Challengers

Luca Guadagnino is known to be one of the wildest directors out there. He's known to have a ton of sex in his films and a compelling story! To nobody's surprise, "Challengers" was a compelling, tense, and sexy tennis movie! "Challengers" follows Tashi, a tennis player turned coach who has transformed her husband from a mediocre player into a world-famous champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a challenger event. Tensions soon run high when he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick, his former best friend, and Tashi's former boyfriend.

What makes this film stand out from other sports films is how compelling, tense, and good the story is! One thing I absolutely loved was how it all tied in nicely with our trio here. The last 20 minutes or so in this movie were out of this world! It left my jaw on the floor and it'll be hard for any film this year to top those last 20 minutes for me. Furthermore, I have to talk about Guadagnino's direction here. Everything from the POV shots of Zweige and Donaldson while playing on the court to the weird style of filmmaking made me appreciate him more as a director. He's got a lot of flare and uniqueness and "Challengers" is filled to the brim with it! 

Of course, none of this could have worked without this magnificent trio! Faist, Zendaya, and O'Connor's chemistry was off the charts and made for some amazing performances. I mean the last sequence is not only a testament of Guadagnino's excellent filmmaking but also of the cast's chemistry. Lastly, I have to praise the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The excellent techno score fitted the movie nicely and made every match feel heart-pounding and intense! All in all, I would absolutely recommend watching "Challengers" as it is a sexy, compelling and intense tennis movie.