Storyline
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.
Directors
Cast
Jamie Foxx, Mykelti Williamson, Donald Dowd, Michael Bentt, Jeffrey Wright, Jon Voight, Joe Morton, Barry Shabaka Henley, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Marc Grapey, Natalie Carter, Bruce McGill, Christian Stolte, Guy Van Swearingen, Nona Gaye, Ted Levine, Kim Coleman, Ron Madoff, Paul Rodríguez, Mario Van Peebles, David Haines, Alexandra Bokyun Chun, Ron Silver, Michael Michele, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Mason, LeVar Burton, Albert Hall, David Cubitt, Candy Ann Brown, Malick Bowens, Shari Watson, David Elliott, Rufus Dorsey, Brad Greenquist, Victoria Dillard, Morgana Van Peebles, Maya Van Peebles, Charles Shufford, Alfred Cole, James Toney, Maestro Harrell, Wade Williams, Kim Robillard, Gailard Sartain, William Utay, David Purdham, Eddie Bo Smith Jr., Doug Hale, LaDonna Tittle, Daniel Janks, John G. Connolly, Chico Benymon, Johnny Ortiz, Reginald Footman, Deborah Smith Ford
Trailer
Reviews
80
The New Yorker
Michael Mann is a fluent, evocative filmmaker, and the movie is well written, expertly staged, and beautifully edited. [24 & 31 Dec 2001, p. 126]
75
What keeps the movie from championship status is a sense that the filmmakers see Ali's social and political contributions as extra added attractions, ultimately less important than his greatness in the ring.
75
Connects so often and so persuasively that its shortcomings -- the movie goes slack from time to time -- really don't amount to much.
70
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.
70
Village Voice
Filled with vivid cameos and set to an infectious soul beat that effectively covers the underlying hum of calculated precision.
