The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

“Challengers” is a film I went into with high expectations.  Even though I’m not a tennis fan, it looked very promising based on its director, young cast and premise.  I thought it would be a stylish and entertaining film that would be one of my favorites of 2024. This brings me to my next point, which is the worst kept secret in film criticism: MOST film critics do read reviews before they watch a movie.  Now, I didn’t read full-length reviews of “Challengers,” but I did look at its score on Rotten Tomatoes. I know certain film critics like to go into films completely blind, but I do believe they are more excited for certain films than others based on word-of-mouth. With that being said, I was very excited and eager to check this one out.

“Challengers” has a nonlinear plot, so it goes back and forth over a decade of time.  It follows three tennis players: Tashi Donaldson (Zendaya), Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist). Art and Patrick have been friends since their school days, but their friendship is put to the test when Tashi, a talented but extremely competitive tennis player, comes between them.  They have a tennis match where the winner will get Tashi’s phone number.  Patrick ends up winning the tennis match, but it doesn’t take long for him to self-destruct and blow it with Tashi.

This is where Art comes in and sees an opportunity to be there for Tashi, especially after she suffers a career-ending injury.  Patrick is supremely talented on the tennis court and also incredibly cocky, which makes him his own worst enemy. Art is a very good tennis player, but he seems to lack the killer instinct necessary to survive on the court. He’s a nice guy, which isn’t a bad thing, but oftentimes his insecurity shows up on the tennis court.  Tashi, in present day, is his coach and is pushing him to be the best and find that next gear he needs to succeed. In many ways, she is living through him after her dream came to an end because of her injury.

All three lives come together once again when Tashi enters Art into a Challenger tournament to prepare him for a potential Career Grand Slam if he’s able to obtain one more US Open Tournament victory.  In the Challenger event, he finds himself facing off against his former best friend, Patrick Zweig, who is now broke, busted and disgusted as he’s living out of his car.  Patrick relishes the chance to beat his former best friend and also possibly win back Tashi.  Tashi and Art are now wealthy, married and have a child. It feels like their relationship, however, will always be based on how well he does on the tennis court.

As I’m writing this review and remembering the film, I’m very surprised it didn’t win me over.  There are a few problems with the film, and the first one is the cast.  While all three of the young actors are aesthetically pleasing, I don’t feel like they were portraying characters I found interesting, layered or complex.  Yes, they are unlikable, but that’s OK in the movies.  There have been many unlikable characters throughout the history of cinema, but these characters are just plain boring.  I didn’t care about their love triangle or drama. It felt forced and unnecessary.  I also found the acting to be very wooden and cold.  They are playing cold characters, but the acting didn’t really sizzle on screen.  I didn’t feel as though the three of them had any chemistry together.

Another problem is the use of music.  Yes, the soundtrack features music by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, but the music is overdone here.  It takes away from the film, as it’s one song after another after another. I didn’t need an onslaught of music in this movie. They could have sprinkled the music in here and there throughout when it was truly needed.  It’s overkill. 

“Challengers” is also directed by Luca Guadagnino, a supremely talented director whose previous works include “Call Me By Your Name,” the “Suspiria” remake, and “Bones and All.”  Much like the music, the style is overdone in this movie.  It’s style over substance.

There is no doubt that “Challengers” is a good-looking film with good-looking people.  It needed a lot more from the script and its actors. It also needed the director to step back a little and let the film breathe without throwing so much at us at once, whether it was visual tricks or the music.  This felt like an A24 film on steroids. Now, I’m a fan of A24 films, but their best films are the ones where they have a healthy balance of style, substance, human emotion, and powerful acting.  At the end of the day, I didn’t care who won the big match or who ended up with the girl. These are pretty people with self-induced problems, and I didn’t enjoy spending time with them in the world created by Guadagnino.

* * out of * * * *

Blu-Ray Info: “Challengers” is released on a single-disc Blu-ray from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It has a running time of 131 minutes and is rated R for language throughout, some sexual content and graphic nudity. The film comes with a digital code as well.

Video Info:  This is a sharp looking Blu-ray, but it’s baffling this film didn’t get a 4K release. It looks good on Blu-ray, but it would have been eye-popping on 4K. This was a real missed opportunity.

Audio Info:  The Dolby Atmos track really thumps during the moments in the film where the music takes over. It sounds good and powerful. I’m always happy when a Blu-ray or a 4K has a solid Dolby Atmos track.

Special Features: None

Should You Buy It?

“Challengers” only gets a Blu-ray and DVD release from Warner Brothers, and it also comes without any special features, which is truly baffling.  As stated previously, this film should have been given a 4K release on day one.  I’m not quite sure why they didn’t go in such an obvious direction.  The film itself has been well-received by critics and most audiences, but it didn’t quite click with me.  I found it to be very shallow, and it was also way too long.  I can’t recommend you purchase this Blu-ray because of the movie itself, and also because there are no special features.  “Challengers” would have been a better movie with a better cast, a sharper script, and a better editor. As it stands, it is watchable, but I found it to be incredibly forgettable when it was over.  I’d pass on this one. If you did enjoy the film in theaters, I’d also wait for a possible 4K release at some point, perhaps from the Criterion Collection.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.