I still haven’t gotten to Antoine Fuqua‘s What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (HBO, two parts, 165 minutes). Fuqua basically enables the three-time heavyweight champ to narrate his own story. One result, according to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Caryn James, “is undeniably an exercise in image-burnishing, not that Ali’s already heroic image needs it.”
Ali’s life has always been its own burnishment, but I’d rather re-watch his YouTube clips (I’ve watched the 10.30.74 “Rumble in the Jungle” match several times) or better yet When We Were Kings. I’ve just re-watched an eloquent N.Y. Times video obit (19 minutes, posted on 6.6.16) that addresses the “what’s my name” thing perfectly. Who’s seen Fuqua’s film and what’s the reaction?
