Muhammad and Larry looks at the fight history willfully forgot, Larry Holmes’ crushing 1980 defeat of Muhammad Ali.  The disparity between the fighters’ abilities was palpable.  The beat-down was brutal.  It was never a question whether Ali would win, only whether he would function  correctly afterward.  The legend became vividly human on live TV.

Albert Maysles compiled footage from his original unaired documentary, infusing it with fresh perspective.  The documentary was hands off, relying on the footage to explain.  It did so spectacularly.

Ali is jarring initially, and for reasons beyond his mustache.  He’s fat with an old man’s hunch.  His breathing is labored.  He struggles to put on his boots.  He stops running to walk for a bit.  He gets beaten badly in sparring sessions.  Ali looks like Norman Mailer’s portrayal of him in The Fight progressed 10 years.  He looks lazy.

As the film progresses, you realize it’s not weariness, age or lack of effort.  Ali speaks and reacts slowly.  There’s a scene where he struggles with the punching bag.  It’s revealed that he went to the Mayo Clinic for neurological testing, where he could not touch his nose.  He was probably suffering from the beginning effects of Parkinson’s.  He should never have fought.

Ali is surrounded by sycophants, both employed by him and covering him.  Everyone sees what is happening, but clings to the myth.  The cognitive dissonance suffocates.  Every small triumph is applauded.  One of Ali’s handlers bizarrely claims he’s as fit as a 28-year-old.  Everyone involved depends on Ali.  No one stops him.

The title Muhammad and Larry fits because it is ultimately about two individuals, who seem a perfect contrast.

Muhammad is awkward.  He’s an entertainer constantly playing to the crowd, whether it’s inventing quasi-poetic nonsense or putting on a weird magic show.  By this point, he’s playing Muhammad Ali in a movie.  We see glimpses of his true personality.  He’s gentle with children and shy around women.  His outward bravado barely masks his insecurity.

Larry is the heavyweight skewered by Malcolm Gladwell for having neither charisma nor imagination.  He’s secure, content and confident.  He lives a simple life in his hometown, with a wife he met before he was famous.  While Ali is pampered, driven and constantly surrounded.  Holmes drives by himself singing along to his own cassette tapes.  Unlike Ali, we see him, even now, healthy, well-adjusted and happy.

Muhammad and Larry was tight, well-shot and excellent.  In my opinion, it was the best of the 30 for 30 series thus far.  Ali and those close to him were absent, but, perhaps, that was appropriate.