Don't know to whom the "we" in the title refers since this documentary is pretty much a deification of Muhammed Ali with all the talking heads, from Spike to Plimpton, singing his praises and offering exactly no criticism of arguably the biggest yammering head of the 20th century. Even an anecdote by Norman Mailer (who, in this doc's most surprising turn, actually comes across as engaging) that points up the guy's insincerity, if not hostility, is turned into a "lovable ol Ali" trope. George Foreman, by contrast, pretty much disappears into the Generic Opponent hole with nothing on his background and very little on his personality. And I found the stuff about Foreman's losing the fight 'cause he was bewitched to be silly and borderline racist.
What director Leon Gast does manage to capture, and what gives the documentary its interest, in my opinion, is the irony, tragedy, and sheer weirdness of celebrating the accomplishments of a great African American in a poor African country ruled by a brutal black dictator. The shadow of Mobutu falls across this film and it is most somber and most disturbing. I feel that it makes Ali's pronouncements about the dignity of the African as opposed to the African American people sound a bit hollow and more than a bit pompous. Would that Gast and at least one of his talking heads felt similarly instead of framing these wrongheaded comments as eloquent or inspiring.
Bottom line: Watchable and at times powerful, but highly resistible. B minus.
PS...No one wears a seersucker sport coat like George Plimpton.
What director Leon Gast does manage to capture, and what gives the documentary its interest, in my opinion, is the irony, tragedy, and sheer weirdness of celebrating the accomplishments of a great African American in a poor African country ruled by a brutal black dictator. The shadow of Mobutu falls across this film and it is most somber and most disturbing. I feel that it makes Ali's pronouncements about the dignity of the African as opposed to the African American people sound a bit hollow and more than a bit pompous. Would that Gast and at least one of his talking heads felt similarly instead of framing these wrongheaded comments as eloquent or inspiring.
Bottom line: Watchable and at times powerful, but highly resistible. B minus.
PS...No one wears a seersucker sport coat like George Plimpton.