Director: Michael Mann

Director Michael Mann got his start mainly in television. Although he had helmed a few smaller films in the late 70's and early 80's, the director really rose to fame with "Miami Vice", which he wrote/directed and produced. It was the early 90's when Mann really took the next step; directing "Last of the Mohicans", he proved that he was a filmmaking force to watch. Years later, he has been at the controls of several impressive pictures, including "Heat" and "The Insider". "Ali", a film that was in development for quite a while, is Mann's biggest project ever - a film that came with major expectations and a cost of reportedly 90 million.

Mann has made an enjoyable film that is livened by a wonderful performance from Will Smith. The film opens intensely, with a terrific montage that skips back-and-forth, finally landing on Ali finishing preparation for his fight with Sonny Liston. A sequence that has Ali exploding out of the door and throwing some sharply funny verbal challenges at Liston is energetic and engaging and the fight itself is beautifully crafted. "Ali" opens with force - a fury that, unfortunately, is not consistently sustained throughout the film.

The following thirty minutes after the Liston/Ali opening explore Ali's relationship with Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles). These sequences are interesting if not entirely compelling, as they seem to be attempting to explore situations and relationships in less time then they have to. Those not knowing a great deal about this part of history might be slightly confused by this somewhat underdeveloped section.

"Ali" then focuses on the champ's refusal to be drafted to fight in Vietnam and his fight back towards the championship, including bouts against George Foreman and Joe Frasier. In-between, we are shown the relationships that Ali had with Sonji Roi (Jada Pinkett Smith), second wife Belinda Boyd (Nona M. Gaye), and to-be third wife Veronica Porsche (Michael Michele). We also hear from trainer Angelo Dundee (Ron Silver), and the enigmatic Bundini (Jamie Foxx), not to mention sportscaster Howard Cosell (Jon Voight in a very good performance).

Will Smith has always been sharp and funny and has always had terrific timing. Here, he's able to combine his superb comedic skills with elements of drama and sadness. As Ali, he can go from being quiet and subtle to dazzling and hilarious, and do so quite easily. He definitely gives it his all and succeeds; his fantastic performance makes the film consistently very engaging and enjoyable. The scenes with Smith and Voight as Cosell and Ali are some of the film's best, with the verbal boxing between the two often becoming very funny. Jamie Foxx, previously known more for comedic performances, started heading into a bit more dramatic territory with Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" and he continues to show stronger dramatic skills with every new performance. Voight, under a ton of make-up, is perfect as Cosell.

While we don?t learn a great deal about the life of Ali from the film, it's still definitely worth viewing, especially for the terrific performance from Will Smith. Columbia/Tristar's DVD only offers minimal supplements (although that's no surprise, given that Michael Mann films hardly ever have any), but audio and video are both very strong.

Overall, "Ali" is a film that remained engaging and enjoyable, if slightly disappointing in the fact that it could have been even better.