Ali : Movie Review


"For your consideration" is the phrase used in ads touting year-end films for Oscar nominations. Its application is most often wishful thinking (The Majestic? Please!). But if awards still have anything to do with rewarding balls-out daring, then Michael Mann's Ali deserves a fistful. Start with Will Smith, who molded his lean body into 220 pounds of heavyweight muscle and nailed the champ's verbal strut. It's a remarkable transformation that could have stalled at mimicry if Smith hadn't also caught the watchful intensity that could make Ali's eyes flash with anger and fierce purpose. Smith gives a towering performance, defiantly funny and impassioned.

See rollingstone.com for full review.

Author : Peter Travers