Imagine if Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke all met up one night in a hotel room and talked about the big issues of life in the 1960s. Well now you don’t need to, as that’s the plot of One Night in Miami.

Directed by Regina King, this film is the fictitious tale of 4 icons coming together in 1964, celebrating Ali’s victory over Sonny Liston.

For me, this was a film of two halves. The first half I thought bordered on very bad, whilst the second bordered on very good.

The first half is painfully slow and the set up isn’t great. The only thing I could think was why didn’t they cast big actors to play these big names?

These four men are some of the biggest and most iconic personalities, maybe, in the history of mankind. There’s honestly no way to describe them except as giants. The concept of the film was something that really excited me but the overall execution didn’t quite hit the mark.

And yet, by the end I thought one (possibly two) of the performances were borderline Oscar nomination calibre.

The film is quite clear throughout that Malcolm X (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir) is the focal point. His ideas, his philosophies and his conflicts are integral to the plot and move every scene forwards. And I believe this was a good choice and I found this compelling.

He’s going through a poignant phase in his life where he’s becoming more disillusioned with the Nation of Islam – but yet he remains as resolute as ever that he along with other famous and influential African Americans must leverage their status to fight for their rights.

It may be a bit unfair but the success or failure of this film will rest on Ben-Adir’s shoulders. My enjoyment of the film coincided with the quality of his performance. He starts off really wooden and dull, but when the movie starts to hit its strides so does he. When he became a bit more raw and unguarded I was impressed and intrigued.

Eli Goree as Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time) just didn’t work for me. Physically he was built like a heavyweight champ, but his performance was a silly caricature of one of the most brilliant men we’ve ever seen. He muddles Ali’s wit and charm into making him appear a bit of a clown – which I took issue with.

Aldis Hodge was ok as Jim Brown. I’m British and if I’m honest, I’m not as familiar with Brown. The other 3 are household names across the pond, but I wouldn’t say Brown is. Asides from coming across devoid of any personality, he’s undoubtedly the fourth wheel in this movie. Had he been cut out entirely I don’t think it would have made a difference.

However, Leslie Odom Jr as Sam Cooke is the standout. Cooke is the one who challenges Malcolm head on about his ideas, and the parts where these two go at it were excellent. This film is dialogue heavy, with the four men engaging in debate over how to move civil rights or racial justice forwards.

Odom Jr’s musical abilities are also put on display, and my goodness this man can sing. He made his name on Broadway, starring in Hamilton, but now I suspect he can consider rehearsing his Oscar speech for Best Supporting Actor. Yes, he is that good.

Regina King’s direction isn’t spectacular but in a film predominantly in one setting there’s only so much a director can input. That being said, I wanted this to knock my socks off – instead I was mildly satisfied.