The Movie:

In I Am Ali, George Foreman, who famously fought Muhammed Ali in the legendary Rumble in The Jungle fight, says that he gets upset when people call Ali a great boxer. "He was more than just a great boxer, he was a great man.", he says, and ends his sentiment by stating how impossible it is to take such a grand and complex man and identify him with just one word.

Maybe that's why there still hasn't been a movie about Ali's overall life that could successfully capture the essence of a man so bigger than life and so full of energy within the two-hour running time of a standard feature. It feels like either we need a Ken Burns-style 10-hour miniseries, or it might be a better idea to stick to films that focus on distinct sections of his life.

Films with that compact approach work a lot better, because they're able to spend the time necessary to really delve into a specific parts of Ali's life. 1970's A.K.A. Cassius Clay is an excellent documentary about Ali's career up until the film's production. The Greatest, a 1977 biography where Ali played himself, came closest to capturing his spirit while still sticking to his life up until the 70s.

1996's Best Documentary Oscar winner, and easily one of the best sports documentaries ever made, When We Were Kings was about The Rumble In The Jungle. Last year's underrated HBO drama Muhammed Ali's Greatest Fight didn't have a single scene with Ali, but showed insight into his troubles with the government after he refused to go to Vietnam.

Michael Mann tried to encapsulate Ali's entire life in the uncharacteristically dour Ali. The Will Smith-starring prestige project not only presented such a vibrant man in a curiously somber and lifeless way, but also was a bit of a convoluted mess as it tried to examine all aspects of Ali's life.

The new documentary I Am Ali, which combines personal home recordings of the champ with testimonial interviews from the most important people in his life, falls into the same trap as it turns into more of a Cliff's Notes exploration of Ali from other people's perspective.

If you don't know anything about this great man, it should provide a solid beginner's guide. Anyone else who has even a passing knowledge of Muhammed Ali won't find much in the way of new information, aside from some home recordings that does nothing but further solidify his reputation as a loving family man.

Clare Lewins' film episodically presents the most important chunks of Ali's life without trying to construct a more cohesive narrative. The overall editing has a predictable feel to it, as if everyone was just basically going through the motions, jumping from one unrelated segment to the next. All of the greatest hits are here: Ali's early career, his victory at the 1960 Olympics, his troubles around refusing to go to Vietnam, the Rumble in The Jungle, even his late career choices in the 80s. Since we're dealing with a feature, none of these segments can allow enough time to flourish and they always leave us wanting more.

Some of the dull style choices that Lewins brings forth don't help matters. A simple sound line visually represents most of Ali's home recordings, as if we turned on the iTunes visualizer. A more visually enticing approach could have added so much.

The Blu-Ray:

Video:

A lot of I Am Ali consists of vintage interview footage, which is where the film truly shines, since it lets Ali do his thing instead of being stoically described by his loved ones. A lot of these scenes are transferred from old video and film sources and understandably look scratchy and grainy. The interview segments, on the other hand, look as clean and crisp as modern digital photography allows. All in all, a solid 1080p presentation.

Audio:

The DTS-HD 5.1 track is typical for a documentary, mostly sticking to the front channels during the interview sections, which take up a huge chunk of the film's running time. Whenever the uninspired choice of popular songs from the era pops up, that's where the track shows some depth and vibrancy.

Extras:

Fighter, Brother, Lover, Father: These three-to-four-minute featurettes show extended interviews with the film's subjects. Each segment focuses on a specific aspect of Ali's life.

The Music: A brief five-minute featurette about how the original score for I Am Ali was produced. To be honest with you, I didn't even realize the film had an original score while watching it, that's how forgettable it must have been.

Final Thoughts:

I Am Ali should provide an adequate entry point to viewers who are not familiar with Muhammed Ali's life story. Watching it will hopefully result in some interest in the films I mentioned above. However, if you're a connoisseur of all things Ali, there isn't much here that will floor you.

Oktay Ege Kozak is a film critic and screenwriter based in Portland, Oregon. He also writes for The Playlist, The Oregon Herald, and Beyazperde.com