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Saw this on Friday.
It's ok in parts.
Will Smith surprised me a lot, he's really good as Ali. He's toned down his schtick and pulls it off pretty well. Physically he's not that much like him, but his mannerisms and speech patterns are spot on.
The fight scenes are awesome, Michael Mann proving yet again he's a total master of the medium. You get the impression of being in the ring, confusion, fists and cheering - very well potrayed.
The problem I had with it is it said nothing about Ali as a person.
There was no motivation for why he became a boxer (he learned to box when his bike was stolen, so he wouldn't ever lose something again to a bigger boy), no explanation for why he joined the Nation of Islam, nothing made of him refusing to fight in Vietnam or anything else that might offer an insight to Ali as a person.
Factually it was accurate, but there was just a big hole where Ali should have been.
They didn't mention Ali winning gold in the Olympics and then, because he was refused service in a whites-only diner, throwing his medal in the river.
I'm not saying it's a bad film,I enjoyed it a lot, but it could have been so much more if they had shown what Ali was like as person.
A couple of instances where I felt they started to explore his emotions and feelings (arguing with his wife about the expectations of The Nation of Islam etc), but on the whole it was nothing much more than "Here is Ali in a fight. Here is Ali on television talking about the next fight. Here is Ali in the next fight"...an infomercial more than an exploration of a man and what makes him tick.
Ghandi is an excellent biopic, it shows why a man chooses a path and the outcomes of his life.
Ali didn't do that.
It was well-made and Smith acted extremely well, but it felt empty really, no meat to enjoy.
If you like Ali then it's worth watching, if you want to know what Ali was like as a person and what made him special,go watch "When We Were Kings"
I think the fact you get more of an idea of just why Ali is so revered these days in a 90 min documentary about 1 fight than you do in a 2hr+ movie sums it up.
Not a bad film at all, just nowhere near what it could have been.
It's ok in parts.
Will Smith surprised me a lot, he's really good as Ali. He's toned down his schtick and pulls it off pretty well. Physically he's not that much like him, but his mannerisms and speech patterns are spot on.
The fight scenes are awesome, Michael Mann proving yet again he's a total master of the medium. You get the impression of being in the ring, confusion, fists and cheering - very well potrayed.
The problem I had with it is it said nothing about Ali as a person.
There was no motivation for why he became a boxer (he learned to box when his bike was stolen, so he wouldn't ever lose something again to a bigger boy), no explanation for why he joined the Nation of Islam, nothing made of him refusing to fight in Vietnam or anything else that might offer an insight to Ali as a person.
Factually it was accurate, but there was just a big hole where Ali should have been.
They didn't mention Ali winning gold in the Olympics and then, because he was refused service in a whites-only diner, throwing his medal in the river.
I'm not saying it's a bad film,I enjoyed it a lot, but it could have been so much more if they had shown what Ali was like as person.
A couple of instances where I felt they started to explore his emotions and feelings (arguing with his wife about the expectations of The Nation of Islam etc), but on the whole it was nothing much more than "Here is Ali in a fight. Here is Ali on television talking about the next fight. Here is Ali in the next fight"...an infomercial more than an exploration of a man and what makes him tick.
Ghandi is an excellent biopic, it shows why a man chooses a path and the outcomes of his life.
Ali didn't do that.
It was well-made and Smith acted extremely well, but it felt empty really, no meat to enjoy.
If you like Ali then it's worth watching, if you want to know what Ali was like as a person and what made him special,go watch "When We Were Kings"
I think the fact you get more of an idea of just why Ali is so revered these days in a 90 min documentary about 1 fight than you do in a 2hr+ movie sums it up.
Not a bad film at all, just nowhere near what it could have been.
Yeah, I felt pretty much the same. It was one of those films where you know 'this is a really good film'm but you just can't be bothered to enjoy it properly. Smith was excellent (it's the hair, that's what does it) and it was superbly shot, but at the end, I thought 'What exactly has that taught me about the man himself?' Answer: Pretty much nothing that I already knew. He was a great boxer, a clever, literate man and a troubled man, but I knew all this already.
And it was too long. And I knew he'd win the fight at the end. And his wife was in it.
And it was too long. And I knew he'd win the fight at the end. And his wife was in it.
I think I'll go see A Beautfiul Mind instead then. Damn, I was expecting good things from this film. For Will Smith to get nominated Best Actor it had to be amazing. Ah well, never mind.
Jersey Girl in a year :-)
Jersey Girl in a year :-)
I think Ali had to okay the film before it could be released, or so I heard, meaning that many of the more dubious areas of his life were missed out. Perhaps this had the knock on effect of reducing the other aspects of Ali himself.
Then again, maybe it was just time constrictions; after all 2 hours is still a fairly long film and if it did go into any further detail, maybe these scenes were just cut to focus on the box-office-smash fight scenes. Perhaps we'll just have to wait until the DVD to find out.
It does still sound good though. As Raging Bull seems to be the benchmark for boxing films, how did Ali square up to it?
Then again, maybe it was just time constrictions; after all 2 hours is still a fairly long film and if it did go into any further detail, maybe these scenes were just cut to focus on the box-office-smash fight scenes. Perhaps we'll just have to wait until the DVD to find out.
It does still sound good though. As Raging Bull seems to be the benchmark for boxing films, how did Ali square up to it?
