Review of One Night in Miami... (2020) by Mattbrady99 — 13 Feb 2021

“This is one strange f**king night.”.

‘One Night in Miami’ is exactly what the title suggests; the movie is about one night, one night only, where four icons: Malcolm X, Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, and Sam Cooke meet up at a motel room for a fictionalized meeting. Could you imagine what that would be like? Well, here you go.

We see them hanging out at this motel, sharing laughter, and fooling around, taking the time to breath in that chilly night air on the roof top, a little break from their eventful lives. However, they debate on each other’s characteristics, as they all discuss the pros and cons of each other. All points are equal and made for an interesting conversation.

An impressive direct debut from Regina King, who already being an actor herself knows how to get great performances from these actors. While not visually striking, but the way the movie manages to re-create a couple of legendary shots like Muhammad Ali’s underwater training are the best kind of tribute to them.

This is very much an “actors movie” because they all take certain stage and deliver superb performances. Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Eli Goree as Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), and Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown were all equally fantastic as these recognisable figures of history. Particularly Leslie Odam Jr. as Sam Cooke, who also did an amazing job of singing/performing.

I can easily see this turning into a stage production in the late future. There's theatrical potential here.