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Darren (1599 KP) rated Ali (2001) in Movies

Jun 20, 2019  
Ali (2001)
Ali (2001)
2001 | Drama
Story: Ali starts on the brink of Cassius Clay (Smith) first title match in 1964, a match he wins to become heavyweight champion of the world, with his place on top of the world ready, Cassius joins forces with Malcolm X (Peebles) becoming a Muslim in the process, changing his name to Muhammad Ali.

With the Vietnam war drafting men from America, Muhammad is drafted, but he refuses to go and fight which leads him to be stripped of the title and banned from fighting in certain states, Ali uses his to create one of the biggest fights in history, The Rumble in the Jungle.

 

Thoughts on Ali

 

Characters – Muhammad Ali is one if not the most famous boxers in the world, in the history of the sport, he help shape the sport to be what we know now, with his charisma and loud behaviour against his opponents, we follow just ten years of his life, from his first title win, through his religious change, the battle against the government about fighting in the Vietnam war, to being part of one of the biggest fights in boxing history. When we focus on the rest of the real-life people we get to see the loyal people in his life, reporter Howard Cosell that seemed to have a wonderful relationship which included banter between the two and the promoters that make the fight possible.

Performances – Will Smith in the role of Ali is brilliant, this is easily his best performance of his career showing the world that he can have his wise cracking side mixed with the serious side. We have an unrecognizable Jon Voight who is shows us all that how easily he can morph into any role. The rest of the supporting cast are good without being fantastic or taking away anything from Smith in the leading role.

Story – The story here takes us into Muhammed Ali’s life for ten years, we get to see from the night he first won the title till the famous Rumble in the Jungle match. We do see the obstacles he must overcome to remain the man he was which in itself is an incredible story during late 60s America. My issues with the story come from not seeing everything that Ali went through in this career, mostly the rise to the top, which could have been an even more interesting story. for the story to only cover 10- years is interesting because we could have seen so much more of the legal battle against the government, the religious battles he faced because of his stance on war and action with the women. The truth is, Ali lived an amazing life and there are so many story we could learn about him from his career any film just can’t cover them all.

Biopic/Sports – Ten years of one of the great boxers in the history of the sport, one of the men that changed the sport almost doesn’t give it enough justice. The sports side of the film comes from the boxing scenes which are incredibly real through the film we do get a couple and they do go on a long time.

Settings – The film here takes us to the important locations in Ali’s life, the ring of course is the most important one while we get scenes away from the ring to as we look at his church and his personal life.


Scene of the Movie – Rumble in the Jungle.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – I would have like to see more of his life and career

Final Thoughts – This is one of those biopics which is great to watch and has wonderful scenes, only for it to be missing that big it factor about it. The fights do feel real which is key and the performances are flawless, we could only have learnt more.

 

Overall: Biopic to enjoy.

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/05/01/abc-film-challenge-biopic-a-ali-2001/
  
The Beckoning Ice
The Beckoning Ice
Joan Druett | 2013 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder Approaches the South Pole
In February of 1839, the US Exploring Expedition is approaching Cape Horn. While many of the sailors are looking forward to their first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, Wiki Coffin has other concerns. A crewman on the ship he is currently on has slit his own throat. It was well known that Midshipman Dove was unhappy with the life of a sailor, but Wiki doesn’t believe he committed suicide, and he soon begins to find evidence to back up his theory. But who committed the crime?

It’s been several years since I read the previous book in the series, but it didn’t take me long to slip back in Wiki’s world. The author does a fantastic job of bringing life on the sea in the 1830’s and the expedition to life, and she’s made me curious to learn more about what really happened during the voyage in real life. Unfortunately, her love of all things nautical did slow down the mystery at times, but after reading the previous books, I was still interested to know what was happening to the ships that I didn’t mind too much. And it was never long before Wiki was back to working on the mystery. There are a lot of characters, but they are developed enough to help us remember who they are, and we get little reminders as well when they step on page. If the subject at all interests you, I definitely recommend you check out this series.