Ali

Will Smith inhabits Muhammad Ali--his power, grace, ego, humor and body language, inside and outside the ring--as well as any actor could in this masterfully crafted boxer biography by Michael Mann (The Insider). Choosing to focus on ten momentous years (1964's Sonny Liston fight to 1974's "Rumble in the Jungle" against George Foreman), Mann's round by round, bobbing and weaving narrative style assumes a working knowledge of Ali's life, dropping in on pivotal moments without catching the audience up on the particulars of who, when and where. The fight scenes inventively take you inside the ring (with shoulder-riding SteadyCam shots) and inside Ali's head (with flashes of piggy-backing digital video) as punches are landed. But major characters go unexplored or literally unidentified, the champ's wives are treated as footnotes, and the picture's last act covers the same territory as the remarkable all-access documentary When We Were Kings. Recommended, if only for Smith's superb portrayal of Ali. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review--June 1, 2004--Columbia TriStar, 165 min., not rated, $24.98--Making its second appearance on DVD, 2001's Ali: The Director's Cut has revised and new scenes making the film seven minutes longer, and features audio commentary by filmmaker Michael Mann, an exclusive 28-minute “making of” featurette including interview clips with stars Will Smith and Jon Voight, behind-the-scenes footage of the real Muhammad Ali, and production details (i.e. staying in character all day; Smith's “becoming” Ali). Bottom line: not quite a “special edition,” this is worth picking up if your original is starting to look like it has gone the proverbial 15 rounds.]