Challengers

While I overall liked it, I have to admit I'm a bit underwhelmed. I think the directing was great, the acting was great. There were a lot of really cool choices particularly with how they filmed some of the tennis scenes. But there's a lot I'm quite mixed on. The score being one of those. The score on it's own is quite good, but I'm not sure it fits the film that it's in. It just always feels like I'm at a rave or something. I also have mixed feelings on the ending of the movie. I see what they were going for, but don't know that it worked for me as I don't but that the characters were in a place to just hug each other. It also felt like a regression for the character of Art, who is probably the only somewhat likely person in the movie. Tashi and Patrick were both awful. But I don't really hold that as a critique. Because I thought the characters were explored in interesting ways for the most part (though there really isn't much to any of them) but the ending didn't seem to match what art had to be feeling at the time and it just wasn't very satisfying. I'm also not sure about the structure. The film really hops all over the place. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it breaks the flow or can even make you lose track of when you are. There are some plot threads that went absolutely no where. But I will say the way the tie breaker have was filmed was amazing. The way it really built the tension in the game was super cool, but it did end up being part of what left me unsatisfied because it builds and build and then the ending happens and can't help but think to myself that's it? A tad anticlimactic. Overall tough it's worth a watch 7/10