Review of Ali (2012) by Harry W — 02 May 2013

Ali is a complicated film to make, and at important times it doesn't delve deep into the importance of the drama presented to it and rather just lets it drift on the surface.

And for the first hour, Ali seems to lack proper plot dynamic explanation and structure, and so it really told me nothing about Ali except that he knew how to fight and had similar beliefs to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., but I already knew this, and the pacing took too long to tell me what I already knew.

So the pacing and level of drama is constantly unstable in Ali, and so it fails to do full justice to the life of Muhammad Ali and becomes cluttered at many occasions. But then again it's difficult for a film to truly capture the justice of Muhammed Ali's life, and all in all the time period of his life was covered fairly well despite a slow first hour.

Ali is magnificent after the first hour though, because once the drama intensifies and gains structure we witness the glory of Muhammad Ali through Will Smith's finest performance yet.

Will Smith is one of the last people anyone could expect to become the embodiment of Muhammed Ali, because to come from being The Fresh Prince of Bel Air to being The People's Champion is just a magnificent transition, even though there was other films along the way. Will Smith is just absolutely perfect in Muhammed Ali and gives a massive boost to director Michael Mann's credibility for being able to work with Will Smith to add the heart to the story that the plot dynamics were unable to. Will Smith's performance is just incredible and is the factor that makes Ali all too memorable, and it was so perfect it nearly had me in tears, and I'll never forget his delivery of the line "Say My Name, Motherf*cker!".

And who would have actually guesse the fact that Jon Voight was in Ali because underneath that flawless Howard Cosell look and performance is the same man who starred alongside Will Smith in Enemy of the State, and this time it's just unbelievable because with Will Smith as Muhammed Ali it's easy to identify because it's a mix of both of their looks, but the only thing Jon Voight brings to Howard Cosell's characterisation is an excellent performance that provides the nostalgia his character requires in a film that chronicles Muhammed Ali, and it just sets the time and mood right. These two actors gave nothing less than their best and deserved nominations for the highest honours for them, and with two Academy Award nominations its safe to say that they received it.

I also felt that Jamie Foxx, Mykelti Williamson, LeVar Burton and Mario Van Peebles all gave good performances in their roles as influential African-American figures, and so the story had great soul thanks to it's cast.

Michael Mann's direction did a fairly good job here, and it's notable in particular scenes such as the assassination of Malcolm X because he captures the true essence of the drama when the story takes a minute to focus on it, and so his effort into the story when it focuses on the social and political upheaval is great, but mainly it's when Will Smith doesn't steal the screen.

Also, The cinematography in Ali is just excellent, because it takes place from the view of a brief distance so it's like we're actually witnessing the events occur from a distance, and otherwise it's right up close and personal ensuring the message is getting punched into the brains of the viewer. The makeup and hairstyling is also excellent especially when applied to the look of Howard Cosell, and so it's a pity that neither of these received Academy Award nominations.

So Ali has a story worth telling that gets mixed up along the way, but the fact is that in this biopic, Will Smith IS Muhammed Ali and that's the main reason to see it.