• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – Challengers (2024)

April 26, 2024 by Robert Kojder

Challengers, 2024.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, A.J. Lister, Nada Despotovich, Naheem Garcia, Alex Bancila, Hailey Gates, and Jake Jensen.

SYNOPSIS:

Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.

Sports-themed narratives tend to culminate in a big matchup with an accolade or some form of personal and professional redemption involved, and while it would be accurate to say that director Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers builds to something similar, the entire film is ambitiously structured around such a match. Of course, the formatting of tennis (sets and match points) fittingly lends itself to such a format, with each set telling its own part of the film’s story while allowing for flashbacks continuously reshaping what viewers know about these characters and why they are playing each other.

Challengers is a psychosexual relationship drama that is, simply put, on-edge absorbing, leaving one sucked in for 2+ hours and questioning aspects of the narrative, eagerly guessing and anticipating the blanks being filled in. With that said, it’s a disservice to talk about the plot, especially since so much of the film’s intensely draining success comes from form and structure, seamlessly transitioning between past years and a 2019 low-level tournament matchup between Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) playing for a confidence boost and to increase their player ranking, respectively,  essentially vying for a shot in the more prestigious, nationally covered tournament.

Initially, it comes across as a standard matchup between the two, with Art on a losing streak and his wife/coach Tashi (Zendaya) choosing the tournaments and opponents. Meanwhile, Patrick has his card declined for a cheap motel room and sleeps in his car before the game. What starts as a matchup seemingly just about the sport and competition quickly and gradually is stripped and redressed throughout flashbacks into a bitter, personal rivalry where some of these people can’t stand looking at each other, let alone talking to each other

13 years ago, Art and Patrick were childhood best friends in the equivalent of Beavis and Butthead if they were charismatically horny 18-year-olds (considering one of them is blonde and the other is dark-haired, the only thing that’s missing are the band T-shirts) but talented at something. They found themselves practically drooling over Tashi, a prodigy college tennis player with the skill to become famous, make her family rich, and start a foundational charity. Their obsession also came down to polar opposite reasons; one became romantically infatuated, the other more of an open relationship type, lusting after, well, the beauty of Zendaya. As much as it is about this friendship falling apart and fighting over her affection, Challengers is also very much about the internal feelings Tashi has about those perceptions and what she wants from her life and these men across the years.

To call the dynamics between each character relationship thorny would still be an understatement, as Challengers piles layers on top of itself. Even when the flashbacks reach the pivotal career-ending injury for Tashi, her character and performance from Zendaya don’t lose a domineering edge. She is still in control, if not more so than when she was younger, slyly slipping her face away from a three-way make-out session, leaving Art and Patrick kissing each other. It is a slightly frustrating creative choice to sideline Tashi from the action on the court, although a more conventional film would turn the film and character into something supportive and sappy. Luca Guadagnino (working from a dense, rich screenplay from Justin Kuritzkes) doubles down on intricate power dynamics, scorching sexual tension, and the subtle, endlessly tantalizing psychological mind-bend of what these characters ultimately want from each other and what the endgame is for each of their actions.

It’s a no-brainer that the tennis sequences would be livened up through the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, but it is also pleasantly surprising and immensely effective that the dialogue also feels supercharged by these upbeat tempo swings, pulsating thumps, and scratchy sounds. There is a scene between Art and Patrick in a sauna, naturally drenched in sweat, but the score accomplishes that same feeling for the viewer. Not to break out the old cliché, but the score becomes a character, driving and adding context to a war of words between these characters and their shifting alignments.

If the seamless transitions between past and 2019, tight pacing, and kinetic depiction of tennis weren’t enough, Challengers also features an insane climactic shot following one of those balls in real time as it whacked around and upside down, similar to us watching this thorny, arguably toxic love triangle. It’s an impossible film to digest in one viewing, character-driven with some seriously dazzling style. If Tashi views the art of tennis as a relationship, perhaps Luca Guadagnino feels the same about cinema. This recent sizzling streak he is on proves him to be a modern-day great at his craft.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

 

Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Robert Kojder, Top Stories Tagged With: A.J. Lister, Alex Bancila, Challengers, Hailey Gates, Jake Jensen, Josh Oconnor, Luca Guadagnino, Mike Faist, Nada Despotovich, Naheem Garcia, Zendaya

About Robert Kojder

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor.

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Most Terrifying Movie Psychopaths of the 1990s

10 Crazy Cult Horror Movies You Need To See

The Essential Films of John Woo

The Craziest Takashi Miike Movies

Ten Great 80s Movie Stars Who Disappeared

The Most Obscure and Underrated Slasher Movies of the 1980s

10 Great Horror Movies with Villainous Protagonists

When Movie Artwork Was Great

American Psycho at 25: The Story Behind the Satirical Horror Classic

Films That DEMAND Multiple Viewings

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Bugonia (2025)

10 Must-See Comedy Movies From 1995

Why the 80s and 90s Were the Most Enjoyable Era for Movies

10 Horror Movies Ripe for a Modern Remake

Movie Review – Black Phone 2 (2025)

Movie Review – After the Hunt (2025)

2025 BFI London Film Festival Review – Nouvelle Vague

10 Must-See Boxing Movies That Pack a Punch

2025 BFI London Film Festival Review – Blue Moon

90s Guilty Pleasure Thrillers So Bad They’re Actually Good

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

Philip K. Dick & Hollywood: The Essential Movie Adaptations

13 Underrated Horror Franchise Sequels That Deserve More Love

David Lynch: American Cinema’s Great Enigma

Francis Ford Coppola In And Out Of The Wilderness

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles and Opinions
  • Write for Flickering Myth
  • About Flickering Myth
  • The Baby in the Basket