Ali: Lord of the Ring

Muhammad Ali and Will Smith turn the champ's life into a movie as stirring — and complex — as the man

COLUMBIA PICTURES

First, you hear him tapping. He's in his office, on his farm on the southern border of Michigan, making art. He's such a big man--solid as a brick wall and well over 6 ft.--that he nearly dwarfs the conference table where he's seated. Before him is a large piece of paper and several black markers. In the center of the paper he's drawn a tiny boxing ring with two tiny stick figures. The larger one is labeled MUHAMMAD ALI, and it's delivering a solid punch to the much smaller one, labeled JOE FRAZIER.

All around the boxing...

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