Hey folks, Harry here and here's the latest look at Michael Mann's ALI!!! I've heard a lot of great word on the film, but the consistent nagging complaint I hear is that they didn't get to the heart of who ALI is... What makes him tick, that this film is basically a superficial examination of one of the great 20th Century Icons. That was also the complaint with Milos' MAN ON THE MOON with Jim Carrey... and that didn't stop my enjoyment of the film a teensy weensy bit. So without further ado, here ya go....
Hey Harry,
I caught a screening of ALI yesterday in New York City --thought you might be interested. Michael Mann was there and answered questions from the audience afterward. So here goes.
The film opens with a stunning montage sequence that takes us right up to where we should be with ALI. It intercuts Ali's training with a Sam Cooke concert. Then it immediately hits you and you are in the middle of the ring, just you and Ali, just you and Smith.
Okay, get ready for it, guys and girls. Michael Mann has created on of the most vivid looks at boxing ever. It's masterful and beautiful, terrifying and momentous all at once --the fight scenes are really what I loved most about the film. They are like poetry in motion, they really are, and also utterly consistent with the facts. You know those famous photos of Ali, standing over the body of another boxer, having just knocked him out? Well, they get that in here, but lead up to it so perfectly as well. It is things like that that make me really respect the hell out of the filmmakers.
So, yes, the fight scenes are staggering. But is Smith up to the job? As you've heard everywhere, yes, yes, YES. Just watch the Academy pull a Jim Carrey and unjustly leave Smith in the dust (I know there will be complaints of "it's not acting, it's imitation" like there were with Carrey's portrayal of Andy Kaufman)but he deserves a lot of kudos here. Hell, he went into training for a whole year to prepare for this role. That says something in itself. But forget the boxing -- this man is Ali. He channels him. Someone in the audience asked Michael Mann after the screening, "Was Will Smith born with Muhammed Ali's teeth?" There is something so specific about the way that Ali would talk -- he would talk differently to different people, even -- and all of the inflection is caught so well by Smith. Apart from Smith, there are great performances from everyone involved, especially Jon Voight as Howard Cosell as well as Jamie Foxx and Mario van Peebles.
Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors, and while he works with a different DP here, the look of the film is very comparable to THE INSIDER. The lighting and camera movements are able to capture something both in and out of the ring about the chaos of Ali's life and the moments he forged in time. He works bestin the midst of that fury, though, right there in the heat of the fight.
All in all, this film worked in every way it was meant to work for me. I didn't have a clue about Ali's life and I'm not a big boxing fan, but it got me sitting on the edge of my seat with excitement. I didn't go in expecting a huge character study, and it wasn't one. As I was watching, I became afraid the film would fall into the trap that MAN ON THE MOON fell into (although I still dug that one)-- that it would show so much of the public Ali and none of the private. But one scene assured me that wasn't the case: Ali, sitting in his car, reactingwith a single tear to the death of his friend Malcom X.
So, yeah, I liked it a whole lot, but I'm not sure if it stands as high as THE INSIDER. It deserves comparison to Mann's previous biographical tale, but they really are very different projects. ALI has a broad scope and feel to it, while THE INSIDER becomes a focused and intimate story by the end. I went with friends, and while they too loved it, we all felt it was a little unfocused (something that's difficult to do with biography in general). It was hard to get past the public Ali, but the film managed to do that. I think it did lack some of the emotional impact that THE INSIDER had, though.
Still, I had my ass kicked hard by this film. And that's all I was asking for.
By the way, Mann seems like an incredibly nice guy, really down to earth. Also, he mentioned in the interview that there would be thirty more minutes of ALI on the DVD than the release in theaters.
I'm Crash Davis
Next we have Nole, who managed to dodge any would be knock out punches that Michael Mann threw at him and came away being underwhelmed by the film... Here's his look
Hello Harry,
It's been a couple of years, but 'Nole' is back with a review of "Ali." I was able to attend a showing today at the Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan. An absolutely beautiful cinema palace, I don't know if you've ever seen a movie there, but if you haven't I recommend you go next time you're in NYC. Now, on to the movie.
Overall, it was a bit of a letdown. The film is ultimately floored by a combination of brutal shots to the celluloid body -- it's too long, and it doesn't tell enough of Ali's story. Writer-director Michael Mann is usually a master at digging down deep into the core of his characters' soul. However, in "Ali" he seems content to just explore Muhammad's public persona -- the boastful, boisterous icon whose charisma blanketed any room he entered -- instead of going deeper.
