April's Watch List

Movies:
🌎 Teri Baton Meh Aisa Uljaye Jiya (2024)
🌎 Challengers (2024)
Read the review here!

TV Series:
🌎 Parks and Recreation (2009 - 2015)
🌎 Scandal (2012 - 2018)
🌎 Greek (2007 - 2011)
🌎 Loot (2022 - 2024)

Movie Review: Challengers (2024)

Challengers is about three tennis players and their ambition to win. It is directed by Luca Guadagino (Call Me By Your Name) and stars Zendaya (Spider-Man, Euphoria), Mike Faist (West Side Story), and Josh O'Connor. The film is produced by MGM and Warner Bros. It was released on April 26, 2024, and is currently playing in theaters.

Art Donaldson (Faist) and Patrick Zweig (O'Connor) have been friends since they were twelve when they met in the same boarding school. Both have been playing Tennis with each other and competed since then. At the 2004 US Open, they meet Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) and spark a romantic interest in her. Tashi and Art attend Stanford together while Patrick visits and tours the circuit. An argument occurs between Tashi and Patrick, which leads to Tashi being in a bad mood and breaking her knee. Art comforts her during the recovery process, leading to a romantic relationship and Tashi becoming Art's coach and manager. Art has a bad injury and is trying to play Tennis again after taking time for his recovery. Tashi signs him up for the New Rochelle Challenger Game, where he plays against his former best friend and wife's ex-boyfriend, Patrick Zweig.

This movie really keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. You're analyzing the motives and emotions of each character through each situation they're going through. From the beginning of the love triangle and how Art (Faist) was trying to sabotage Tashi (Zendaya) and Patrick's (O'Connor) relationship, to Tashi asking Patrick to throw the challenger game with Art. During the press tour as well, the actors mentioned how flawed and selfish these characters are, and how it's hard to determine the true villain. Based on my personal opinion, It feels like the only good person is Patrick. Tashi and Art acted on their selfishness whereas Patrick worked on his own goals while trying to keep a relationship with both friends. Tashi is very career-driven right from the beginning of the movie and focuses on tennis. Art tried separating Patrick and Tashi and three years later, he married Tashi.

I think the foreshadowing in the movie is pretty incredible too. I kept a mental track of what I assumed would be relevant or not. Everything obviously started with Tashi meeting Patrick and Art. There's a shot where the camera stays on the beach, with the water brushing on the shore. In my mind, I thought of the phrase 'The calm before the storm'. Maybe I was thinking too much into it but then close to the end of the film, Patrick and Tashi secretly meet each other on a windy night. So I think my opinion stands. There was also a moment in the past when Art questioned Patrick on whether he slept with Tashi. Patrick says he's sworn to secrecy so Art suggests that Patrick places the ball in the middle of the racquet to tell him. In the present, during the Challenger Game, Patrick makes that same move to tell Art that Tashi slept with him again, while the two are currently married. I see both these things as history repeating itself, especially with how close the three of them were.

The score was also so enthralling too. It just matched how serious every scene was and added to the tension between the characters. It was loud in some moments where dialogue was important for the story to progress, but then again, the music added to the story and for viewers to understand the importance of these moments for the future. My favorite that left an imprint on me was Tashi's score when she used to play on the court. It just screamed power and who the true winner is.

Overall, Challengers is the movie of the summer and a real movie that showcases the hard work and talent of Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor. All of them put so much effort into making this the most intense and mind-capturing film of the season. Everything is thought out so carefully and the viewer gets to nitpick each scene and determine their own ending to the story. (Yes, it's an open-ended end)

Rating: 10/10