I agree with Goatboy, not enough about the man Ali.
In interviews I've read it seems it has been a problem to decide which years of his life to show, as the whole Ali story just couldn't be condensed into a reasonable length movie.
Still, I'd like to have seen how he got to join the Nation of Islam. Just throwing us in there wasn't good enough, I wanted to know why.
Maybe starting with his triumph in the olympics would have been better?
Still, it was a very enjoyable movie, and Smith was really, really impressive in it, given his usual standard of acting!
In interviews I've read it seems it has been a problem to decide which years of his life to show, as the whole Ali story just couldn't be condensed into a reasonable length movie.
Still, I'd like to have seen how he got to join the Nation of Islam. Just throwing us in there wasn't good enough, I wanted to know why.
Maybe starting with his triumph in the olympics would have been better?
Still, it was a very enjoyable movie, and Smith was really, really impressive in it, given his usual standard of acting!
Its a 15 isnt it?
I have been waiting for it for a while, in finally comes out and my local cinema dont have it showing. They better get it this weekend, I want to see it.
I have been waiting for it for a while, in finally comes out and my local cinema dont have it showing. They better get it this weekend, I want to see it.
CDouch wrote:
> What what you give it out of 10?
er....7 1/2
Not a bad film at all, just not as it could have been
> What what you give it out of 10?
er....7 1/2
Not a bad film at all, just not as it could have been
So the film is 2 hours long yeah.
Damn i was downloading it and it said it was only one and half hours long.
Well better start looking for someone else who has ali online
Damn i was downloading it and it said it was only one and half hours long.
Well better start looking for someone else who has ali online
What what you give it out of 10?
Saw this on Friday.
It's ok in parts.
Will Smith surprised me a lot, he's really good as Ali. He's toned down his schtick and pulls it off pretty well. Physically he's not that much like him, but his mannerisms and speech patterns are spot on.
The fight scenes are awesome, Michael Mann proving yet again he's a total master of the medium. You get the impression of being in the ring, confusion, fists and cheering - very well potrayed.
The problem I had with it is it said nothing about Ali as a person.
There was no motivation for why he became a boxer (he learned to box when his bike was stolen, so he wouldn't ever lose something again to a bigger boy), no explanation for why he joined the Nation of Islam, nothing made of him refusing to fight in Vietnam or anything else that might offer an insight to Ali as a person.
Factually it was accurate, but there was just a big hole where Ali should have been.
They didn't mention Ali winning gold in the Olympics and then, because he was refused service in a whites-only diner, throwing his medal in the river.
I'm not saying it's a bad film,I enjoyed it a lot, but it could have been so much more if they had shown what Ali was like as person.
A couple of instances where I felt they started to explore his emotions and feelings (arguing with his wife about the expectations of The Nation of Islam etc), but on the whole it was nothing much more than "Here is Ali in a fight. Here is Ali on television talking about the next fight. Here is Ali in the next fight"...an infomercial more than an exploration of a man and what makes him tick.
Ghandi is an excellent biopic, it shows why a man chooses a path and the outcomes of his life.
Ali didn't do that.
It was well-made and Smith acted extremely well, but it felt empty really, no meat to enjoy.
If you like Ali then it's worth watching, if you want to know what Ali was like as a person and what made him special,go watch "When We Were Kings"
I think the fact you get more of an idea of just why Ali is so revered these days in a 90 min documentary about 1 fight than you do in a 2hr+ movie sums it up.
Not a bad film at all, just nowhere near what it could have been.
It's ok in parts.
Will Smith surprised me a lot, he's really good as Ali. He's toned down his schtick and pulls it off pretty well. Physically he's not that much like him, but his mannerisms and speech patterns are spot on.
The fight scenes are awesome, Michael Mann proving yet again he's a total master of the medium. You get the impression of being in the ring, confusion, fists and cheering - very well potrayed.
The problem I had with it is it said nothing about Ali as a person.
There was no motivation for why he became a boxer (he learned to box when his bike was stolen, so he wouldn't ever lose something again to a bigger boy), no explanation for why he joined the Nation of Islam, nothing made of him refusing to fight in Vietnam or anything else that might offer an insight to Ali as a person.
Factually it was accurate, but there was just a big hole where Ali should have been.
They didn't mention Ali winning gold in the Olympics and then, because he was refused service in a whites-only diner, throwing his medal in the river.
I'm not saying it's a bad film,I enjoyed it a lot, but it could have been so much more if they had shown what Ali was like as person.
A couple of instances where I felt they started to explore his emotions and feelings (arguing with his wife about the expectations of The Nation of Islam etc), but on the whole it was nothing much more than "Here is Ali in a fight. Here is Ali on television talking about the next fight. Here is Ali in the next fight"...an infomercial more than an exploration of a man and what makes him tick.
Ghandi is an excellent biopic, it shows why a man chooses a path and the outcomes of his life.
Ali didn't do that.
It was well-made and Smith acted extremely well, but it felt empty really, no meat to enjoy.
If you like Ali then it's worth watching, if you want to know what Ali was like as a person and what made him special,go watch "When We Were Kings"
I think the fact you get more of an idea of just why Ali is so revered these days in a 90 min documentary about 1 fight than you do in a 2hr+ movie sums it up.
Not a bad film at all, just nowhere near what it could have been.