Once again, Michael Mann shows that he is a director with a great eye for detail. The look of the film is incredible, and the boxing re-creations are dynamic without being over the top. The problem is the plot structure. Ali has virtually no focus. This film lumbers along from one scene to the next without a lot of explanation. And while this movie covers at least ten years of the champ's life, we never really get a sense of this, because of this films sheer lack of scope.

Much of this video is meandering to say the least. The first act of the film seems to be more about Malcom X than about Ali, and Mann's recreation of his assassination is a pale imitation of a similar, but far more effective sequence in the Spike Lee epic Malcom X. While this moment is supposed to be illustrating the impact it had on Ali, it doesn't really work because not enough time has been invested in their relationship. Even though this is a bio pic, Ali suffers from a severe lack of character development. I wanted so much more. One of the most interesting aspects of the picture is the bond between Cosell and Ali, but we get very little of it.

So much of this video just seems to drag on and on--featuring more than enough shots of Ali jogging for no apparent reason. And unless you've done your homework on the real Ali, you never get a sense of loss or gain during his infamous boxing matches. This video really lacks the emotional punch of say Martin Scorcese's Raging Bull or even Rocky, movies that gave you a true sense of character. Of course Ali is already bigger than life, so maybe Mann figured he could get away with cutting corners.

As stated before, the real reason to see this surprisingly small scaled, two and a half hour biopic, is the acting. Will Smith turned this project down several times, and upon finally agreeing to do the film, worked hard to become the legend. His hard work paid off. Unfortunately, he's in a film that can't quite live up to his grand performance. Michael Mann and crew have come short of making the masterpiece they set out to create. And although I'm just repeating what nearly every other writer has mentioned, I can't stress enough what a landmark achievement When We We're Kings is. Ali's life is so much more compelling when dealt with through the documentary medium. If you can find it at your local video store, be sure to grab it.