One of the most anticipated shows coming to Prime Video is The Greatest from executive producer Michael B. Jordan, an official biopic about the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali. A decade after his death at the age of 74, his career, charisma, and advocacy still fascinate generations of fans. Sports dramas have provided numerous hits on streaming, with docuseries like FX’s Welcome to Wrexham and Netflix’s Drive to Survive racing up the charts alongside fictional offerings like Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. Can Prime Video create another hit with arguably the most compelling life story in sports history?
What Is ‘The Greatest’ About?
The Prime Video series portrays the life of Ali, then known as Cassius Clay (Jaalen Best), from his breakthrough fight at the Rome Olympics in 1960 to his pivotal 1964 championship bout with Sonny Liston (Amin Joseph). Fighting through a tempestuous relationship with his father, Cassius Sr. (Omari Hardwick), racial prejudice, and talented competition, he forges a path that makes himone of the most important athletes of the 20th century. The narrative is framed around Ali’s relationship with his family, as well as his growing connection with civil rights leader Malcolm X (Michael Ealy).
The series is produced by Amazon MGM Studios in collaboration with Muhammad Ali’s estate, with his widow Lonnie serving as executive producer alongside Oscar winner Jordan, and was created by Ben Watkins, the showrunner of the Prime Video series Cross. It’s the first fully authorized scripted television series based on the champion’s life, and while it only focuses on the early years of his career, it’s reasonable to assume future seasons would feature him at the height of his fame.
‘The Greatest’ Dramatizes the Many Challenges of Muhammad Ali’s Life
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What The Greatest does well is highlight the opponents Ali faced outside the ring. Set in the racially segregated South, the young boxer is heralded by white dignitaries for his achievements at the Olympics, but reminded through several hurtful remarks and gestures that he is still viewed as inferior by the people of his hometown. The young man, initially wearing his gold medal proudly, is driven to despair as he realizes the bigotry that still lies in plain sight. It’s a powerful reminder of what he faced, even if the point is hammered home indelicately.
One interesting twist is the use of contemporary music in many scenes, presumably due to the show being partly produced by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. The narrative device yields mixed results, working well when looking at the boxing side of his life but occasionally feeling out of place elsewhere. The boxing footage is, as you would hope, well-choreographed and dramatic, creating a stage on which Ali would become its brightest star.
‘The Greatest’ Isn’t as Compelling as Other Works About Ali
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Image via Prime VideoMany biopics about great creatives have run into the problem of their subject’s life not being as exciting as their work. The Greatest has the opposite issue — Ali’s life was filled with legendary moments, captured on camera at the time and examined by some of the most talented filmmakers of all time. Michael Mann directed the 2001 film Ali with Will Smith, made with Ali’s blessing, while documentaries like When We Were Kings and miniseries Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story brought archive footage to life. Ali even starred in his own biopic, also called The Greatest, in 1977.
In short, there have been hours of TV and cinema devoted to his story, and The Greatest suffers by comparison. The script borders on melodrama, delivering a surface-level retelling of events but never quite letting the viewer in on the inner workings of Ali’s or his family’s minds. Moments that should have been jaw-dropping drama, such as the refusal of service at a restaurant that leads to Ali throwing his gold medal in the river, feel clinical and devoid of tension. The episodes plod along a familiar biopic path, which feels like a crime when talking about a story as unique as this.
- He reads ground the way other people read a room.
- He will stand between you and the worst of it without discussing it.
- He says almost nothing, and never the wrong thing.
- The 1982 original came from David Morrell’s 1972 novel, which ends very differently.
- Stallone cut most of his own dialogue in the edit to make the character nearly silent.
- Five films across thirty-seven years, from 1982 to the fifth in 2019.
- He is better in the room than he is on paper, and he is excellent on paper.
- He will not explain the plan, and the plan will work.
- He treats charm as a tool, and it is a remarkably effective one.
- Eon has made twenty-five Bond films since Dr. No in 1962, across six actors.
- Denis Villeneuve is directing the next one for Amazon MGM, which took creative control in
2025. - The search for the new 007 was still running through 2026, with screen tests under way.
- He has read the thing nobody else thought to read.
- He will risk the whole plan for the artifact, and be right about half the time.
- He improvises better than most people prepare.
- The Cairo swordsman scene was improvised on the day because Harrison Ford had dysentery.
- Raiders was filmed in about 73 days, which was fast even in 1981.
- Dial of Destiny in 2023 was Ford’s fifth and last outing, at the age of eighty.
- He turns whatever is in the room to his advantage.
- He is funniest when things are at their worst.
- He has never once agreed that it is over.
- Die Hard came from Roderick Thorp’s novel Nothing Lasts Forever, a sequel to a book
filmed in 1968. - Nakatomi Plaza is Fox Plaza, which was the studio’s own headquarters at the time.
- Bruce Willis was a television comedy actor then, and a long way down the casting list.
- He takes the risk himself rather than assigning it.
- He is three moves ahead and will not say which three.
- He treats your survival as the actual objective.
- Cruise hung off the side of an Airbus A400M at a thousand feet for the opening of Rogue
Nation. - The HALO jump in Fallout took 106 takes, filmed at dusk for the light.
- The Final Reckoning in 2025 was the eighth film, and was sold as the last.
Jaalen Best Looks and Sounds Like the Great Man, but There’s Something Missing
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It’s a thankless task to play one of sports history’s most iconic figures, particularly one known for being such a showman. Jaalen Best does a solid job, not least through his physical transformation, mimicking Ali’s cadence and bravado while also portraying the shy young man behind the scenes. What prevents it from being a truly remarkable performance is the shallow material that breaks down Ali’s life into a series of confrontations and montages rather than allowing a peek into the mentality of a boxing great.
Elsewhere in the cast, Hardwick has some compelling moments as a man struggling to reconcile with his son achieving the greatness he wanted, while Quentin Tarantino collaborator Dana Gourrier brings heart to the story as Ali’s mother, Odessa “Bird” Clay. Joseph, best known for the hit show Snowfall, is impressive as Sonny Liston, depicting the lesser-known story of his path to glory as well as his tender romance with his wife, Geraldine (Erica Tazel). Ealy and Giovanni Ribisi make notable appearances as Malcolm X and trainer Angelo Dundee, respectively, but their star power can’t elevate something that should have you on the edge of your seat.
While authorized biopics have an air of authenticity, they can also lead to a project that plays things a little too safe. The Greatest never quite captures the excitement of the man it portrays, nor does the behind-the-scenes drama feel like much more than a detailed Wikipedia entry. Despite some interesting flourishes, what should have been a gripping tale of genius turns into a by-the-numbers biopic that has been told much better elsewhere.
The Greatest premieres November 4 on Prime Video.
The Greatest
A missed opportunity to go deeper into the life of a sports legend.
The Greatest is an intimate exploration of the legendary life of Muhammad Ali, examining his victories and defeats within the boxing ring and his personal journey outside the spotlight as a man, husband, father, brother, and son.
- The series outlines the societal struggles Ali faced.
- Jaalen Best delivers a solid performance.
- The script never gets beneath the surface.
- The show doesn?t take any risks artistically or with its plot.
- Best doesn?t get to explore the man behind the headlines.
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