CHALLENGERS -- Luca Guadagnino's Zendaya Tennis Drama Disappoints

Review by Sean Boelman

(L to R) Mike Faist as Art, Zendaya as Tashi and Josh O’Connor as Patrick in CHALLENGERS, directed by Luca Guadagnino, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers immediately became one of the most anticipated movies of 2024 after it was delayed from its prime awards season release last year due to the strikes. Unfortunately, the steamy drama was not worth the wait, boasting some solid performances and lots of style, but all in the service of a frustrating script.

The film stars Zendaya as a once-bustling tennis prodigy who,  after a career-ending injury, has managed to stay on the court as a coach to her husband, only to be caught up in drama when he has to face his former best friend — also a former lover of hers. For something that’s literally being sold as a tennis threesome movie, the delicious moments are few and far between. Although the film’s highs are indeed very high, it’s surprisingly mostly tepid.

Kurtizkes tells this story in a nonlinear structure, and while this decision has a narrative justification, it ruins the movie’s momentum. Every time you get really invested in the storyline, it cuts to another timeline. And with a runtime of 2 hours and 11 minutes, the nonlinear structure adds a lot of unnecessary fluff.

Zendaya’s performance in the film is excellent, with a level of charisma and confidence that’s incredibly easy to watch. Yet, despite having a great screen presence, she knows when to cede to her co-stars, which is the mark of a truly talented performer. Josh O’Connor is also great, splitting the difference between charming and cuckish, nailing the perfect amount of tension with Zendaya.

Zendaya stars as Tashi and Josh O’Connor as Patrick in director Luca Guadagnino’s CHALLENGERS An Amazon MGM Studios film © 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

However, much like in architecture, where a triangular structure will collapse if one of its sides is compromised, Mike Faist threatens to pull Kuritzkes’s love triangle apart. Faist simply can’t hold his own against the two more compelling actors — whether it’s his fault or the script’s is debatable. His performance is passable during the portions of the movie where he’s playing older, but he struggles when playing the younger version of the character.  

Challengers also suffers from being Guadagnino’s most overly indulgent film yet. The movie is hyper-stylized, from a blaring score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that can overwhelm at times to fast-paced editing and gimmicky shots that look cool but are used fleetingly with little narrative impact. This film has a massive amount of energy, but it’s largely wasted.

Some other aspects of the movie simply aren’t aesthetically pleasing. The sheer number of CGI tennis balls that fly directly into the camera is one of the more baffling decisions in the film. It’s clear that Guadagnino is trying to make viewers feel immersed in the game's action, but tennis is already a mostly cinematic sport as-is. There’s no need to force it like this.

Challengers is a flamboyant and extravagant film, but it’s also incredibly overwrought and overproduced. While the result is often entertaining, it’s not the astounding melodrama that it had the potential to be with the talent it has in front of and behind the camera. It’s mostly forgettable, which is the first time that can be said about one of Guadagnino’s movies in quite a while.

Challengers hits theaters on April 26.

​Rating: 3/5