Ali G: Who Iz I is available to stream with a Prime subscription, and as someone who grew up watching the original series over on HBO, I had to check it out. Unfortunately, it feels like this character hasn't aged appropriately with the times, and that's largely because of the plot. The plot of the movie that recently hit the 2026 film schedule is that a broke Ali discovered a fax from decades ago that HBO actually wanted to renew Da Ali G Show for Season 3. He sets off to the United States in an attempt to reverse his fortunes, as he has a child on the way. Unfortunately, he faces obstacles from his past and tries to make up for past controversies. The problem is, the movie addresses so many things the wrong way. (Image credit: Prime Video)Ali G: Who Iz I? Ignores The Actual Exploitation That Comes With His StuntsAli G: Who Iz I? runs with the narrative that people who dislike Sacha Baron Cohen's character believe that he's mocking the Black community. The movie then becomes a quest for the character to prove he's biracial, and for Nira, an alleged professor of African American studies, to prove he is not. There are funny moments, as we wrote previously. The problem, however, is that Cohen once again leans on his exploitative style of subjecting unsuspecting subjects to anything from racial slurs to unexpected nudity. One particularly hard-to-watch scene is when Nira (Cohen in disguise) angers a group of BIPOC people by intentionally mispronouncing common phrases in Black culture. It does little to combat criticisms lodged against Sacha Baron Cohen in recent years, in that he profits from making marginalized communities the butt of his jokes. While there are moments in which the comedian uses subjects' own biases and prejudices against them, he also intentionally riles up the people who may suffer the most from his stunts. (Image credit: Prime Video)It's Equally Frustrating Because The Movie Could've Found A Way To Flip The NarrativeWhat's frustrating to me is that, from my perspective, Sacha Baron Cohen missed a golden opportunity to turn the lens back on Ali G fans. If the joke, as the movie suggests, was indeed that the character was a "white man acting Black," then wouldn't it have been a much more satisfying thing to suggest there was nothing ever wrong with the character in the first place? More On Sacha Baron CohenJosh Gad’s Most Memorable Frozen Fan Moment Involves Sacha Baron Cohen And A BathroomIt's strange to double down on Ali G when I felt Cohen made attempts to modernize the character of Borat in his sequel. Ali G: Who Iz I? almost felt like nothing had changed from when the show was canceled, including the character. Maybe it shouldn't be surprising. Ali G: Indahouse wasn't a smash hit, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the follow-up didn't do well. I guess I was just hoping it would do better and give us something all to laugh about. Instead, I just kind of feel weird for watching and questioning whether I ever should have in the first place. Others can watch and see if they have a different take. All I can say is that if I ever debated who the better Sacha Baron Cohen was between Ali G and Borat, I don't wonder that any longer.