6.8
Summary
In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self-confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. Yet at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test.
Cast
Will Smith
Muhammad Ali / Cassius Clay
Jamie Foxx
Drew 'Bundini' Brown
Jon Voight
Howard Cosell
Mario Van Peebles
Malcolm X
Ron Silver
Angelo Dundee
Jeffrey Wright
Howard Bingham
Mykelti Williamson
Don King
Jada Pinkett Smith
Sonji Roi
Nona Gaye
Belinda Ali
Michael Michele
Veronica Porche
Joe Morton
Chauncey Eskridge
Paul Rodríguez
Dr. Ferdie Pacheco
Bruce McGill
Bradley
Barry Shabaka Henley
Herbert Muhammad
Giancarlo Esposito
Cassius Clay, Sr.
Laurence Mason
Luis Sarria
LeVar Burton
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Albert Hall
Elijah Muhammad
David Cubitt
Robert Lipsyte
Ted Levine
Joe Smiley
Candy Ann Brown
Odessa
David Elliott
Sam Cooke
Shari Watson
Woman Singer
Malick Bowens
Joseph Mobutu
Michael Bentt
Sonny Liston
James Toney
'Smokin' Joe Frazier
Alfred Cole
Ernie Terrell
Charles Shufford
George Foreman
Rufus Dorsey
Floyd Paterson
Robert Sale
Jerry Quarry
Vince Cooke
Jimmy Ellis
Damien 'Bolo' Wills
Ken Norton
David Haines
Rudy Clay / Rahaman Ali
Victoria Dillard
Betty Shabazz
Brad Greenquist
Marlin Thomas
Morgana Van Peebles
Malcolm X's Daughter
Maya Van Peebles
Malcolm X's Daughter
Maestro Harrell
Young Cassius Clay
William Utay
The Doctor
Kim Robillard
Jimmy Cannon
David Purdham
Madison Square Garden Announcer
Gailard Sartain
Gordon Davidson
Wade Williams
Lieutenant Jerome Claridge
Guy Van Swearingen
Induction FBI Man
Doug Hale
Judge Ingraham
LaDonna Tittle
Bundini's Landlady
Marc Grapey
Bob Arum
Herb Mitchell
Boxing Commissioner
Eddie Bo Smith Jr.
Malcolm's Bodyguard
Bobby Stuart
Thomas 15X Johnson
Patrick New
Room Service Guy
Ron O.J. Parson
Death Newsman
Ellis Williams
Family Photo Man
Alexandra Bokyun Chun
Asian Cosmetologist
John Gleeson Connolly
Assistant Director
Warner Saunders
Customer
Jack Reiss
Referee Arthur Mercante
Marty Denkin
Frazier Fight II Announcer
Tamara Lynch
Flight Attendant
Chico Benymon
Hampton House Announcer
Bill Plaschke
Miami Weigh-In Reporter
Steve Springer
Miami Weigh-In Reporter
Patrick M. Connolly
Announcer
Patrick C. Russell
Referee
Robert Byrd
Willie Reddick
Cedric Wills
Jersey Joe Walcott, Referee
Ronald A. DiNicola
Prosecutor
Moses Hollins
Man on Train
Daniel E. Gurevitz
Boxing Commission Reporter
Steven Randazzo
Reporter
Ray Bokhour
Reporter
Leonard Termo
Madison Square Garden Reporter
Johnny Ortiz
Madison Square Garden Reporter
Mark Salem
New York Reporter
Sheldon Fogel
New York Reporter
Jim Gray
New York Reporter
Melvin Thomas
Harlem Neighbor
Natalie Carter
Harlem Neighbor
Reginald Footman
Harlem Neighbor
Poe Poe
Harlem Reporter
Mel Dick
Louisville Sponsoring Group
Kim Taylor-Coleman
Lana Shabazz
Christian Stolte
Miami Cop
Vic Manni
Dressing Room Weigh-In Guy
Will Gill Jr.
Dick Sadler
Sylvaine Strike
ORTF Interviewer
Denis Luposo
Kinshasa Reporter
Sharon Wilkinson
Rose Jennings
Carol Hatchett
Pointer Sister
Judith Mwale
Pointer Sister
Keabetswe Motsilanyane
Pointer Sister
Richard Katanga
Mobutu Aide / Military Aide
Thomas Kariuki Matheri
Lieutenant Nsakala
Larry Hazzard Sr.
Zack Clayton
Derrick Brown
Larry Holmes
Rommel Hyacinth
The Pilot
Graham Hopkins
London Banker
Daniel Janks
CIA Man
Bradford E. Lang
Black Pilot
Michael Dorn
Black Pilot
Dan Robbertse
Reporter in Zaire
Graham Clarke
Reporter in Zaire
Dimitri Cassar
Reporter in Zaire
Frank Notaro
Reporter in Zaire
Mark Mulder
Reporter in Zaire
David W. Hess
Reporter in Zaire
Henrikennyo Mukenyi
Bula
Nathaniel Malekane
Archie Moore
Millard Arnold
Doc Broadus
Edda Collier
Blonde French Reporter
Yi Lu Wei
Chinese Delegate
Lee Cummings
Hunter Thompson
Zaa Nkweta
Foreman Fight Announcer
Themba Gasa
Idi Amin
Andrew P. Jones
Don King's Aide
Marc Kulazite Mboli
Additional Aide to Mobutu
Cimanga Kalambay
Additional Aide to Mobutu
Jean Bikoi
Additional Aide to Mobutu
James Gilbert
Sparring Partner in Africa
Crew
Director, Screenplay
Michael Mann
Screenplay
Eric Roth
Screenplay
Christopher Wilkinson
Screenplay
Stephen J. Rivele
Story
Gregory Allen Howard
Reviews
Geronimo1967
February 1, 2024
6
There are flashes of the legendary Muhammad Ali wit and quick-thinking delivery peppered throughout this otherwise rather long and ponderous story of the life of Cassius Clay from relative poverty through to his mastery of not just the boxing ring but of the television media that, at that point, fed successfully from this truly global sport. It's Will Smith who takes centre stage after his gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympiad in 1964 and like many other pugilists in history, his character offers the down-trodden, working class, an inspiration. With sweat, tears and hard work he can escape the ghetto and have his fame and fortune, so why not them? What Michael Mann now proceeds to do is offer us a biopic of this man - of his peccadilloes, his religious beliefs, his persecution by the government when he refuses to be drafted to Vietnam and of some of his friendships with the great and the good of the equal rights movement that were gaining in prominence and effectiveness under the likes of Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles). We are presented with a plausibly flawed individual, but one who is a proud and savvy man who knows just how to push the buttons to keeps his life-blood's publicity machine going. To that end, here, Smith is well supported by Jamie Foxx's "Bundini", the long-suffering Angelo Dundee (Ron Silver) and by Jon Voight as his follicularly challenged media foil from ABC television - Howard Cosell. It's Smith that rather underwhelms. He delivers the set-pieces well enough, presumably he could rehearse them - but the rest of his persona is all rather weak, undercooked and I felt really over-written. There's way too much melodrama and speculation and not enough of what made the man an household name (and favourite) in the first place - his fighting. For such a rich source this is all rather meandering and lacking in substance. Maybe we could have directors cut - only 45 minutes shorter?
Media
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$107,000,000.00
Revenue:
$87,700,000.00
