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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 12-24-2001, 03:32 AM:
I hate boxing. What is so sporting about two people beating the crap out of each other? I never understood cockfighting either, but it's legal in Oklahoma.I really enjoyed this film. It's not about boxing, it's about the boxer. The intimate story of a man doing what he does best and the roadblocks a black man finds along his path to glory when black men weren't supposed to be popular or powerful. And the story is told without the cliche "the man is keeping me down" overtones shoved down the viewer's throat.
Michael Mann directed this one and gave it a slick, grainy, contrasty look with some pretty cool fight scene effects and a great soundtrack to pull the story along.
The fight scenes themselves were well-made ... Not Rocky-type scenes with blood and sweat spattered on the camera lens, but well-choreographed shots that get the point across without offending.
Posted by Don Anderson (Member # 397) on 12-25-2001, 01:27 AM:
I could barely sit through the bloody thing. The film was way too long, and went nowhere. The three other employees that screened it with me all agreed. Will Smith was a poor choice to play Ali. I felt that I was in school sitting in a history class lecture. I love boxing, but this is a bomb. I tired of the chopping editing and camera jitters. Ugh. I could hardly wait for the credits to roll. Why the heck did it get an R rating? PG 13 material at the most. What kills me is that there was a full page ad for the film in the Journal/Sentinel in Milwaukee. Color copy too.