Ali to the Nation of Islam? Why was so much attention given to Malcolm X away from Muhammad Ali? For a while I began to think that I was watching a watered down version of Spike Lee's excellent biopic.

The most distracting part of this film is Mann's constant use of what seemed like musical interludes. We go from music to dialogue to music back to dialogue. I never felt like I could sit back and actually watch the characters interact because at any moment we would be drawn into another mini-music video. Ali was rhythmic enough with his moves inside the ring and his mouth outside of it. He didn't need the help of a sixties soundtrack. Music can often make or break a movie. The overall film suffers because time that should have been used to illuminate a man was instead used to bore the viewer with a variety of overlong musical vignettes.

I give the movie a 6 out of 10. Hurray for Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight. Better luck next time for the Music Mann.

Will Smith was not up to it yet. Jon Voight was terrific as Cosell. Ron Silver was the perfect Dundee but they didn't let him speak till the final sequence on the "Rumble in the Jungle". And Levar Burton in a single silent frame as MLK, what was that?

In another stroke of good luck this past week, I was on my way to a movie that I didn't really want to see when I got handed a pass to a sneak preview for a movie I was looking forward to -- Michael Mann's Ali, starring Will Smith.

It is clear that Smith worked hard for this role -- he trained for six months to become a boxer, not just to look like one. He has the trademark Ali mannerisms, often times sounding just like him, and occasionally even looking like him. It's too bad that it turns out Ali just wasn't that interesting a guy. The performance itself was impressive, but the overall experience really wasn't that good.

I usually enjoy Mann's directing style, I like the slow-paced detailed storytelling he did in The Insider, but it just didn't work in Ali. In three hours, I felt like I really didn't know much more about the man than I did going in, and that's not a whole lot of information. Either Mann didn't manage to delve inside Ali's "head" or there just wasn't that much to say about his motivations.

They seem to gloss over some of the most defining moments of Ali's life, like his involvement with Malcolm X, but then spend torturous amounts of time delving into the most insignificant events that really don't lend you any insight. I really wanted to like this movie, I remember growing up watching Ali on TV, and vaguely remember the controversy around him, I hoped Mann would really blow the cover off the stories and myths, but this time around, he fails to land the knockout punch.