Directed by Michael Mann and screenplay by Mann, Eric Roth, Stephen J. Rivele, and Christopher Wilkinson from a story by Gregory Allen Howard, Ali is the story of 10 years in the life of the boxer Muhammad Ali from his first world title win in 1964 to the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman in Zaire in 1974. The film is a look into a moment in time when Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay Jr. and the moments in his life that would make him an icon as he is portrayed by Will Smith. Also starring Jamie Foxx, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Toney, and Jon Voight as Howard Cosell. Ali is a majestic and evocative film from Michael Mann.
The film is about a decade in the life of one of the most iconic figures in sports during the 20th Century in Muhammad Ali from his first title win against Sonny Liston in February 25, 1964 to the Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa, Zaire on October 30, 1974. During this time, Ali would convert to Islam and change his name from Cassius Clay Jr. to Ali while enduring all sorts of events in that time such as refusing to serve the U.S. army during the Vietnam War, failed marriages, and losing his first fight to Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century on March 8, 1971. The film is really an exploration of a man trying to adopt this new identity having dropped his birth name which he felt had been given to him and his family by slave masters and take on something new. The film’s script play into these events that include his friendship with Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles) and how it ended due to the interference of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad (Albert Hall).
His devotion to the Nation of Islam would also alienate his family and play part into the decisions of his career as one of his wives in Belinda Boyd/Khalilah Ali (Nona Gaye) doesn’t think the Nation of Islam, Elijah’s son Herbert (Barry Shabaka Henley), and Don King (Mykelti T. Williamson) have his best interests. Much of the film’s narrative is straightforward with some subplots involving people that Ali know being followed by a CIA official in Joe Smiley (Ted Levine) as they would believe Ali is a threat to national security as it would also show events behind the scenes such as a meeting between Don King, Herbert Muhammad, and politicians from Europe and Africa wanting to use Ali just as he is considered a messianic figure in Africa.
Michael Mann’s direction is stylish not just for its presentation with its mixture of 35mm film and grainy digital video but also in capturing a period of time when Ali was to ascend into this iconic status that would make him a polarizing figure in the world. Shot on various locations in the U.S. such as New York City, Chicago, and Miami and Mozambique as Zaire and Ghana. Mann displays a somewhat documentary-style much of his direction as it play into this world that Ali would encounter from his visits to Africa as well as struggling with the events in America around him. There are usage of wide shots of the locations as well as the venues where Ali would have his fights while he aims mainly for some intimate usage of close-ups that play into Ali’s emotions as well as aspects of his personal life that is also presented in medium shots. The usage of the grainy digital video for an opening scene of Ali jogging in Los Angeles as well as him looking at a riot as well as a love scene with a future wife in Sonji Roi (Jada Pinkett Smith).
The fight scenes are among the major highlights of the film with its usage of hand-held cameras as well as point-of-view shots of what the fighter is facing inside the ring and the punches he would get from his opponent. It’s an element of realism that isn’t seen often in films relating to boxing as well as Mann’s direction gets very close into the brutality of boxing. Even as it show Ali as someone trying to mock his opponents as well as fight them with an intelligence and showmanship. Mann’s direction also play into the reaction of the people as well as showing lots of attention to detail in the direction of the people in Ali’s corner observing what Ali is doing. It’s Mann playing into a world where men fought to become the best and for a man like Ali to use boxing as a platform for hope and change. Overall, Mann crafts a riveting and intoxicating film about a decade in the life of Muhammad Ali.
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki does incredible work with the film’s photography as it’s a highlight of the film with its usage of naturalistic and slightly-tinted colors and moods in the lighting as well as the grainy look of the digital video footage as well as the way the camera moves. Editors William Goldenberg, Lynzee Klingman, Stephen E. Rivkin, and Stuart Waks do excellent work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion shots, and other stylish editing play into the drama as well as the thrill of the fights. Production designer John Myhre, with set decorator Jim Erickson plus art directors Jonathan Lee, Bill Rea, and Tomas Voth, does brilliant work with the sets from the hotel rooms that and homes that Ali lived in to the design of some of the venues and rings that Ali would fight in. Costume designer Marlene Stewart does amazing work with the costumes from the clothes that men wore in those times as well as the stylish dresses and Muslim garb the women would wear.
