Once
again, Michael Mann shows that he is a director with a great eye for detail. The
look of the film is incredible, and the boxing re-creations are dynamic without
being over the top. The problem is the plot structure. Ali has virtually no focus.
This film lumbers along from one scene to the next without a lot of explanation.
And while this movie covers at least ten years of the champ's life, we never really
get a sense of this, because of this films sheer lack of scope.
Much
of this video is meandering to say the least. The first act of the film seems
to be more about Malcom X than about Ali, and Mann's recreation of his assassination
is a pale imitation of a similar, but far more effective sequence in the Spike
Lee epic Malcom X. While this moment is supposed to be illustrating the impact
it had on Ali, it doesn't really work because not enough time has been invested
in their relationship. Even though this is a bio pic, Ali suffers from a severe
lack of character development. I wanted so much more. One of the most interesting
aspects of the picture is the bond between Cosell and Ali, but we get very little
of it.
So much
of this video just seems to drag on and on--featuring more than enough shots of
Ali jogging for no apparent reason. And unless you've done your homework on the
real Ali, you never get a sense of loss or gain during his infamous boxing matches.
This video really lacks the emotional punch of say Martin Scorcese's Raging Bull
or even Rocky, movies that gave you a true sense of character. Of course Ali is
already bigger than life, so maybe Mann figured he could get away with cutting
corners.
As stated
before, the real reason to see this surprisingly small scaled, two and a half
hour biopic, is the acting. Will Smith turned this project down several times,
and upon finally agreeing to do the film, worked hard to become the legend. His
hard work paid off. Unfortunately, he's in a film that can't quite live up to
his grand performance. Michael Mann and crew have come short of making the masterpiece
they set out to create. And although I'm just repeating what nearly every other
writer has mentioned, I can't stress enough what a landmark achievement When We
We're Kings is. Ali's life is so much more compelling when dealt with through
the documentary medium. If you can find it at your local video store, be sure
to grab it.
