King Richard – Inspirational Story
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Writer: Zach Baylin (Screenplay)
Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew
Plot: A look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams.
Tagline – Venus, Serena and a plan for greatness.
Runtime: 2 Hours 24 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: King Richard starts as we see the routine Richard Williams (Smith) put his daughters Venus (Sidney), Serena (Singleton) along with his three other daughters Tunde (Bartholomew), Isha (Lawson) and Lyndrea (Crawford) in his plan to make the pair tennis superstars.
Richard spends most of his free time trying to help with coaches, which will see the beginning of the careers of Venus and Serena, as they will look to become the superstars we know now.
Thoughts on King Richard
Characters & Performances – Richard Williams is a man with a plan, his plan starts with him having two more daughters to turn up into tennis superstars, drilling them to be the best from watching every tennis match he can get his hands on, most importantly he wants to make sure they get an education and never have to live in the conditions he went through. Richard has a way he likes to make sure things are done, a different path to anyone else has done in the past, a decision that will see him test the coaches he finds, putting the future of his daughters on the line, even if he just wants it to be a way to remove the pressure from the girls, unlike any other tennis parent. Will Smith does give us a wonderful performance as the stubborn father and coach. Oracene Williams is the mother of the girls, she has worked double shifts to make this a reality, getting involved, but knowing and letting the professionals guide her daughters, needing to keep Richard in check from making the reckless decisions. Aunjanue Ellis will give us the most reserved character in the film, getting the biggest lines needed for the film. Venus is the elder of the two sisters, the one that will become the center stage of the bigger story going on, with her success leading to become the inspiration for Serena. Saniyya Sidney is amazing in her role as the star in the making. Rick Macci is the trainer that Richard trusts to help his daughters, he knows how to make a superstar and knows he must deal with Richard’s quirks to make the star.
Story – The story here follows Richard Williams as he looks to turn his daughters into Tennis superstars following the plan he has put in place, believing he knows exactly what is needed to achieve it. This is an interesting biopic looking into the birth of the stardom for two of the biggest stars in tennis history, it shows the demands needed to become a sports star and the unusual methods their father used. Certain parts will leave you scratching your heads towards what is behind his methods, ones that will get questioned through the film. It does feel like there should have been a more subtle way of getting over the point of wanting to make sure his kids have a childhood, not only drilled into the only knowing one thing.
Themes – King Richard is a sports biopic that will show how Venus and Serena Williams became the superstars we know, showing the different training programs they have been through and understanding how to make the system the professional level occurs.
Final Thoughts – King Richard is an inspirational story behind creating the superstars in the tennis world.
