Ali Review by Ash (3 Stars)

Ali Review by Ash (3 Stars) | MatchFlick

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Movie Details

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Directed By
Michael Mann

Written By:
Michael Mann, Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth

Cast:
Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Bruce McGill, Barry Henley, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Mason, LeVar Burton, Albert Hall, David Cubitt, Ted Levine, David Elliott, Malick Bowens, Victoria Dillard, Kim Robillard, Gailard Sartain, Michael Dorn, Michael Bentt, Nona Gaye

Ali (2001)

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Movie Review by Ash
October 25th, 2006

Great filmmaking meets poor screenwriting.

Michael Mann has got to be one of the best and also one of the most overlooked directors in Hollywood. I'm a big fan of his work and will see any film on the sole basis of seeing his name in the credits [as director], but when I mention to most people about my excitement of a new movie coming out by Michael Mann all I generally receive are puzzled looks.

Mann's last two films, Heat and The Insider, rank among my favorite films of all time so naturally I was more than excited to see his latest film, Ali. This film has all the magic of Mann's visionary directing as well his amazing ability to get the most out of any actor. Will Smith (who I think is a horrible actor) gives a surprising good performance and who would have thought Jon Voight and Howard Cosell were in fact the same person? Unfortunately there isn't much of a story to make all the pieces worth putting together.

As a biopic I don't expect to find the traditional set-up/conflict/climax method of storytelling, but neither do I expect to see the complete lack of cohesion this film seems to have. This film jumps to different points throughout many of the famous parts of Ali's life seemingly without rhyme or reason.

The film is an interesting look into the life of a very interesting individual, and Mann's directing along with wonderful performances from all the film's actor are enough to take away the pain of the poor screenplay. Ali is not a bad film at all, but you can't help thinking about how good this film should have been.

Review originally written: 1/19/02

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