I don't know a lot about boxing as I'm not a fan of the sport but I do know the names of some famous boxers, Muhammed Ali probably being the first I've heard off. But I knew nothing other than his name and that it's not his birth name as he changed it when he converted to Islam so I decided to check out I Am Ali to learn more about him.
Through audio clips and archive footage with the Ali himself and interviews with his sons and daughters, his ex-wife, his friends, his boxing opponents and many others, Clare Lewins's documentary tells the story of the man behind the legend and discusses what made Muhammed Ali the great man he was.
Because, as I've learnt from this, he wasn't just a boxer, but he was a great father, a man devoted to his family --he did divorce a couple of times though--, an activist, he was an example of racial pride, and probably the greatest Afro-American civil rights icon.
But he was also a bit of an enigma. He was against violence and fiercely opposed to the Vietnam war, and yet made his fortune by beating the shit out of people. He was also arrogant and full of himself, so much so that the name he picked, Muhammed Ali, means as he said, "worthy of all praises" and "most high" respectively.
Part of the documentary focuses on Ali's professional life. This part features some of his classic fights against George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston, and it also shows how much Ali influenced other boxers -- Mike Tyson, for example, aspired to be at the same level of Ali.
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| Focus World, Quest, Universal Pictures |
The problem with I Am Ali is that it isn't as interesting as it should have been. Instead, it is quite tedious and unengaging and I never quite got the sense of the man or the legend. Muhammed Ali arguably was a very interesting character but this documentary just does not do him justice. Also, it feels more like a movie than a documentary.
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