| Written by John Shea,
on 26-10-2001 08:00
|
Published in : Reviews, Movies |
 
Boxing is a unique sport. It focuses on two men hitting each other, an activity that if held outside of ring would land said men in jail. Many decry it as barbaric and yet there is something strangely beautiful about a fight between two highly skilled boxers. It is a sport that seems to be run almost entirely by people that seem to belong in jail and yet never end up there. It is a sport that only really rises to prominence when it contains someone who has that rare combination of skill, talent and charisma. Skill and talent can make a proficient fighter but it is the charisma that elevates that boxer to another level. Muhammad Ali was quite possibly the most perfect combination of those elements that we have ever seen. He was a talented fighter but also a man who drew people to him through an excess of personality. To portray this man on film in a way befitting his amazing life and career is a seriously daunting task. It would be wonderful to say that this film had succeeded. Unfortunately this is not the case. Ali is a film that seems to be about someone else. It follows events in the life of Ali but in such a way as to make it not feel like the legendary fighter. The film is slow and lacking in any real energy for the most part. It drifts through a ten year chunk of his life in such a way as to give the viewer no real feeling of the passage of time. It's nearly impossible to tell if events happen in back to back days, or weeks, or even years. That's not to say that there is nothing good about the film. The fight scenes are beautifully shot and give a real feel for what it is like to be a part of the fight. Great love has been lavished on these scenes. They give an excellent idea of the mechanics of boxing. Instead of ridiculous slug fests like the Rocky movies, we get to see the strategy, the defense, the inner workings of the sport. Watching the credits I noticed that Angelo Dundee served as a consultant on these scenes. Good choice, since he also served as Ali's trainer in the time period covered by the film. Also worthy of praise is Will Smith. He does a spectacular job of portraying Ali. He has all the mannerisms, the speech patterns, the movements, everything perfectly in place. It was very easy to forget that it is Smith we are watching and not a young Ali. Particularly impressive is the amount of work that was necessary to bulk up the generally skinny Smith to the size of a heavyweight boxer. He wears the larger frame well and never seems unconvincing. The film doesn't give him much to connect with emotionally except for the scenes between Ali and sportscaster Howard Cosell (Jon Voight). The two actors have a nice chemistry that captures the odd friendship between Ali and Cosell. Unfortunately the movie is incapable of duplicating Smith's ability to capture the spark and energy that makes Ali such a fascinating figure. Instead we're given an oddly understated movie that seems completely inappropriate for this story. Major figures and events drift in and out of his life. The film spends a lot of time on Malcolm X but exactly why is a mystery. If you don't already have a solid understanding of the period this section will be even more mystifying. Ali's wives appear and disappear with little regard to their importance in the story. But the most grievous mistake is the film's sluggish pace. Scenes of little importance to the story just go on and on and on. The film is over two and a half hours long and could have easily been trimmed to under two hours without dropping anything of importance. The odd pacing and lack of feel for time robs many of the big fights of their drama. We have almost no idea that Ali wasn't supposed to be able to beat Sonny Liston. We get little feel for the importance of Ali-Frasier I. This film is an odd miscalculation. While Smith does a great job of portraying the champ, director Michael Mann seems to have been working on a movie about some other person. It simply seems completely out of step with the man. Little light is shed on his life. We know Ali no better after leaving the film than entering it. Personally I need more than a good acting performance to justify the use of nearly three hours of my time. This film doesn't provide it. - John Shea
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