Movie fans hailed Challengers ’10/10′ and ‘absolutely phenomenal’ when the gripping sports movie opened in theaters on Friday.
The blockbuster stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy who abandons her career after suffering an injury and becomes a coach.
She begins training her colleague Art, played by Mike Faist, whom she falls in love with and marries.
However, Tashi becomes embroiled in a love triangle when Art signs up for the Challenger Tour and confronts her ex Patrick, played by Josh O’Connor.
The film has been praised by critics and has a 91 percent fresh rating on rotten tomatoes and now moviegoers have doubled down on the rave reviews by sharing their thoughts.
Zendaya’s new film, Challengers, has been a hit with film critics who praised it for its “sexy romantic triangle”; Zendaya photographed with her co-stars Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor
On X, formerly Twitter, viewers shared: ‘#Challengers, the best movie I’ve seen all year. Z, Josh and Mike were fucking amazing! And I’m already hearing about nominations. It’s definitely fucking cool to see my hometown in the movies! And let’s thank Darnell for being an amazing referee! 10 10 10 across the board!’;
‘Challengers is THE movie of the year. the love triangle, the sexual tension, the dialogue, the score, zendaya. damn cinematography. This movie had me glued to the screen, it was everything and more. Movies like this remind me why I love #Challengers’ cinema so much;
‘#Challengers is an exciting and sexy sports movie set to the rhythm of a strong tennis match. Backed by a spectacular soundtrack, Luca Guadagnino adds a flair of his own to a story that is undoubtedly more interesting in execution than in substance. But as far as being attractive goes, he’s a winner.”
‘#Challengers reminds us why we go to the movies. Absolutely electric from start to finish. I was hanging on every word our three protagonists said. It’s been a while since I’ve audibly screamed/clapped when a movie ended, but this did it. THOSE LAST TEN MINUTES.’;
‘Challengers is absolutely phenomenal. A perfect combination of high-level sports drama and erotic thriller. Zendaya has never looked better and owns every moment like the movie star she is. Faist and O’Connor are almost on each other’s level the entire way. Edited and scored to perfection. 10/10’;
‘I just saw the challengers and let me tell you… NOW THAT’S CINEAAAAAA’; “the ending of Challengers is some of the most exciting cinema I’ve seen in a long time”; ‘Challengers was so good 10/10’;
Movie buffs shared their opinions about the film after critics also gave it favorable reviews.
The film was described as a “witty, sexy and wildly entertaining romantic tennis triangle” by Ty Burr of The Washington Post.
Meanwhile the hollywood reporterDavid Rooney summarized the film as “intelligent, seductive and full of sexual tension” and added that “Challengers is possibly Luca Guadagnino’s most purely pleasurable film to date; it is certainly his lightest and funniest.
The film currently has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was praised for being a “slick, sexy and hugely entertaining tennis romantic triangle” by Ty Burr for The Washington Post.
“Smart, seductive and full of sexual tension,” wrote Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney, adding that “Challengers is possibly Luca Guadagnino’s most purely pleasurable film to date.”
“The film is a paean to hard work and hedonism, and if its pleasures are mostly superficial (weed, clay, emotional), it’s still been too long since we’ve had intelligent fun like this,” Burr added in his review .
Amy Nicholson of The Los Angeles Times calls it “an elegant, mischievous and fiercely well-acted trifle about characters who are more likely to scribble something gross in the bathroom than to quote Heraclitus.”
He adds: “Zendaya’s performance cuts through the noise… She elicits the funniest, cruelest responses and holds the screen like a woman in command, even as she allows the film to be salacious.”
“It wants to engage and entertain, and it does it very well,” said Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote about the film.
Brian Truitt of USA Today suggested that the film, “Falls nebulously somewhere between a coming-of-age film, a dysfunctional relationship drama, and a stylish sports spectacle, Guadagnino nevertheless holds his own with another gripping, gripping story of flawed humans who discover feelings”.
‘A fun, tempestuous and exuberantly lustful story about how three athletic demigods find their destinies turned upside down. And Guadagnino tells it the way he knows best, with an excess of style that is sometimes infuriating but ultimately irresistible,” Justin Chang of New Yorker wrote.
David Sims of The Atlantic praised the film for being “far more exciting and triumphant than a simple story of someone lifting a trophy or of love conquering all.”
Amy Nicholson of The Los Angeles Times calls it “an elegant, mischievous and fiercely well-acted trifle.”
In Challengers, Zendaya’s character, aspiring tennis star Tashi Duncan, abandons her career after suffering a serious injury. Instead, she focuses on training her colleague Art, played by Mike Faist, whom she falls in love with and whom she marries.
But Tashi finds her feelings dangerously divided after Art signs up for the Challenger Tour, where he faces off against Tashi’s ex-boyfriend, Patrick.
The New York Post called this year’s Challengers ‘Saltburn’, a nod to Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film, famous for its shocking explicit scenes.
“Challengers may not be this director’s most psychologically revealing film (the characters can sometimes seem like chess pieces rather than complete individuals), but it is almost certainly his most entertaining and fast-paced,” board Dana Stevens wrote.
“Challengers’ plot may seem dated, and yet there’s an electric spark in Guadagnino’s approach that elevates the material and makes it fresh,” Peter Debruge of Variety he joked.
However, not all fighters were impressed. Kyle Smith of the Wall Street Journal written, “(Luca Guadagnino) tries his best to give substance to a weak, soapy story, but it relies so much on gimmicks (several montages feature electronic dance music) that it begins to seem desperate.”
Meanwhile vulture Angelica Jade Bastién wrote: “The details of these people’s lives and their interiorities are so subtly drawn that they seem more like beautiful ideas that collide with each other and leave little messes that are too easy to clean up.”
Meanwhile, Guadagnino previously praised Zendaya’s talent and explained that she worked with tennis player and former player Brad Gilbert to prepare for the role.
Luca gushed to Variety last October: “She’s wonderful. I mean, wow. We edited the film and hardly used any of her stunt doubles. She is so good.
He added that “the three protagonists spent about three months working very hard, technically and athletically.”
Zendaya was praised for her chemistry with her co-stars; Seen with Josh and Mike on Wednesday in New York.
Challengers was released on April 26.
In a recent interview, Zendaya admitted that having an intimacy coordinator on set was “very helpful” and praised them for maintaining a “safe” environment on set.
“We had an intimacy coordinator who was fantastic and very helpful, because it was important for us to feel safe,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is filled with “intense” erotic scenes between Zendaya and her protagonists, so the trio needed to find ways to relax when they were in front of the camera.
‘I talked to my colleagues so we could find a way to feel at ease. We play tennis together, we hang out together, we rehearse together,” she shared. “We have to come together and feel good about each other.”