A lot of money was spent to do a lot of things right. The film is beautiful to look at. It is very well acted. But somewhere along the way, something basic and important was forgotten: a clear story!
Ali has no central focus, no clear story spine. Instead it is a string of wonderful moments and scenes, but no thread holds them together. This story is also strangled by history, which adds to its fragmented flow. At almost three hours, it is repetitive and boring -- as constructed, the story would have been boring at two hours!
Hollywood spends all this money and skimps on the most basic thing of all, a strong story. Unfortunately, this happens too often.
Don't let your script have a weak story spine!
1/02