Review of Ali (2012) by Jp M — 28 Jul 2009

Rewatched this recently and it was a lot better than I recalled.

The first thing that struck me was how beautifully arranged the film is. It looks perfect and the opening 15 mins or so set the scene so well. The choice to focus on a particular portion of Ali's life was an interesting one and allows the events around the rumble to be explored in a bit more depth than I was expecting.

Castwise, the supporting players are on good form, I particularly liked Jeffrey Wright and Giancarlo Esposito. Phsyically, Will looks the part and his boxing scenes are pretty impressive to watch. He captures the spirit of Ali really well but I felt that he was trying too hard in places. Don't get me wrong, the guy is terrific and deserves a lot of praise but you can kinda sense his determination to become Ali rather than just do it... That is a minor quibble though and it doesn't ruin the experience at all.

Once again, Mann delivers an inteliigent and thoughtful film about the life of a truly fascinating guy.