Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Will Smith has now firmly established his dramatic credentials, but if you remember he was a bit of an odd pick for a Michael Mann's prestige biopic of Muhammad Ali back in the early aughts.
I enjoyed the movie at the time and thought Smith did justice to the Champ, but I haven't revisited it recently. If you're like me, Sony's giving you the chance to correct that by doing a limited re-release of ALI this weekend in hundreds of theaters across the US.
Is it a little bit of a cash-in on Ali's death? Yeah, it is, but it's also a tribute to the man and his legacy. I'm less cynical about this release than some, maybe, but I'm also a huge fan of the re-release model and wish the studios would take advantage of their libraries a little bit more than they do. Fathom Events have given limited re-releases a bad name with their sub-par presentations, but there's still nothing like taking the kids or any loved one to see a great older movie in a dark theater. That experience (if at a respectable theater that enforces no talking/texting rules) will always beat the living room.
Anyway, check your local listings if you want to remember The Champ's story this weekend.
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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