I enjoy some documentaries. I will not profess to be a lover of the cinema who truly appreciates the stark, honest truths presented in all documentaries; rather, I enjoy seeing stories that are unscripted, compelling and often border on the unbelievable. I categorize docmumentaries in two ways: the first is when you are watching a story the filmmaker knew he was going to tell, the second is when the filmmaker stumbles upon something truly exciting and unexpected. When We Were Kings is the former. It documents the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Seeing Foreman before he became a cherubic cheeked pitchman for grills and mufflers is startling: he was almost animal-like and vicious, a terrifying presence. Ali, of course, was The Greatest, charismatic, always ready for an interview and loved by all. Unfortunately, many thought the beast that was Foreman was going to destroy Ali. Maybe you know what happened, maybe you don’t. Seeing one of the greatest icons of the 20th century (as opposed to seeing him portrayed by Will Smith), it is impossible not to realize what made him The Greatest. I considered adding my two cents about athletes today, but this is not really a film about athletes or an athletic event, this is a film about good versus evil.

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