NO, this is not the Ali G movie. The Staines lewd mouth arrives on screen in Ali G In Da House on March 22.

This is the original lippy Ali, Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay, boxer supreme, people's champion, political heavyweight, punchy poet, all-time sporting hero and most beautiful man of the 20th century.

Normally Hollywood pretties up the subjects of its biopics but how can anyone improve on Muhammad Ali? The task of conveying the feats of Clay falls to rapper, fast-talking comedy turn and action hero Will Smith, a handsome and handy all-rounder who now adds another string to his flexible bow. He can do the Ali shuffle, the Ali rap and the wide, bragging mouth; he takes a good punch too, and he has bulked up and learned the ring moves, like Sly Stallone for Rocky and Robert De Niro for Raging Bull before him.

The Oscar nomination has inevitably come Smith's way, a very public round of applause for his bravura turn, taking on the look though never the presence or soul of the iconic Ali, but for all Michael Mann's directing skills, particularly for the close-in boxing scenes, this is not the greatest movie on The Greatest. That honour goes to the best sports film ever, When We Were Kings, Leon Gast's documentary account of the lead-up to the Rumble In The Jungle, the 1974 fight in Zaire where Ali reclaimed the world title from lumbering George Foreman on a magical night when the heavens added their own thunderous approval.

That famous fight also forms the climax of Ali, Mann's movie choosing not to follow Muhammad Ali into career decline and his latest opponent, Parkinson's disease, but capturing the decade from 1964 when his impact was global.

From victory over Sonny Liston, the Louisville Lip progresses through encountering Malcolm X, converting to the Islamic faith, changing his name, refusing to go to Vietnam, and having his heavyweight crown stripped from him, and all the while there are rocky relations with women.

Despite the long running time, and the shortened life story, Mann has too much story to tell.

Call it madness, call it bravery, but Ali just about punches its weight and never pulls its punches despite being a mission impossible. See it but revisit When We Were Kings too.

Updated: 09:01 Friday, February 22, 2002