"Ali" -The Movie

On its face it is hard to see how a cinematic treatment of the life of Muhammad Ali (played here by Will Smith), the great prizefighter, could adequately portray the life he actually led. But that is indeed the case here. For those who grew up with him in mid-20^th century America it is a nostalgic look back. For those too young to have known his life story this is a good primer of why many considered him one of the greatest athletics of all time and one why, friend or foe, considered him one hell of a man. That is the part that interests me. I am not now nor was I then a fight fan. The part of Ali’s career that interests me is his fight against black oppression, as he saw it. That in his youth he took a black separatist course joining the Nation of Islam in reaction to the rampart racism in America and American sports is understandable if not strategically the way forward for black liberation. The scenes with Malcolm X, who acted as something of a mentor, are among the best in the film. Ali was a man not only with a sports mission but a political mission. That became quite apparent when he, despite damage to his career and to his financial interests, refused to be inducted in the military during the Vietnam War period. His reasoning was simple-he had no quarrel with the Vietnamese. Many lesser figures, who now head the American government, were not nearly so forthright and skipped around the decisive political and moral event of the baby boomer generation. Hats off to Ali. Hats off to a great liberation fighter, who stood up when it counted.