Ali is a 2001 biographical film which tells the story of boxer Muhammad Ali. It stars Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Joe Morton, Giancarlo Esposito and LeVar Burton.

The movie was written by Gregory Allen Howard , Stephen J. Rivele , Christopher Wilkinson , Eric Roth and Michael Mann. It was directed by Mann.

It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Will Smith) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jon Voight).

The original script by Howard and also Rivele was too long and unwieldy, and was significantly modified by Roth and Mann. Howard was originally commissioned to write an Ali script by producer Jon Peters in 1994, but it was never produced.

The film had mixed reviews, notably because it had long moments where Smith would be sitting on a train, or running through an African village, with music playing but without anything happening. These scenes would go 'on and on' as Roger Ebert said in his review of the film, causing the movie to drag on. Ebert also said that the movie was disappointing because he felt that the viewer does not learn anything new about Muhammad Ali, and felt it was not edited properly. The acting was well received by critics in general, but many also felt the movie was not well made. Director Spike Lee said during an interview for ESPN that he could not understand how a boring movie could be made about one of the most exciting figures of the 20th century. Many Ali fans seem to prefer the Documentary When We Were Kings to Ali the movie.

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