I love this movie so much

Thanks for the memories!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

When making a documentary about such a known figure as Muhammad Ali, the tough thing is trying to cover material that hasn't already been beaten to death. Fortunately, "I Am Ali" manages to do that, keeping the material fresh and looking at the subject matter from an angle I hadn't seen before.The "gimmick", so to speak, of this documentary is that it releases a number of "audio journals" (phone conversations) between Ali and his family members. This shows a side of Ali not usually seen by the press or in his public life. It is more of a father talking to his children, and that is kind of neat to hear from such a legendary figure.That being said, the journals are indeed kind of a "gimmick" in that they aren't used nearly as much as the trailer for this documentary would indicate. Instead, where this film really succeeds is in the wide range of people they talk to about Ali's life both in and out of the ring. This isn't just the "usual suspects", instead including such people as...-Daughters Hana & Maryum, son Muhammad Jr., brother Rahman, and wife Veronica. -Celebrities Tom Jones & Jim Brown -Manager Gene Kilroy -Marvis Frazier (son of Joe Frazier) -Fellow pugilists George Foreman & Mike TysonAll of these individuals share some of their unique experiences with Ali, providing stories spanning the emotional range from dramatic to romantic to comedic and everything in between. In this way, "I Am Ali" kind of follows the same format as previous documentary "Facing Ali" (which had many of Ali's opponents give their thoughts about The Greatest).Overall, "I Am Ali" is a great documentary for casual boxing/Ali fans or those who already "know it all". It is a bit sympathetic to Ali's personal side (he was also a carouser and terribly used by the Muslim Brotherhood, but those topics are not brought up much), but that is excusable because it really wants to focus on Ali's relationships with certain key individuals sans politics. As a whole, this doc may not be quite as good as "Facing Ali", but it is still a five-star effort that accomplishes the difficult task of gleaning something new out of the Ali story.

I Am Ali (2014) *** 1/2 (out of 4)There have been countless documentaries done about Muhammad Ali and there will probably be countless others made in the future. It's easy to see why there have been so many because there's just no doubt that Ali was one of the most interesting humans to ever live.This documentary here features interviews with his family (sons and daughters), his ex-wife, his friends (Jim Brown, Tom Jones), his boxing opponents (George Foreman) and many others as they discuss what made Ali the man he was. Throughout all of the interviews we are given audio clips and archives interview footage with the man himself who helps talk about some of the most memorable moments in his life from early fights to his Vietnam battle to Islam. We also get his classic fights covered as well as his later days (this was filmed before his death).If you're a fan of Ali then I'm sure you've seen countless other documentaries where this same footage was talked about so what makes this one so special? Well, it's actually just Ali and his rather amazing story. The benefit here is that so many of his children are interviewed and we get to hear stories about him as a father and we get some great audio recordings of him talking and playing with his children. There's a great story with Mike Tyson where the boxer talks about what Ali did for him.I AM ALI is certainly a highly entertaining look at a terrific man.

Muhammed Ali is still a divisive figure in the USA. Lot less so in other parts of the world. In 1999 he was voted the greatest sportsman of the 20th Century by a BBC sports review programme. Ali got more votes than the rest of the top 10 sports personalities combined.We now live in a day when sportsmen thank their business managers, accountants and stand up for something only when it has been first approved by their publicist.It were different days back then and Ali divided America and rest of the world by changing his name, religion and refusing to be drafted into the US army and go fight in Vietnam.There is nothing new here but it is a good documentary if you know little of Ali and wanted to understand and know more of the man.Ali does not appear apart from old film footage. However there is an emphasis on his personal and family life by way of various audio recordings he made which he gave to one of his daughter's which is new. You also get to see the usual stuff like his exploits in the ring, his politics, religious conversion etc.The film does show us a little of this complex even contradictory man. Veronica Porsche confirms that she was seeing Ali while he was still married. He had children from many women but wanted his kids to know each other and seems to have maintained good relationships with his ex wives.There is good use of soul music, it is good to hear from members of his family, past and present as well as other celebrities. It is not ground breaking but a good introduction of Ali.

I guess I'm biased because I regard Mohamad Ali as a role model and look up to him. The movie is a stripped back revelation of not only why people like me respect Ali but reveals his controversial episodes, his infidelity, which doesn't detract from his loving nature toward all family members and that love is clearly reciprocated. We are privileged to be granted access to numerous recordings of conversations he had with his kids over the telephone which were seemingly whilst he was away from them giving us a sense that he didn't wish to be absent but was, making his story all the more touching. His boxing peers and rivals all respect him and bow to the fact that he was probably the greatest of all time, but not just as a fighter, but as a human being, if you love Mohamad Ali, this movie will make you cry as much as his antics will bring you joy and make you laugh, this is about a real person, and that's why the tears are so real also, a movie to own on Blu Ray, God bless him, for me, best new film I've seen in a long time.