Heavyweight man thin in forgettable 'Ali'
Julien R. Fielding
"I had to find a story I wanted to tell," director Michael Mann recently said of "Ali."
"On one level, the story is simple: A man wins the heavyweight championship; his title is unfairly taken from him. He struggles to overturn his conviction, and he begins a quest to regain his crown. However, he discovers that time has taken its toll and robbed him of his prowess."
Not so much a biopic of the heavyweight fighter as a reflection of the times, "Ali" reveals to us a determined man who did things his own way, despite opposition on all sides, including the government who took away his boxing license, the Nation of Islam who tried to prevent him from worshiping and a white culture that denied him respect.
The film begins in 1964, with Ali (Will Smith) fighting Sonny Liston (Michael Bentt) and ends in 1974 in Zaire with the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Ali and George Forman (Charles Shufford.)
"Ali" takes place during a time of intense social and political unrest, including the civil rights movement and Vietnam war, and Mann selects his material because he aspires to social comment.
Good intentions can't rouse an audience's interest, though, and Mann falls short of his task.
First of all, Ali didn't solve world hunger, create an important vaccine, compose soaring music or do much to change the world. He was an exceptionally gifted boxer with lightning fast reflexes but did little else.
When I first learned a movie was being made about Muhammad Ali, I was shocked.
Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Dubois and Hurricane Carter are men worthy of two- to three-hour films.
Not Ali.
(For years director Spike Lee has been enlightening us on race relations, culminating in "Malcolm X," a film that accomplished nine years ago what Mann attempts now.)
Secondly, we never learn much about Ali; what makes him tick. Rather than begin at the beginning, we start in the middle of his life - watch him box, fall in love, sire some children, have affairs, fight some more, then win back his title.
Where is the man in all this? And why should we care?
Smith has been getting rave reviews for his portrayal of the boxing legend, and he deserves commendation. He does an exceptional impression of Ali's speech patterns and animated delivery. He also trained and bulked up for the role, going from 185 pounds to 220.
It's impressive to watch him jump rope, dance around and pummel the punching bag, but somehow, for those of us who couldn't care less about sports, that's not enough.
While watching the film, I kept wondering how much of this was mimicry and how much was true, fleshed-out emotion.
Does his portrayal really give us a deep understanding of a man struggling against the odds?
This truly is Smith's finest hour, but if you look over his resume you'll see that isn't much of an accomplishment. Not that his films are bad. I'm partial to many of them, but for the most part we like Will Smith because he plays himself.
Who's the more impressive actor in "Ali" is Jon Voight. Almost unrecognizable beneath a pepper-colored, floppy hairstyle and heavy makeup, his Howard Cosell will make you believe the old man has come back from the grave. His scenes with Smith make the film bearable.
Voight has had an uneven career. He started out well enough with acclaimed performances in "Midnight Cowboy" and "Deliverance." Then in the 1980s, he fell into obscurity.
It might have been the antics of his daughter, Angelina Jolie, that pulled him from the pit. With five movies and three television project released this year alone, Voight's career has never been hotter. His Cosell and Franklin D. Roosevelt in "Pearl Harbor" could have him seeing double Oscar glory.
Other fine performances come from Jamie Foxx, who plays Drew Brown; and Mykelti Williamson, who plays Don King.
But while Mario Van Peebles tries his best to become Malcolm X, he was defeated before he even got started. Anyone who saw Denzel Washington portray the black leader will blanch at Pebble's attempt. Washington was so believable that whenever I see a photo of the black leader, it takes my mind a second to figure out which man I'm looking at.
The script for "Ali" suffers from too many writers.
It took one, Gregory Allen Howard, to write the story and four - Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth and Mann - to piece together a screenplay. Where one writer might have made it cohesive and focused, five make it more a hodge-podge highlight of the best moments.
So, we get the fight highlights and the best of Ali's quicksilver comebacks, reminding us how sharp this guy was. But little else.
(It will be interesting to see how the Nation of Islam and Don King react to this film that largely makes both look like thieving, idiots.) Furthermore, those unfamiliar with this time period will have a difficult time following events, because, for some reason, Mann forgoes putting the date and city at the bottom of the screen.
Considering "Ali" spans 10 years, six cities, four states and three countries, that's a grave oversight.
To the film's credit, it is masterfully filmed, thanks to Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and Mann ("The Insider," "Manhunter") who create some praiseworthy shots. Your ecstacy might be eclipsed, though, if you watch Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull." Filmed 21 years, that film demonstrates what pure lyricism is all about.
For all the film's pluses, though, there are about 100 minuses. This is not the great film Mann wanted it to be.
Sports enthusiasts will flock to "Ali." Those who aren't such enthusiasts should forgo it.
Heavyweight man thin in forgettable 'Ali' was originally published in Daily Nonpareil on 27 December, 2001. © Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil LLC
