Will Smith may be infamous now for a certain slap, but he's also a convincing puncher too, if this movie is anything to go by. Smith was rightly nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of boxing royalty in 2002's Ali, but you need to catch it sooner rather than later.
Ali leaves Netflix on the 15th of January, but you can't let life get in the way of catching the story of a truly incredible man. The late great Muhammad Ali is an all-time sporting icon who transcended the world of boxing. The only live footage I ever saw of the man was an elderly figure lighting the Olympic flame for the London 2012 games, but even I could tell that he had something special.
No one could ever really give the man his full impact on screen but Will Smith comes close. He seems to embody the man known as "The Greatest" both in the ring and outside of it, with press conferences and interviews that just ooze charm and seem more like a preacher delivering a sermon than a fighter building up hype/trash talking.
Of course, the man's life was almost beyond fiction and with such an incredible story to tell, it makes sense that this movie focuses on ten years of his journey. Michael Mann directs us from Cassius Clay's first shot at the championship against Sonny Liston, through his meetings with Malcolm X and refusal to join the Vietnam War, to struggles inside the ring and finally the legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" against George Foreman. His love life was never straightforward either. That's a lot for one movie.
On top of Smith's lauded turn as the man himself, Jon Voigt and Jamie Foxx are superb while Smith's real-life wife Jada Pinkett Smith even appears as Sonji Roi, Ali's first wife.
Even if you have just a casual interest in boxing, do yourself a favour and watch the story of a true sporting legend. What else are you doing at the start of a new year? If you need more ideas for what to watch check out our holiday streaming guide across the best streaming services.
