Hey folks, Harry here. InkyMae has an interesting conspiracy theory about why he feels ALI sucks and why all the word has been positive, however he could be missing the obvious... People have different opinions. Tis true. People are allowed to think differently from others. This is my theory...
Hey Harry,
Just got back from the world premiere of the Ali at Grauman's Chinese Theater and as tired as I am I wanted to send you my thoughts on the film if you are interested..........
Let me start by saying that I had extremely high hopes for this film. I think Michael Mann is a great director and made one of the best films of the past 5 years. (The Insider) and in my humble opinion it should have won the academy award over American Beauty. The Insider was a film that had balls. It was a smart film with great performances that took on big tobacco and the big corporate media. It reminded me of the type of films Hollywood made in its last golden era during the 70's. So when I had heard that Mann had been selected to do Ali, I thought great choice. He can make a movie that hits all the high and low points of Ali. The legend, the myth and most importantly the man. He tries but he never ever quite hits it.
The film opens with a kind of montage sequence of Ali training, flashbacks of his youth, and Sam Cooke singing.. Mann uses the montage to set up the kind of person Ali is without spending too much time on him growing up and becoming that person. Apparently he believed it would be more interesting to just jump into Ali when he really broke out which was when he had the surprise victory over Sonny Liston. That seems like a good idea...I'll be the first to admit that I am kind of bored with the typical biopic stuff, the obligatory short scenes of growing up, blah blah blah...but you know what? the reason those scenes have become obligatory is that they are necessary to understand the person we are watching.
The film doesnt just focus on Ali's fighting career. It touches on a lot of things in the champ's life. His choice to defy the draft board, his conversion to islam, his bizarre friendship with Howard Cosell, and his romantic relationships. and thats it. Do you think I am not going into detail? Well, that pretty much is the film too! It touches and jumps around on ALI's life but never focuses, never develops, I never know what year it is, or what direction Ali is going or why. There are so many things they dont address that are the things we want to know to understand Ali the person. It never addresses how Ali was introduced to islam or how he met Malcom X and understanding how someone makes a religious choice that dramatically changes his life seems kind of important to me. We never see the debates that are made about his choice to defy the draft board. After his initial court hearing, we only get updates from phone calls "ali, we are going to appeal" "i just heard, i'm free now" wtf????????? even his relationships are pretty much just little one off scenes that never develop.
Now I know what you are gonna say. How are the fight scenes? How's will smith? how's the cast? how can the film be bad after all that initial good buzz? well friends, I have the answers for you right here........
1) Fight scenes are good. not great. I'd rather watch Raging Bull to see the real brutality of a boxing match and if I just want to watch a fight to cheer on the good guy, I'd watch a rocky movie. What really dissappointed me was that the film doesnt even really go into detail about the significance of Ali's opponents. or just how much Ali was the underdog. I know he's fighting Sonny Liston.......but they dont talk really talk or hype up what an upset that fight really was...instead Ali pretty much just takes us into the fight and then its over. and then suddenly he's the champ. NO DRAMA. Also, the film never really deals with his sudden riches and fame which seems to me to be something that would need to be addressed.
2) Will Smith is good in the role. I think he pretty much looked the part and caught the essence of Ali in about 1/2 of the movie, the other half on the other hand, he felt more like he was just will smith. His performance is good but not oscar material. Jon Voigt is good as Howard Cosell although I think his make up just looks like ALOT of makeup. The best two performances for me came from Mario Van Peebles as Malcom X and especially from Ron Silver as Angelo Dundee. (sadly, neither of them have big parts) Silver in particular really embodies the character and you find yourself wishing he had more to do.
So the big question guys is HOW COME ALL THE GOOD BUZZ ON THE INTERNET IN THE PAST YET THIS GUY SAYS THE MOVIE SUCKS? Well, i was trying to figure this out myself and I have a theory boys and girls. This film comes from a little old studio called Sony pictures. It is their biggest film of the year and they are famous for creating a certain fake critic by the name of David Manning. So guess what.....all that good buzz you have been hearing? They are plants. that's my theory. Sony got nailed for David Manning so now they are doing their hype anonymously through the net.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS MOVIE PEOPLE. IT SUCKS. ONE OF THE BIGGEST DISSAPPOINTMENTS OF THE YEAR. JUST GO SEE LORD OF THE RINGS AGAIN.
sorry this is so rambling but I am tired and am sadly dissappointed.
from
The LEGEND OF INKYMAE
