By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * )
For a generation who know only Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, it may be impossible to understand the legend of Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali. For that generation would see only a boxer.
Clay/Ali was so much more: the symbol of resistance to a
dirty war, to a history of discrimination, a stirring of pride, the first professional, merchandised sportsman ... and sassy and smart with it.
Michael Mann's biopic takes all these qualities, finds the one actor who could portray such a character (because Will Smith can be that man, too) — and smothers The Greatest in a long, dull, preachy yawn.
The story covers 10 years from 1964, when he won the heavyweight championship to 1974, when he fought George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle. During this time he was banned from boxing because he refused to be drafted for the Vietnam War.
For all the public face of arrogance and self-belief, Ali was like Elvis in that he seemed to be grinning behind the mask and wondering, "Is this for real?" Smith, who bulked up in the gym for the role, understands that. If only they'd given him a halfway decent treatment of a critical decade in modern America to work with. If he deserves better, Ali does — even more.
Rental video, DVD: Out now
• DVD features: movie (157min); HBO Making Of ... ; behind-the-scenes footage; cast and crew soundbites; trailer.
