Any film on Muhammad Ali is going to be entertaining. But when you have such a magnificent subject to profile and you make a film that's this shallow, well, you are doing him a disservice. This documentary misses the point on so many levels, it's just not very good. Ali was a showman of superb talent but the filmmakers here just don't get it. They deliberately portray his clowning as sincere when most of it was just a way to sell tickets and any adult could see it then and can certainly see it now. Why? How would it hurt his legacy to admit that he hyped his fights by putting on an act? There's no danger that anyone will assume that the fights were "acts" too. Ali was a great athlete trapped in a gruesome and evil game. He and Joe Frazier were not such great enemies. Why should they have been? They were great competitors. Can black men make the ultimate sacrifice for honor alone-- or is that reserved for lighter skinned people while the "darker" ones are always assumed to be fighting from rage or instinct. This film gets away with a lot because it addresses "hot" topics like race and religion. But the filmmakers need to go back to school and learn what "hot" topics really are. Ali triumphed despite boxing, not because of it. Now THAT would make a good film!
Review of Muhammad Ali