Special makeup effects artists Greg Cannom and Christopher Allen Nelson do fantastic work with the look of Howard Cosell as well as some of the prosthetics and hair for some of the characters. Special effects supervisors Alan Poole and Max Poolman, with visual effects supervisor Michael J. McAlister, do terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects as it is mainly set-dressing but also in parts that relate to the fights. Sound editors Yann Delpuech, Darren King, and Gregory King do superb work with the sound in how punches are thrown as well as the atmosphere of the audiences during the fights as well as some sounds in some of the locations. The film’s music by Pieter Bourke and Lisa Gerrard is wonderful for its minimalist and ambient-based score with its usage of polyrhythms and other world beat musical textures while the music soundtrack feature a lot of the music of the times from the Pointer Sisters, Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan plus contemporary pieces from Alicia Keys and Moby.
The casting by Victoria Thomas is great as it feature some notable small roles from Victoria Dillard as Malcolm X’s wife Betty Shabazz, Malick Bowens as Zaire’s president Joseph Mobutu, David Elliott as singer Sam Cooke in the film’s opening credits scene, Shari Watson/Truth Hurts as a club singer, Ted Levine as CIA agent Joe Smiley, Leon Robinson as a Nation of Islam official in Brother Joe, David Haynes as Ali’s brother Rudy Clay/Rahman Ali, Robert Sale as boxer Jerry Quarry, Candy Ann Brown as Ali’s mother Odessa Clay, Michael Bentt as Sonny Liston, David Cubitt as journalist Robert Lipsyte, Charles Shufford as George Foreman, LeVar Burton as Martin Luther King Jr., Bruce McGill as a European political figure, Joe Morton as Ali’s attorney Chauncey Eskridge, Giancarlo Esposito as Ali’s father Cassius Clay Sr., Barry Shabaka Henley as Herbert Muhammad, and Albert Brown as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad,
Other noteworthy small roles from Nona Gaye as Ali’s second wife Belinda Boyd/Khalilah Ali who is concerned about the people Ali is with, Paul Rodriguez as Ali’s ring physician Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, and Michael Michele as Ali’s future third wife in journalist Veronica Porche whom he would meet in Zaire are wonderful in their brief roles as is Jada Pinkett Smith in a terrific performance as Ali’s first wife Sonji Roi as a woman who many in the Nation of Islam felt was unsuitable for him. James Toney and Mykelti T. Williamson are superb in their respective roles as the fighter Joe Frazier who offers Ali a shot at the title and the infamous promoter Don King who is trying to hype up the event and make a lot of money. Jeffrey Wright is fantastic as photographer Howard Bingham who would be Ali’s biographer and personal photographer who would follow Ali as well as be an observer to the events in Ali’s life.
Ron Silver is excellent as Angelo Dundee as Ali’s trainer who is focused on what Ali is doing in the ring as well as ensure that Ali has a good strategy for every fight as he’s like a father figure to Ali. Mario Van Peebles is brilliant as Malcolm X as the famed civil rights leader and Nation of Islam speaker who is a close friend of Ali as he would later go on his own path where he tries to maintain his friendship with Ali. Jamie Foxx is amazing as Drew Bundini Brown as Ali’s longtime assistant/cornerman who would help Ali come up with his famous rhymes as well as be someone that Ali can trust with on personal matters or on business matters despite his own personal issues. Jon Voight is incredible as famed sports reporter Howard Cosell as Voight would get Cosell’s famous voice right on as well as be the man trying to get answers from Ali as well as be a close friend of the boxer. Finally, there’s Will Smith in a phenomenal performance as Muhammad Ali as he channels the man’s bombastic personality in the press conferences as well as the man’s public persona as being cocky but also a man who can talk the talk and walk the walk but also display the humanity in Ali as a man struggling with his identity and the persona he has created for himself.
Ali is a sensational film from Michael Mann that features a career-defining performance from Will Smith as the legendary boxer. Along with its ensemble cast, Emmanuel Lubezki’s gorgeous cinematography, rapturous music soundtrack, and its exploration about a decade in the life of Muhammad Ali. It’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules of the bio-pic as it focuses on key events of the man’s life as well as the world around him. In the end, Ali is a spectacular film from Michael Mann.
