I went to see this yesterday although it was not my choice.
I tried to disregard that tennis mostly bores me.
Usually perceptive, but I did not get the point of the film.
A love triangle spanning 13 years with Zendaya as the master manipulator. What was she doing? Making the chaps better tennis players, making them grow up, making them aware that their long time friendship was more than just that. I do not know and then you ask yourself, why?
On the plus side, Josh O'Connor was mesmerising, turning in a good performance. The music was good, if on occasion a tad overdramatic for the scene being played out. Some titters.
On the minus side, the tennis montages grew tedious, the time jumps a little too often, particularly towards the end of the film.
There was one scene in a locker room, where I could not understand a word that was being said, I thought it was not in English, but I could not understand the gist or the purpose. Very frustrating.
The film was too long (I saw people leave) and, dare I say it, a little pointless.
Challengers
2024
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance / Sport
Challengers
2024
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance / Sport
Plot summary
Tennis player turned coach Tashi has taken her husband, Art, and transformed him into a world-famous Grand Slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she signs him up for a "Challenger" event — close to the lowest level of pro tournament — where he finds himself standing across the net from his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
July 05, 2024 at 08:41 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265 2160p.WEB.x265Movie Reviews
Entertained? A bit.
Watch "Match Point" instead
This is a tough one. I liked the concept and the overall story. However i feel like it missed the mark on occasions.
The acting was decent. Felt like each character was built upon chemistry and realism. It kept me entertained for the most part.
The times jumps at the beginning worked and created suspense. Leaving the viewer unsure of what the history our 3 characters share however, the time jumps became a bit too rapid and i personally found it harder to keep up with where we are in the story. I feel like they could've left out a few scenes to make the story flow smoother.
The soundtrack was interesting. Not sure if it suited the mood of the film. But my biggest gripe is the ridiculously slowed down ending. Not sure what the director was thinking with that one.
The conclusion felt like it was going on for 1 hour and i felt it a little cheesy with the last scene of the film.
Overall I see a lot of influence from the film "Match Point" starring Scarlet Johansson. In my opinion that film was far more successful in what "challengers" was attempting.
Overall, bit hit and miss. Some decent moments but nothing to get you excited about or talk about after.
Hard movie to follow
Most of the scenes were shot very well and creatively, however the POV shots felt a bit out of place, a bit like I was watching a Go-pro vlogger or something.
The music was okay but the dubstep/electronic music was overused and got boring fast.
The storyline was hard to follow with the constant flashbacks and fast forwards - a linear plot would've been better and produced more tension.
The ending felt incomplete to me, maybe I missed something.
I felt like the movie was unclear overall and hard to interpret.
Spoilers:
My favourite part of the movie was the chemistry between Art and Patrick, I wish they explored that more and just ditched Tashi.
I didn't like Tashi's character she was manipulative and I didn't understand why she was forcing Art to keep playing tennis. (Love Zendaya though)
I also didn't understand why Tashi started hating Patrick? Was it just because he wasn't there when she got injured?