--- title: "When We Were Kings: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/when-we-were-kings/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/when-we-were-kings" critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # When We Were Kings (1996): what the critics said Critics' score 85 from 11 reviews: 10 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics are won over, and the praise goes almost entirely to Muhammad Ali. Leon Gast’s documentary is credited with recapturing the electricity of the fighter in his prime, with several reviews calling it a time capsule that puts the viewer at the 1974 fight. The archive footage is admired for its urgency, and the wider point about the Rumble in the Jungle as a moment in African-American culture is felt to land. The commentators, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton and Spike Lee among them, are generally counted as an asset. The spread is narrow: ten positive reviews, one mixed, none hostile. Where there are doubts, they concern what the film leaves out. The Independent finds it raises consciousness without confronting the awkward facts of how and by whom the fight was staged, and The AV Club makes the same complaint about the dictator’s money and Don King, adding that Mailer and Plimpton talk over footage that could stand alone. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 5/5. Praises the Oscar-winning documentary for focusing on Ali the athlete and his importance to the African-American community, with contributions from Mailer, Plimpton, and Lee, proving Ali was the greatest. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-y9f80h/when-we-were-kings/) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The review praises the documentary as one of the best and most emotionally affecting ever made, highlighting Ali's natural presence on camera and the insightful contributions from commentators like Spike Lee. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kings-review/) ## Little White Lies — Justine Smith Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 January 2018. The piece lauds the film as a philosophical and poetic document of Muhammad Ali as an artist, philosopher, and poet, capturing the poetry and tragedy of his life and the era. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/when-we-were-kings-muhammad-ali-legacy) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 1997. The film is a vivid time capsule recapturing the electricity of Muhammad Ali in his prime and the cultural significance of the Rumble in the Jungle. It captures Ali’s public persona, private resolve, and joyful spirit while contrasting the young fighter with his later struggles. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/when-we-were-kings-1997) ## Slant Magazine — Derek Smith Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2019. The film provides a prismatic view of one of the biggest sports spectacles of the 20th century, seamlessly capturing its politically radical undercurrent with a tactile sense of urgency in its archival footage and reflectiveness about athletes' roles in social change. This Criterion release attests to the enduring power of Gast’s documentary. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/blu-ray-review-leon-gasts-when-we-were-kings-on-the-criterion-collection/) ## The New Yorker — Michael Sragow Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 August 2014. Gast’s exuberant and thrilling documentary captures Ali’s most astonishing triumph in the Rumble in the Jungle. The film shows how Ali transformed his public persona and mojo into formidable weapons against Foreman. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/kings) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 1997. The critic calls it a superb and electrifying Oscar-winning documentary that captures the monumental sense of the Rumble in the Jungle, focusing on Ali's roots and challenge while conveying the event's cultural significance. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/when-we-were-kings-review/) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 February 1996. Festival review. The incredible story of the Rumble in the Jungle is related in enormously entertaining fashion. Anchored by Ali’s charisma and the event’s cultural importance, the snappily paced doc is a total delight. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/when-we-were-kings-1200445004/) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2016. The critic praises Leon Gast's documentary as a time-capsule transporting viewers to the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle, highlighting the insightful commentaries by Norman Mailer and George Plimpton. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/when-we-were-kings) ## The AV Club — Maria Schneider Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2002. Despite some faults, the film is an energetic, passionate documentary of the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle and a revelation for those who only know Ali and Foreman later in life. It celebrates the event as a high-water mark in African American culture but skirts dubious elements like its bankrolling by a dictator and promotion by Don King, while the commentary by Plimpton and Mailer detracts from the footage. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/when-we-were-kings-1798195819) ## The Independent — Adam Mars-Jones Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 1997. The critic finds the film fascinating for its portrayal of Ali's charisma and showmanship but notes it deals in virtual politics and raises consciousness without confronting uncomfortable facts about the event or its context. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/stranger-than-fiction-1261527.html) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/when-we-were-kings.md