Every Michael Mann Movie Ranked Worst To Best

The crowning achievement of Mann's biopic on Muhammed Ali is the central performance of Will Smith, who plays the famed boxer with a level of intensity, passion and power that he's been unable to fully replicate since.

Smith is backed up in the acting department by Jon Voight's searing portrayal of sports journalist Howard Cosell, and Jamie Foxx's turn as Ali's trainer Drew Brown.

Outside of the performances, Ali also benefits from Mann's daring scope, as he takes audiences on an epic journey through the boxer's career, his famous rivalries with Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston, his objections to the Vietnam War, and his relationship with the Nation of Islam.

All of this sure sounds good, and the film is far from a failure, but it's let down in the big moments by its disconnected narrative flow. The emotional aspect of the story is lacking, as though Mann is just telling a story without digging into the lofty themes at hand. It ends up moving at a snail's pace, with little emotional investment to be found outside of Smith's leading performance.

An expansive, informative biopic, no doubt, but an oddly uninteresting one overall.