Not the worlds greatest film by any means (Ali (DVD))

Member Name: GR-Design

Product:	Ali (DVD)
Date:	16/03/02 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent boxing scenes, Will Smith

Disadvantages: Drags in places

When I first heard about the film ‘Ali’ I wanted to see it, nothing more to it! Then I saw and read some reviews on the film, which put me off a bit as they weren’t all that good to be fair, but still, me and my mate went to see it, both thinking that it would be a change from the pub and it was reported to have good fighting scenes in it, so off we went to the cinema to give it a watch.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that I know loads about Muhammad Ali. I never was any good at history. All I know is that he made people listen to him and was a great fighter, so really I wasn’t going to see this film for anything more than being entertained by a movie, but I did learn quite a bit about Ali himself. The film covers about 10 years in Ali’s life, from when he was starting out in 1964 to the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight with George Forman in 1974. It also covers quite a lot about Malcolm X which to be honest, I didn’t get as I didn’t even know who Malcolm X was. Shows how much attention I paid to history lessons and history in general don’t it! It also covers Ali’s relationships with women, which proves to be interesting! Talk about a guy who knows what he wants!

Part of the reason I went to see the film is I like Will Smith. Yer yer, bring on the shirt lifter jokes! He’s a fabulous actor who can make any role he plays amusing and interesting, and he does just this in Ali. It’s not really a film I would have thought he would have played the lead role in, his best performances being in Independence Day and and Men in Black. But, having said that, I was surprised when I saw him acting in this film. The acting was spot on, and he really did prove to the world that he can act in other roles apart from the silly ones. I’m not saying that he wasn’t funny in Ali, he was, in some of the parts, but there was a lot of roles in the film that had to be acted out serio
usly, and he even had to cry in one part of the film. Not something I thought I would have ever seen Will Smith do on screen. His acting proved to me in Ali that he was a very serious actor, capable of many roles, not just the roles where he can add a gag every minute.

So, onto the film itself. Is it a looser or a winner? I was expecting something breathtaking. With Muhammad Ali being someone so famous, a film about him really shouldn’t let him down. But, I have to say it does. It starts out brilliantly…if only this was the way it was to continue. You start with Muhammad Ali training, running along through the town in the rain. Then you progress to a fight, with camera effects which really are mind-blowing. This lasts for about 5 minutes itself, with some excellent, heart pumping music in the background, giving you a taste for the rest of the film, and makes you glad that you didn’t go and see Monsters Inc instead. The only problem is, the film doesn’t seem to last like this. It’s one of these films that lefts your attention drift off somewhere else, normally to that guy in front that’s playing with his girlfriend while she’s getting really annoyed at him, or that girl who’s gone to the toilet and fallen down the stairs, oh how we laughed.

The fight scenes in the film are excellent and much better than any attempts at boxing scenes I have seen in any other films. Some of the camera work is absolutely mind blowing, add to that the music in the background, and the sound effects and bass when a punch is thrown and you do actually feel really involved in the fight. However, in saying all that, the last fight, which is the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ really did go on a bit. At about 10-15 minutes I should think (I wasn’t counting) it really does make you feel like you want it to end. That’s not helped by the fact that you have already sat in the cinema for about 3 hours and your bum re
ally does need some relief. At no point do you think it’s not actually Will Smith on camera. On saying that, he might have played all of the fight scenes himself, but I very much doubt it. You can see the punches, the damage on the components faces, and these scenes really do make the film worth seeing alone. Whether the boxing scenes will be as good on a normal TV I do not know, but with surround sound effects, I was very very impressed. However, only about 20% of the film is actually concentrating on the fighting. The rest of the film is based on Ali’s life, his wives, the Muslims way of life etc etc. These were the bits where my mind started floating away until another fight scene came along or something more interesting happened. I really didn’t know what was going on in some parts of the film to tell you the truth.

So, lets get onto my usual tradition, a small paragraph about the soundtrack, and im my humble opinion, the soundtrack really can add credit to a film. You have on the soundtrack a pretty popular song, it’s even in the charts as I write this review. It’s R Kelly – The World’s Greatest. I like this song anyway, and as this came on in the cinema, it made me all tingly. I really don’t know why, but that’s how I get in the movies sometimes, sad really isn’t it! There are some other good tracks too, especially the opening track, however I really couldn’t tell you what it’s called. So, a few sample tracks from the soundtrack

R Kelly – The World’s Greatest
Alicia Keys – Fight
R Kelly – Hold On
Shawn Kane – Mistreated

So, all in all, this film is ok, although I don’t think it’s going to win many awards, if any. Actually it might win one for the camera effects, but that I should think, and I’m sorry to say is all I can see it winning, or even being in the line up for. It’s not going to knock you
out (sorry for the pun there, I had to add that line somewhere!), it’s more than likely going to make you think of walking out, but give it a chance, enjoy the fight scenes and watch it all the way through. I’m going to give it 3 out of 5, and I would watch it again when it comes out on video, even if it is for the fight scenes only.

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