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Title: Ali (2001)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Will Smith | ... | Cassius Clay / Cassius X / Muhammad Ali | |
| Jamie Foxx | ... | Drew 'Bundini' Brown | |
| Jon Voight | ... | Howard Cosell | |
| Mario Van Peebles | ... | Malcolm X | |
| Ron Silver | ... | Angelo Dundee | |
| Jeffrey Wright | ... | Howard Bingham | |
| Mykelti Williamson | ... | Don King | |
| Jada Pinkett Smith | ... | Sonji Roi | |
| Nona Gaye | ... | Belinda Ali | |
| Michael Michele | ... | Veronica Porche | |
| Joe Morton | ... | Chauncey Eskridge | |
| Paul Rodriguez | ... | Dr. Ferdie Pacheco | |
| Bruce McGill | ... | Bradley | |
| Barry Shabaka Henley | ... | Jabir Herbert Muhammad | |
| Giancarlo Esposito | ... | Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. | |
In 1964, a brash new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes on to the scene, Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self confidence with his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. To his credit, he sets out to prove that with his highly agile and forceful style soon making him a formidable boxer who soon claims the heavyweight championship. His personal life is no less noteworthy with his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, his friendship with the controversial Malcolm X and his abandonment of his slave name in favor of Muhammad Ali stirring up controversy. Yet, at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test with the military draft rules are changed, making him eligible for military induction during the Vietnam War. Despite the fact that he could easily agree to a sweetheart deal that would have meant an easy tour of ... Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
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Michael Mann is a very hit-and-miss director for me. His movies either blow me out of the water ("The Insider," "Heat"), or they leave me cold ("Miami Vice," "Public Enemies"). Unfortunately, "Ali" belongs to the latter category.
Mann's filmmaking is always very assured, so when his movies miss, I'm never exactly sure why. There's just something boring about "Ali." It tells Muhammad Ali's story, and it does so with what could be mistaken for passion, but it just felt rote and lifeless to me, and far too long.
Will Smith and Jon Voight were honored with Academy Award nominations for playing Ali and Howard Cosell, respectively, but clearly I'm not the only one to be underwhelmed by the film, as it bombed with audiences and couldn't even crack 7.0 here at IMDb.
Grade: B-