Challengers – Movie Review
ABC Film Challenge – Catch-up 2024 – G (Luca Guadagnino)
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Writer: Justin Kuritzkes (Screenplay)
Cast
- Mike Faist (Panic)
- Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country)
- Zendaya (The Greatest Showman)
Plot: Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach, transformed her husband into a champion. But to overcome a recent losing streak and redeem himself, he’ll need to face off against his former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
Runtime: 2 Hours 11 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Challengers starts as we meet Art Donaldson (Faist) a champion tennis player. He gets trained by his former prodigy wife Tashi (Zendaya) as they look to conquer the one thing he never achieved. Elsewhere, Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) is preparing to make a comeback after falling on hard times.
The two meet in the first round and it brings back their memories of their former life as best friends and tennis partners. A time when they met Tashi and they first started battling for her attention.
Verdict on Challengers
Challengers is a romantic drama following two former best friends and tennis stars whose relationship ended as they competed over the same woman. Now they face each other in an upcoming tournament to prove who is the best player now.
This movie looks at the complex relationship between three people, two best friends and the woman they both love. Mixed in somewhere is something about tennis and how it has controlled their lives. It doesn’t seem to have any real direction to what the story wants to be, it jumps around all over the place. I am not sure if it was even about winning or not or friendship or what. It is mostly the same overdramatic nonsense that goes pretty much nowhere. Also, if you get motion sickness, this movie will give you that too, with some horrible camera decisions.
Where to Watch
a JustWatch
Final Thoughts – Challengers flows like a dull rally between the three.
