Slant Magazine
Ali‘s narrative laxness comes at the fault of boxing time (a good one-third of the film’s three-hour time span is spent inside the ring). You say: But Mann knows how to direct a fight. But I say: So what?
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Ali
In an Academy Award-nominated role, Will Smith plays the one and only Muhammad Ali in this biopic on the legendary boxing great.
In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self-confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. Yet at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test.
Less2001Rating: R157 minsSouth Africa, USAColumbia Pictures, Initial Entertainment Group, Forward Pass, Moonlighting Films, Overbrook Entertainment, Peters Entertainment
DramaSportTrue Story & Biography
Ali | Reviews
68%156 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
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Roger Ebert
A long, flat, curiously muted film about the heavyweight champion. It lacks much of the flash, fire and humor of Muhammad Ali and is shot more in the tone of a eulogy than a celebration. There is little joy here.
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USA Today
Ali is no disgrace, but it's not much of a performer, especially considering that it is one of the few hyped year-end releases that coulda been a contender.
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Variety
Just about everything Mann has chosen to present is valid, substantial and convincing, but by the end, the feeling persists that while certain essences have been grasped, only part of the story has been told.
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Rolling Stone
Ali is a bruiser, unwieldy in length and ambition. But Mann and Smith deliver this powerhouse with the urgency of a champ's left hook.
Full reviewAli | Release Details
Ali is available to stream in New Zealand now on Netflix.