“Challengers” (2024) – Movie Review

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Starring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’ Connor

                                                                                                               ‘Spectacular Sports Drama’

It’s challenging to maintain friendships in sports championships. Tennis is a game in which lovers rarely call each other by the name. Lovers are forced to leave past lives behind to become sports players. Couples pursuing risky romance in sports endure rocky tragedies. On a personal level, I saw romance in sports crumble. At an early age, I fell in love with a girl fond of tennis. Born to be an athlete, she sought to compete. I recollect how she treasured the racket in a game she grew up to respect. As dedicated as Serena Williams, she enjoyed games requiring stamina. Shining light in darkness, tennis contributed to her happiness. It didn’t take long before I bonded with an athletic girl. I developed a crush on a girl drawn to a game that gave her an adrenaline rush. I marveled at her commitment in every tournament. We became friends sharing love for the game. There was rarely any rough patch in my relationship with a girl in every tennis match. However, sports ruined bonds forever. Focusing on her career, she no longer had time for any affair. I couldn’t meet a girl that became an athlete. It became a challenge to stay friends with a girl in championships. Sport mattered more to her than friends’ support. Realizing tennis took hard work, she cut contact with me on a social network. It was sad being rejected by a girl I appreciated. It was impossible to build friendships in sports involving battles of sexes which were stressful. Years later, I learned romance in sports face disasters.

Few films I’ve seen have demonstrated challenging barriers experienced by lovers pursuing sports as powerfully as Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers”. Inspirational, heartwarming and sweeping, it examines challenges of friendships in sports championships. Luca Guadagnino paints an encompassing portrait of romantic relationships in sports that deteriorate. Boasting exciting tennis scenes, soul-stirring storytelling and strong performances, it’s a spectacular sports drama. Although “Challengers” is unforgettable, it isn’t flawless. It suffers from uneven pacing. Nevertheless, it provides exhilarating entertainment for fans of sports movies.

Over several years, “Challengers” chronicles childhood companions seeking to become world-famous tennis players. Zendaya embodies Tashi Duncan, a female tennis champion enjoying games requiring stamina. Following injuries, Tashi trains husband Art (Mike Faist) to become a world-famous champion. However, Tashi’s dreams are tested competing against a jealous past companion she rejected. Experiencing hardships, Tashi discovers there’s little room for romance in championships.

Luca Guadagnino adores love stories. His award-winning film “I Am Love” examined doomed affair between Italian couples facing despair. With “Challengers”, however, he constructs a sports drama. It’s the filmmaker’s attempt dramatizing hardships of lovers seeking successful tennis championships, but he succeeds. Evoking “Call Me By Your Name”, Guadagnino uses montages capturing companions’ relationships in tennis games. Montages elevate the scene where Art and Patrick marvel at Tashi’s commitment in a tennis tournament. It sparked heartwarming memories of my admiration for a girl with extraordinary tennis capabilities. Montages are complicated. As Stephen Chobsky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” demonstrated, montages elevate adaptations. Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” suggested montages elevate musicals. Nevertheless, it succeeds. Alongside cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Guadagnino demonstrates tennis championships. Guadagnino captures excitement of tennis, manufacturing theatrical viewing.

If tennis players don’t attract you towards theaters, however, there’s reasons to see “Challengers”. Assisted by production-designer Melissa Lombardo, Guadagnino manufactures tennis sequences through training. Training actors to perform tennis creates authenticity. For instance, training elevates the final match scene. During this unforgettable sequence, Tashi witnesses nerve-wracking concluding matches between childhood lovers. One acknowledges tennis training recalling Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard”. Like Serena Williams’ rivalry against sisters in games, Tashi witnesses sports rivalries between lovers. It reminded me of hardships when I competed against a girl I appreciated in championships. Moreover, music is magnificent. Commemorating John G. Avildsen’s “Rocky”, it demonstrates romance rocky catastrophes. Through breathtaking production-design, Guadagnino demonstrates tennis matches that shine. 

