Michael Mann
Alì

As my father, a lover of soccer and boxing, used to say: “Soccer is a gentleman's sport almost always played by boors. Boxing is a boor's sport almost always practiced by gentlemen”.

Making a film about a gentleman, often quite boorish, like Mohammed Ali was a splendid idea by Mann. If I look at the idea, I must applaud; if I look at the result, I have to say that I expected more. What is there is excellent. The flaw in the film is (everything) what is missing.

Firstly, Will Smith, although very good, measured, and never annoying, fails to truly capture the mix of workaholism, flamboyance, and seriousness, cruelty and sweetness of soul, which were typical of Ali.

No emphasis on the intense training sessions (more famous than his matches and dances in the ring) to which Cassius Clay subjected himself, 7 hours a day every day. It was a real manic passion for boxing. Nonetheless, the training scene at the beginning is beautiful, where Will Smith hits the speed bag well and jumps rope excellently, which was Mohammed Ali's secret to dance that way.

I really expected more from the fight with Sonny Liston. Beautiful music, great work with the cameras, but little to do with the actual match, a masterpiece of patience, where Ali, punch after punch, slowly earned the victory against someone stronger than him and whom he feared (the latter well represented). The story of the substance put in the eyes is well told.

Will Smith is good on the ring, but I expected more here too. He moves the legs and leaves the body still. I read that Smith trained for a year (several hours a day) to best imitate Clay. He could have done better.

Little emphasis on the technique of the “low guard” that Ali used to force his opponent to expose themselves, to then hit them at supersonic speed once a “hole was found”. The blows Cassius Clay took to the head due to this insane “uncovered” technique were countless, and they are at the origin of Parkinson's disease that struck him in the early 80s. One cannot neglect a topic like this.

This film is a historical film, and even if it feels didactic and it is not “cool” to put the dates in overlay, they are essential. What leaves one incredulous is the fact that the date of the match with Sonny Liston is put at the beginning; the date of Malcom X's death (one of the central events of the 60s) is not.

Almost completely absent are the masterpieces accomplished in the ring from 1964 to 1967. Not even some archival footage to relive the years of triumph.

The description of the dark period (from 1967 to 1970), when he was banned from boxing, is good. However, it almost seems that Mann wants to get through it in a few scenes to quickly get to the comeback.

The end of the 60s is represented only in a few scenes – like the one with the burning cars. No memory – with some historical footage – of Bob Kennedy's death, Nixon's election, the Vietnam War, the protests against this war, and all other important events that would have told us where we were. It's impossible to think Cassius Clay remained indifferent to these events, which are too important to bypass.

Absurd is the absence of the match with Joe Frazier (March 8, 1971), one of the most beautiful matches in boxing history. 15 rounds where Clay managed not to go KO against the world champion, after 3 years without real training. Mann barely mentions it and makes it seem like a defeat for Ali, while in fact it was a victory. That match was a miracle of endurance: another boxer, with three years of inactivity against the world champion, would have ended on the mat in three rounds. It's clear that Mann wants to quickly get to Foreman.

Excellent, at some points, is the account of the fight with Foreman, but really too "romanticized". The reality is very different. Everyone with a little knowledge of boxing history knows that fight was rigged - even though Ali took real punches. The ropes were loosened; that's the only reason Clay survived Foreman's blows. With tight ropes, Foreman, with his punch that almost broke the bags, would have reduced Ali's bones to smithereens. Furthermore, the referee only counted to 7 (Cf. YOUTUBE). Here there's a mystification of reality. A great director cannot do this. Celebratory and apologetic films should be left to the mediocre.

It's a shame not to conclude with Clay's last real triumph, his clean triumph: the Manila fight with Joe Frazier in 1975. The last rounds are one of the most astonishing things ever seen. The two couldn't take it anymore, they were destroyed. They held each other up (literally). In the end, Clay decided to throw in the towel, but a moment before Frazier retired (cf. YOUTUBE). Both said they were a step away from death. They urinated blood for several weeks after the match.

To conclude, the character covered is so important (perhaps the greatest athlete of the 20th century along with Pelé), and his story is so rich and controversial, that two films were needed, and greater preparation (both of Mann and Smith), to create something truly complete and memorable. There's really too much superficiality.