Michael Mann Films: (The Jericho Mile) – Thief - (The Keep) – Manhunter - (L.A. Takedown) – The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film) - (Heat) – (The Insider) – Collateral – Miami Vice – Public Enemies - Blackhat - (The Auteurs #74: Michael Mann)
© thevoid99 2019
Based on the DC comic series by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, Suicide Squad is the story of a group of supervillains who are tasked to stop a major threat to the world in exchange for reduced prison sentences. Written for the screen and directed by David Ayer, the film is an unconventional superhero film of sorts where it is focused on the bad guys who are given the chance to do good while dealing with their own faults as individuals. Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Adam Beach, Karen Fukuhara, Scott Eastwood, Ike Barinholtz, Jim Parrack, and Viola Davis. Suicide Squad is an intriguing but extremely messy film from David Ayer.
Following some catastrophic events around the world, the film revolves around an intelligence officer who wants to create a task force filled with supervillains to stop any major threat available as they would team up with a military officer to kill an evil witch-goddess known as the Enchantress who has inhabited the body of an archeologist named Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne). It’s a film that has some of worst of the worst that include a hitman, a pyromaniac, a mutant, a bank robber, and a former psychiatrist who later became the girlfriend of the Joker (Jared Leto). They’re given the chance to do good and save the world in exchange for a reduced prison sentence as they reluctantly do the job with Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) leading the team. It’s a concept that has a nice idea but writer/director David Ayer unfortunately doesn’t go all the way with its execution.
While he does manage to establish who are the members of this team known as the Suicide Squad in Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (Will Smith), Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), George “Digger” Harkness/Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Chato Santana/El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Waylon Jones/Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Some of these characters are either underwritten or under-utilized while the script falters very highly as Ayer tried to cram so much into the story but never finds a way to create a balance for everyone involved. Even the stakes in trying to stop the Enchantress and her brother Incubus (Alain Chanonine) doesn’t have much weight or motivation for the Suicide Squad to stop other than death if they don’t do the job. The character of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is a mysterious individual who holds the fate of the entire squad as she is an antihero that is unique as she is one of the most interesting characters in the film.
The story about Harley Quinn’s relationship with the Joker is definitely not given more to be engaged into as it’s really one of several subplots in the film as the character of the Joker is someone who isn’t really used for the main plot other than to try and retrieve Harley back into his life. It’s a storyline that could’ve been fleshed out more but it’s often seen in flashbacks where there is little of the Joker in the main storyline. Another issue in the film revolves another member of the Suicide Squad in Christopher Weiss/Slipknot (Adam Beach) where he’s only in the film for a few minutes and doesn’t really do anything.
Ayer’s direction is where the film really suffers as it not only tries to cram so much into a two-hour film but also do it with some constraints to appeal to a wide audience. While Ayer would create some exciting sequences that does help tell the story and is filled with a lot of action. It tries too hard to be all things where it does have moments that are funny and moments that are exciting but it never finds that balance to bend all type of genres where it is very messy. Though there’s some good compositions that Ayer makes in the medium and wide shots to establish the locations as well as some close-ups. It is all very stylized and sometimes it would be style over substance where Ayer is doing whatever he can to try and make it enthralling. Yet, the emphasis largely on visual effects and wanting to create something big tends to overwhelm the story as it kind of loses of focus on what it wanted to be. Another aspect of the film that is problematic is that underneath all of these storylines, sprawling action scenes, and comedy is that there is a good film somewhere.
It’s obvious that given that this is a studio film that Ayer must have consulted with the executives at Warner Brothers in giving them what they want. Yet, this interference from people who aren’t involved in the process of filmmaking are the last group of people who understand what an audience wants. Sometimes, it’s best to not give them what they want as this film unfortunately tries to do so many things but giving the character of the Joker a small amount of time in the film as well as not providing a backstory for Killer Croc and a volunteer in Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana (Karen Fukuhara) definitely would baffle the audience. The climax is also kind of lacking in something bigger as it ends up being very conventional as it never really has the chance to become something of its own in favor of trying to be like every other superhero film. Overall, Ayer creates a decent but extremely inconsistent and underwhelming film about a group of bad guys teaming up to save the world.