Another extraordinary aspect of “Challengers” is storytelling. Justin Kuritzkes’ screenwriting strength is capturing companions’ relationships declining by non-linear storytelling. In Hollywood, movies infrequently address consequences lovers pursuing sports competitions experience. As exemplars: Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire” depicted sports managers people admire falling in love with co-workers without consequences proving dire. Fortunately, however, “Challengers” avoids problems. Taking inspiration from Celine Song’s “Past Lives”, Guadagnino uses non-linear storytelling capturing childhood lovers declining. The film switches simultaneously between Tashi training her husband in present-day and acknowledgements with past lovers. It reminded me of relationships with a girl that rejected me to pursue tennis championships where she competed. Non-linear storytelling is complicated. As Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” suggested, non-linear stories elevate biographies. Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine” suggested non-linear storytelling enhances divorce dramas. Nevertheless, it succeeds. Through an extraordinary screenplay, Kurizkes captures tennis today.

One appreciates astonishing performances.

Zendaya delivers a career-defining performance as Tashi. Zendaya achieved stardom playing teen girls falling in love with superheroes in the comic-book genre. With “Challengers”, however, she embodies her most demanding role. It’s challenging portraying a tennis prodigy, but she succeeds. Evoking Emma Stone in Valerie Faris’ “Battle of the Sexes”, Zendaya portrays a commemorated tennis player struggling juggling career with relationships proving painful. With mesmerizing expressions, she demonstrates angst, determination and resentment of tennis players. It’s a phenomenal performance.

Mike Faist is fantastic as a tennis player facing spike in tension competing against friends he used to like. While Zendaya gets the showier role, Faist is excellent as an athlete experiencing a toll. Evoking Andrew Garfield in David Fincher’s “The Social Network”, Faist embodies an athlete focused on work abandoning friends on a social network. Whether he’s bonding with his wife or concentrating on fierce tennis matches, Faist embodies athletes through body language. It’s a phenomenal performance.

Lastly, Josh O’Connor is unforgettable. As a lovesick athlete, he’s heartbreaking.

Finally, “Challengers” earns appreciation of viewers capturing challenges of tennis players. Evoking Hugh Hudson’s “Chariots of Fire”, the film captures relationships in sports that are dire. It tackles universal themes including career, friendship and sacrifices. Viewers aren’t required to be tennis fans to appreciate it. It delivers a universal message engaging everyone impacted by broken friendships at an early age. Therefore, everyone will appreciate tennis matches of “Challengers”.

Despite its appeal, however, “Challengers” can’t capture challenges of tennis players. Guadagnino’s subplots about sports injuries are bold but hinder pacing. Hence, scenes capturing Tashi’s hardships following sports injuries aren’t as engaging as interactions with companions. Whereas this subplot elevated Ron Howard’s “Rush”, it clashes with this movie. As Robert Zemeckis’ “Forrest Gump” suggested, subplots about injuries elevate adaptations. Worst, it perpetuates the message that tennis players can overcome sports injuries through courage. Therefore, “Challengers” falters. 

Nevertheless, fans of sports dramas will definitely recognize “Challengers” and so will audiences giving acknowledgements to tennis players. A riveting sports drama, it captures rocky hardships faced by lovers’ relationships in tennis championships. A powerful portrait of challenging hardship experienced by tennis players seeking acknowledgements of lovers that they worship, it could inspire athletes to move on years after competitive championships ruined romantic relationships.

A powerful depiction of painful barriers faced by lovers leaving past lives to be prosperous sports players, it’s a profound reminder of a cutthroat profession in which romantic relationships are doomed to disasters.

Like Serena Williams’ passion for playing tennis affecting her persona, it’s a powerful reminder of the positive impact that the sport has by building lasting relationships between families in the modern era.

If movies can celebrate a game in which lovers rarely call each other by the name, hopefully it will incite athletes to move on years after ending doomed romantic relationships to achieve sports fame.

As strong as Tashi’s love for tennis, it has incited me to overcome sadness years after ending relationships with a girl that loved games ensuring her happiness giving me greater awareness of challenges athletes in a cutthroat business witness.

4.5/5 stars