The beginning of the movie is amazing. A montage of music and motion, we are introduced to trainer Angelo Dundee (an unrecognizable Ron Silver), cornerman Carl Bundini (Jamie Foxx) and of course, Ali. Still known as Cassius Clay, we see him training for his shot at then-champion Sonny Liston. Sam Cooke is playing his heart out at a tiny nightclub, and Mann blends all these images into an absolutely perfect concoction that promises to lead to a supreme storytelling experience. Unfortunately, the rest of the picture never measures up to the promise of the beginning.
Part of the blame has to go to Will Smith. As talented as Mr. Smith is, and gosh knows he's a one-man multimedia empire, there are limits to that talent. This film puts a big, bright spotlight on those limitations. No matter how hard he tries, he can't help us see anything but the charming side of the champ, the side everyone has seen before. In some scenes, like one where Ali turns away his first wife (played by Smith's real-life spouse Jada Pinkett) because of pressure from the Nation of Islam, he almost lets us see why Ali rejects a woman he loves. Almost, but not quite. His inability to get the audience to the point of recognition is a constant thorn in the film's side.
To be perfectly blunt, Smith is too big a superstar for his own good. When he's cracking jokes at the expense of Liston or Joe Frazier, you can't get it out of your mind that you're watching the Fresh Prince, the star of Men In Black and Independence Day. It's simply too hard to forget you're watching this huge film star portray the most famous man on the planet. We know he's acting out the part, and when the part is Muhammad Ali, well, he just doesn't measure up.
On the other hand, Jon Voight does a complete transformation into Howard Cosell. From the superb makeup job to the pitch-perfect voice, Voight manages to bring back to life the most controversial sportscaster of all time. The scenes between Cosell and Ali captures the special relationship between the two lightning rods, including one that takes place during a press conference before the Rumble In the Jungle against George Foreman.
In front of a huge gathering of reporters, Cosell asks Ali if he really thinks he stands a chance against his larger, younger opponent. The discomfort on Cosell's face -- he was close friends with the champ, and here he was putting him on the spot in front of the huge media crowd -- is obvious. It's almost like he wants to apologize for asking the question, but then Ali disarms the situation with a quip. He let his friend off the hook, because he knew he was only doing his job.
Two big surprises are the performances by Mario Van Peebles as Malcom X and Jamie Foxx as Ali's troubled cornerman. Van Peebles' portrayal of the slain civil rights leader is a revelation. For the first time, you see Malcom X as an almost tragic figure, trapped by the politics of the civil rights movement.
Foxx whips out one-liners and follows up with soul-searing confessions, without taking a second breath. For a guy whose career hasn't called for a lot of range, he certainly answered the bell here. He also earns high marks for the mammoth bald spot and beer belly he carries through the film.
As for the fight scenes, they are remarkably authentic. Mann obviously did lots of research on Ali's fights, because he practically recreated them blow by blow. The moment when Ali stands over a downed Liston, perhaps the most famous image in boxing history? It's right there. Ali doing the rope-a-dope against a tiring, wheezing Foreman? Right there.
Using dizzying camera work, Mann gives you a ringside seat to the show Ali put on every time he stepped in the ring. The only thing missing is the sweat flying around. Give Smith a lot of credit for learning to look like a boxer. Unlike so many actors who play the role of an athlete, Smith looks like the real deal.
Where Mann falls short is in the story. The film focuses on the 10 years of Ali's life from the time he first became champ to the moment when he fights Foreman in Zaire. The key aspect of this time period is Ali's fight to not be drafted into the Vietnam War. But while the film makes this the centerpiece of the storyline, Mann doesn't spend enough time showing why Ali refused the draft. Instead of hearing about his anger at being asked to fight a war for a white government that sends him to the back of the bus, we find out about Ali's financial problems. He's broke, so he's got to get back in the ring.
The reasons why he fought the draft are the reasons why Ali is so revered today. He made a stand, he fought for what he believed in, consequences be damned. And it cost him the four best years of his boxing life. That is what's important, not how his decision hurt him financially.
Then there are the issues with the Nation of Islam. While the film hints that the Nation manipulated Ali and took advantage of his finances, Mann is careful not to make any direct accusations. That's a bit of a shock, considering this is the same guy who ripped the "60 Minutes" crew in "The Insider." When you factor in the very harsh (though completely warranted) treatment promoter Don King (played by Mykelti Williamson) gets, you simply have to wonder why the filmmaker took it easy on the Nation.
The bottom line is that despite a 2-hour, 30-minute running time, you just don't learn nearly enough about the man they called The Greatest. "Ali" is like a heavyweight title match: It just doesn't live up to the pre-fight hype.
Nole
