Ali: Knockout or Punched Out?

Hahaha! Okay I will then Big T.

I predict Ali will tank at the box office.

Here's why:
Because it's Mohamed Ali's life story and it's been done a hundred million times already. He wins some, he loses some, there's Black Panthers and FBI, the Thrilla in Manilla, blah blah blah. Aside from Will Smiths jaw there's nothing that makes me want to see this movie. How did they get Smith's jaw to do that? He looks like Ali. As far as Will getting a Golden Globe, ptth. Who can't act like Mohammed Ali? Look, I can do it too. I'm tha greatest! I'm so pretty! See. wasn't I good? Plus, Will just isn't big enuff to draw a lot of people on just his name if the movie doesn't have cool special effects. Let me put it this way, he ain't no Denzel Washington. The movie is being released on Christmas? Why? Well see, if it was called Ali Saves Christmas maybe it would make money, but who wants to see a boxing movie at Christmas time?

When you have a story that has already been told, something that's historical, there's not much you can do to make it better except hire better actors and tell the story better.

Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven brought westerns into reality. Showing western life as real. Ryan's Privates showed the reality of war. For a better Ali movie it has to do that same kind of thing. Show us the cold hard reality of boxing and Mohammed Ali's life with all their consequences. I want to see people die in the ring. I want to see them fight so hard and want it so bad they actually die trying. I want to see people be maimed and live with the consequences of maiming others. I want to see a movie about a loser boxer who goes through beating after beating after beating because that's the only way he can make it in life. Of course that's not the Ali story so how much boxing reality can there be?

Mohammed Ali was black, er.. he still is, and at that time everyone was against him. He fought to prove himself, he fought to release the anger, he fought because he has the spirit of a champion and he won. The right movie could make him a great American hero. With his own holiday even! But the problem is he made it look so easy. He was always smiling and joking and stuff. It's like dude, if we're going to make a movie about how you overcame all this adversity you need to look like you're struggling and having a hard time of it. His happy nature makes it hard to do a gritty reality movie about him. He needs to be happy on the outside and tortured on the inside. Happy happy is hard to make into a drama, unless it's happy happy but secretly tortured. The previews don't make it look like that kind of movie. It just looks like another Ali movie and that's not special.

Well, I must ask you: what do you mean by "tank"? How much do you think it will pull in? I don't think it'll be the big hit some think, but I don't think it'll tank, either.

I'll tell you what, I don't know why this is, but I'm not interested in this movie at all, and neither is anyone I've talked to. The only conversations I have about movies, are with my movie-buff crowd...and no one is in to it, man. Don't know why that is, but it is what it is. I agree with Sunfrog...it's gonna bomb.

Personally, I stay away from any movie with Mario Van Peebles in it.

I think it will be quite successful. You guys probably don't talk to a lot of people that wanted to see Final Destination either, but it made money. "The guy made a million dollars."

There's always a group of people who enjoy different genres of films. I talked to lots of different types of movie-buffs, and I'm tellin' ya, no one gives a crap! Maybe, just maybe, if the Academy has there eye on Smith, and by some freak twist of fate, he gets the Oscar...maybe then, people will want to know what all the hype is about...and they'll see it. Didn't work for Gods & Monsters, but it could work in this case.

Nice one. Sades: I dunno, I don't talk to too many people, but the Internet Film Geek Community seems to be interested in this one. Michael Mann has a little bit of a following, Will Smith has mainstream appeal, and Ali is a very intriguing figure...I seriously admire the guy. How can you not admire him? I for one am going to see it if I have the opportunity, and if the critics' reviews don't trash it too badly.

Another boxing movie. I don't care who's in the ring...be it Smith, be it Denzel...be it Stallone...be it DeNiro...it's all the same. Slo-Mo action sequences with blood and sweat spray. Possible love story thrown in to entertain the chicks. Yeah, it's a true story...I still don't wanna see it.

I move for this remark to be stricken from the record, as it makes sades sound incredibly ignorant. No mas!

I'll disagree with Sades here, too. Honestly, how many "boxing" movies are there? I don't think "Ali" is going to be a boxing movie. I don't thing "Rocky" was too much of a boxing movie, either. It's like calling, as we talked about awhile ago, Steve, "He Got Game" a basketball movie. That implies that the sport is the central focus...which it isn't. The focus of "Ali" looks to be his resilience and the fact that everyone wants to take him down. Boxing is just one part of that.

I'll be my own defense, thanks. Ignorant? Good thing you put the word,"sounds" in there, you could have been guilty of pulling a Holden, in which case...I'd have to insult you.


I can have a bias against "Boxing Movies" because there is such a thing, and I can't stand the sport anyways and movies about it or revolving around it, leave me cold. So there. Think what you will about my ignorance status...but I still stand by what I said.

Here are the movies that I can think of that revolve around Boxing.

• Rocky I, II, III, IV
• Girlfight

Those are the only two I can think of at the moment, but know there is a movie with Jimmy Smits in it, I think it's called The Price of Glory, or something like that.

Boxing movies are few and far between. Just the fact that they're making a movie about the great Ali is heartwarming. He deserves a movie, and it looks to be a good movie at that.

__________________
"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

Okay, so just because there isn't a whole ton of them...does that mean I have to like the few? C'mon, this a pointless debate.
Movies about Boxing:

* The Contender(1980)
*Twenty Four Seven(1997)
*Body and Soul(1947)
*The Boxer(1979)
*Broken Noses(1987)
*Diggstown(1992)
*The Great White Hype(1996)

There's over 100 in the IMDb data base...so are there movies about boxing or what? If so, can I not like them?

Yeah, but take a peak at Football movies, Baseball movies, Basketball movies. These are the general mainstream sports. You hear more abou those three than you do Boxing.

Baseball stops at 100 but only because it is aborted at 100. I guarentee there are more, but just wanted to use that as an example.

Basketball stops at 85. That's total

Football stops at 100, but it's another aborted stop.

So see, boxing isn't the only sport that has "too many movies" made about it.

I don't want to see it because I don't think Smith with his big sticking out ears is representative of Ali at all. I have nothing against Smith, I would see him in other films but Ali he ain't.

Best boxing movie:

DeNiro in Raging Bull....

I WAS wanting to see Ali, but I've since changed my minds. It got hammered by reviewers and I think I'll just wait for it to come out on DVD.

You mean Stallone as Rocky wasn't any good?

I guess Ali wasn't a huge blockbuster eh Twitty? Only $58 million total. You may now bow to my giant head.

Well, look at what I said.

I stand by it. I don't think $60 million (or just a tad under that) makes it a bomb -- just a disapointment.

Hmm.. well considering that big blockbusters make about 20 - 30 MM on opening weekend 58 is pretty bad. What are the ranges for a successful movie? It used to be that $100MM was the mark of success but these days that's not as hard to do. Mmm.. how about...
110+ Blockbuster
80 - 109 A
70 - 79 B
60 - 69 C
50 - 59 D
under 49 Sucks

That's a hard feat to accomplish, ya know!?

Let's say that Amelie opened in as many theaters as LOTR, I very much doubt it would bring in 60 mil opening weekend. Just because it doesn't make 100 mil doesn't mean it's a bad movie.

I'm guessing that little breakdown there is total?? But still, you can't rate a movie on how well it is just by how much money it brings in.