SummaryStephen Frears’ HBO film based on the book by Howard Bingham and Max Wallace, follows the decision by the supreme court to uphold Muhammad Ali’s right to claim conscientious objector status in 1971.
SummaryStephen Frears’ HBO film based on the book by Howard Bingham and Max Wallace, follows the decision by the supreme court to uphold Muhammad Ali’s right to claim conscientious objector status in 1971.
The argument for overturning Ali's conviction has nothing to do with politics or personality. Instead, it had everything to do with the legal fine print, which makes the film's climax more muted than you might hope.... The cast, led by Plummer and Langella, is so fabulous you might find yourself wondering if it isn't time for a dramatic series revolving around this Supreme Court.
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, which is based on a book by Howard L. Bingham and Max Wallace, is best when it revels in the astonishing whiteness and occasionally ridiculous ways of yesterday’s high court.
Yes, it’s worth watching for the historical moment it represents--particularly since that moment continues to echo through to the present--but it’s less compelling than it might have been.
It’s not boring, thanks to strong performances by Christopher Plummer as the ailing Justice John Marshall Harlan and Frank Langella as conservative Justice Warren E. Burger. But still, the loose script, by Shawn Slovo, doesn’t drive home the size and intensity of the moment.
The actors make Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight seem better than it is, but the real Ali, with all his youth, vigor, bravado and passion, convinces us that he and his case deserved much better.