Ali: An American Hero

I thought the movie was overall pretty good. I believe it is very difficult to put a persons entire life in a 2 hour snapshot. The story flowed fairly well. I viewed the program on BET (a couple of times), and found Clarence Williams to be excellent (as usual). David Ramsey definitely has the chops (and physique) to portray such a powerful man but I do believe the writing could have been a little stronger. I have seen Mr. Ramsey in other projects and find him to be very talented. I don't want to compare people but I have an easier time seeing Mr. Ramsey portraying Ali than someone like Will Smith or Terrance Howard, only because portraying someone of this multitude seemed to be too much of a stretch for Smith and Howard looks NOTHING like Ali. David brought an honesty and vulnerability to the role that I did not see in other portrayals. Joe Morton was OK as Malcolm X. For a character like that I would have liked to have seen someone a little bit more seasoned. All in all I learned a lot about Mr. Ali from this movie and the complexity of his life throughout his career.

There have been numerous film bio's made on the life of Cassius Marcellus Jr. Clay/Muhummad Ali, and I would rank this attempt as one of the stronger film biographies. Ali is not one of the most prolific sport phenomenons of the 20th century, because without a doubt "He is the "Greatest", bar no other individual, identifiable sports figure of the 20th century with strong roots also as a recognizable social activist. Ali: An American Hero is a made for TV biography but don't hold that against the films content. The film comprises 85 minutes of non-stop history of this most famous black athlete and social activist who fought for what he truly believed in, which more than anything else was his belief in himself and his right to his freedom of religion and his own choices in his personal life, whether they infuriated his fans, friends and even his own family.

I have watched intently the trials and tribulations of Muhummad Ali over these past 50 years from his victorious heavyweight championship fight as a young 22 year old loud mouth versus the unbeatable monster Sonny Liston on national television, to his current travels which have taken him around the world several times as an ambassador for peace and understanding of a persons' right to religious freedom. His fight against the U.S. government in 1967 to avoid enlistment as a soldier in the Vietnam War took away four years of his prime fighting career between the ages of 25-29, and in spite of this involuntary absence from the professional boxing ring, (his heavyweight title was also stripped unfairly from him) his fan support dwindled, his income ability was strangled, but still he would not be intimidated, denied, nor would he ever surrender, as the film depicts.

Ali, the greatest fighter in and out of the ring, persevered against all odds and won his battle for religious freedom in the Nation of Islam as well as for every other American who otherwise would have had to go into a war they did not believe in. Ali, stated freely that he was offered a role to simply demonstrate his loyalty to the United States government and he would only have to appear in boxing exhibitions for the troops (as former heavyweight champion Joe Louis did before him), but he said no to this offer because it would not be fair to all the other conscientious objectors to the war that would not be offered the same free pass as he was being offered.

Ali is played by character actor David Ramsey, (who currently (2011-2014) plays New York City's Mayor Carter Poole in the hit television police series Blue Bloods). David Ramsey portrayed Ali as a man with the charisma and confidence that embodied the real Ali during his religious awakening in the Nation of Islam. I am going to assume that since the film only provided 85 minutes for this biography Ali's real life theatrics in front of the camera which were sometimes extreme, and his history of womanizing, (he has been married four times, he has a total of nine children, two of which are from separate extra marital affairs), was downplayed. There were strong supporting roles played by Clarence Williams III (best known for the 1970's TV series The Mod Squad) as Ali's proud father Marcellus Clay, Joe Morton as Malcolm X, and a superb performance by Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ali's corner man Drew Bundini Brown most known for the rumble in the jungle lingo that he and Ali would repeat again and again "Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Awww, Rumble young man, rumble!!!"

I really enjoyed this film, and I am quite sure that as the years continue to pass us by and Ali's legend continues to grow, this 2000 film's interest will also grow. Ali is a true champion on so many levels, and actor David Ramsey answered the bell with a knock out performance. I rated it a winning combination with an 8 out of 10 rating. You should not be disappointed.

The best movie about Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay ). The movie accounts the life of Ali since the start , no forgetting neither moment : The gold medal on the Olympics , the conversion to the Islamismo , the first coach , the friendship with Malcolm X , the no departure to the war, the relation with the brother and the standpoint of your father about your life.

At the contrary of the boring '' Ali (2001'') with Will Smith , this movie no remain boring em neither moment.

Thanks to this movie the director Leon Ichaso was called to do the biography of Hendrix.

Being a true Ali film it was difficult to watch any film which portrayed him. This one earned its audience because of its star David Ramsey. This film-maker decided to concentrate on Ali and the period of his life for which we celebrate him today. It was Ali's political and religious stand against the Vietnam War that makes him a worldwide hero. Since when do big budgets and big name actors determine the quality of a film? In this movie David Ramsey embodies the essence of the true Ali spirit. Through his Ali experience as opposed to over-acting he gave us Ali in the midst of the episodes that made him strongest: his stand against the war, his religious differences with his father, and his close relationship with his brother. He showed that Ali although not very refined in his grammatical English was very charming and intelligent in his own way. He exhibited the strength that is Ali and did not hit us over the head with the "Ali talk." Unlike the Will Smith film which decided to portray Ali as if he already had Parkinson's Disease. Cheers to David Ramsey and Joe Morton for respecting two American heroes enough to honor them with performances in a film that did not have the budget to offer anything but good acting!

Just found this site and had to comment on the great movie Ali. I loved the movie and I thought David Ramsey was wonderful. I thought the story was wonderfully written and performed. I look forward to seeing more from this wonderful actor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!