Cinematographer Roman Vasyanov does some nice work with the cinematography with its array of colors and lighting schemes for much of the scenes set at night as well as the usage of desaturated colors for some of the daytime scenes. Editor John Gilroy does some fine work with the editing as it is very stylized where it relies a lot on fast-cuts but does provide enough footage to establish what is going on despite the constraints of what the film would suffer in its final cut. Production designer Oliver Scholl, with set decorators Beauchamp Fontaine and Shane Vieau as well as supervising art directors Brandt Gordon and Brad Ricker, does excellent work with the set design from the prison cells of the members of the Suicide Squad as well as the look of some of the cities and buildings they go into. Costume designer Kate Hawley does superb work with the costumes from the clothes some of the members of the Suicide Squad wear as well as the stylish clothing of Harley Quinn.
Hair/makeup designer Alessandro Bertolazzi and creature/effects designer Steve Newburn do brilliant work with the look of some of the characters such as El Diablo, Harley, Killer Croc, and the Joker where they’re given distinctive looks. Visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen does some good work with the visual effects in creating some mystical effects relating to the Enchantress though it does get overwhelming at times as the design of her army is kind of weak. Sound editor Richard King does fantastic work with the sound in creating some sound effects and in some of the broad moments in the action sequences. The film’s score by Steven Price is wonderful as it’s mainly a mixture of orchestral music with some electronics as much of the music that is assembled by music supervisors Gabe Hilfer and Season Kent that features an array of music from the likes of AC/DC, Rick James, Eminem, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lesley Gore, the White Stripes, Black Sabbath, Kanye West, K7, Norman Greenbaum, the Rolling Stones, and the Animals.
The casting by Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu is brilliant despite some of the issues involved due to the interference of studio executives as it feature some notable small appearances from Jim Parrack and Common as a couple of the Joker’s henchmen, Alain Chanonine as the Enchantress’ brother Incubus, Ike Barinholtz as a prison guard, Scott Eastwood as Col. Flag’s right-hand man GQ Edwards, David Harbour as a government official, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon as Deadshot’s daughter, Grace Santana as El Diablo’s wife in flashbacks, and Adam Beach in a very wasted performance as Slipknot. Karen Fukuhara is fantastic as Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana as a volunteer who is deadly with a samurai sword as she helps the Suicide Squad while Cara Delevingne is alright as Dr. June Moone in displaying her fears and vulnerability but isn’t very good as the Enchantress who is just this lame villain.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is terrific as Waylon Jones/Killer Croc as a reptilian-like mutant who can do things underwater and kick ass though he is very underutilized and underwritten. Joel Kinnaman is superb as Col. Rick Flag as a Special Forces officer who leads the Suicide Squad into battle while trying to hide the fact that he is personally invested in this mission to stop the Enchantress. Jay Hernandez is excellent as Chato Santana/El Diablo as a pyromaniac who is reluctant to help out as he is afraid of unleashing his powers knowing how bad it can become. Jai Courtney is fun as George “Digger” Harkness/Captain Boomerang as a bank robber with a deadly boomerang who is quite tough but also has some weird fetishes.
Jared Leto’s performance as the Joker is a mixed bag where not only is it a very small role where he’s not given much to do for the story while his performance is funny at times but also over-the-top for the wrong reasons. Viola Davis is brilliant as Amanda Waller as an intelligence officer creating a plan to help the world in the face of a threat as this is a no-nonsense character that is quite ruthless but also very determined to do whatever it takes to save the world. Will Smith is amazing as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot as a hitman/assassin that is good at what he does yet is also complex as he’s got morals despite the fact that he’s a bad guy as Smith brings some charm but also some weight as a man who knows what is at stake. Finally, there’s Margot Robbie in a phenomenal performance as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn as a former psychiatrist who goes insane and falls for the Joker as she is this odd yet insane woman often speaks her mind and does crazy things as it’s the real standout performance in the film.
Suicide Squad is a decent but uneven film from David Ayer. Despite some action sequences, intriguing premise, and a great ensemble cast, it’s a film that suffers from trying to do so much only to bring in so little. In the end, Suicide Squad is just a very disappointing and underwhelming film from David Ayer.
David Ayer Films: (Harsh Times) – (Street Kings) – (End of Watch) – (Sabotage (2014 film)) – (Fury (2014 film)) – (Bright (2017 film))
DC Extended Universe: Man of Steel - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Wonder Woman – Justice League - Aquaman - Shazam! - Birds of Prey - (Wonder Woman 1984) - (The Batman) - (The Suicide Squad)
© thevoid99 2017
