Challengers (2024) - film review

Impartiality shall make this film review the most difficult one for me just yet. On a personal level, I dig Challengers and would gladly do a spontaneous watch just about anywhere, anytime (especially after it goes on video and stream). Technically, I am also fully aware it has noticeable flaws, even one or two rather fundamental slips if I may say so.

Allow me to put on permanent record first, of what I said about Luca Guadagnino on social media before, in particular regarding this film - this filmmaker is for sure going to hell for the lust he both commits and brings out in us. Challengers spells tension: tension on the tennis court of course, but just as intense, if not more so, was the sexual tension throughout the film. Sure, this movie is no Basic Instinct (1992), but a lot is going on beyond the highly anticipated intimate scene in the first act, and Reznor and Ross's score is responsible for 50% of that easily.

Still of Zendaya in Challengers (2024)

(Credits: Amazon MGM and Warner Bros. Pictures)

Cinematographer khun Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, third-time collaborator of Luca Guadagnino who also shot Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Suspiria (2018) continues to impress in this film - there is some brilliant use of perspective shots. And what makes it incredible is also the fact that it wasn't overused, just enough a number of times to better illustrate some of the imagery.

Love triangles aren't rare, sports movies aren't rare either - but to specifically curate a tennis love triangle, and to do it with such style and just the right amount of (sometimes subtle) eroticism to lure audiences, quite a fit on both Guadagnino's AND Kuritzkes' parts.

Still of Mike Faist (left), Zendaya and Josh O'Connor in Challengers (2024)
(Credits: Amazon MGM and Warner Bros. Pictures)

Backed by two major studios - Amazon MGM and Warner Bros - it's surprising that the marketing for this film didn't go all out like the latter, especially, did for Dune: Part Two (2024) earlier this year and Barbie (2023) last year. Or it could be that they are aware the sheer star power of the three leads and the director alone can attract formidable crowds of moviegoers. Either way, Guadagnino's sweaty tennis dra-mance is on track to hit USD100m at the global box office soon.

The technical departments, however, seem to be misaligned with one another on this film. As mentioned, the cinematography, score and perhaps choreography too, are top-notch, but their sister departments, respectively, surprisingly passed the final checks and went on to screen a few of their mistakes, rather jarring ones, globally. The editing for the film, while decent enough to splice together the different timelines and not lose the general audience, struggles with end-of-scene transitions sometimes.

Still of Mike Faist in Challengers (2024)

(Credits: Amazon MGM and Warner Bros. Pictures)

Sound editing is another (strangely) poorly done aspect of the film - a particular scene in the film not only started playing the scene's matching music somewhat abruptly as if it couldn't find a good entry point, it was also mixed so loudly the department had to increase the volume of the characters speaking to each other in order to be heard. This scene is the worst example, a handful other scenes throughout the film face similar problems. One simply does not expect a film from not one, but two major studios, and starring one (or three, subjectively) of the hottest stars working today, to be making such fundamental mistakes in its craftwork.

The final criticism of this film is not meant to be accusatory, but the back-and-forth timeline-editing in Challengers might have eased its imperfect pacing a little. If told entirely in sequence linearly, certain time periods should have tightened up or even be omitted so the runtime would then be shortened to a friendlier duration of under two hours. However, it might take a revisiting audience on a rewatch to realize this. In terms of dramatic impact, though, the back-and-forth narrative structure proves largely effective in the storytelling.

Still of Josh O'Connor in Challengers (2024)

(Credits: Amazon MGM and Warner Bros. Pictures)

By now, Guadagnino has established (almost) a brand of films that explores and portrays desire at its core, in various ways and forms. Challengers fits right in the filmmaker's brand library no less; its star power, subtle eroticism, sublime cinematography and electrifying score are key drivers to the film's success. Additionally, despite how this has little, and indirectly as well, to do with the audience, the product placement in this film is economically and commercially ridiculous. If Challengers lures and arouses its viewers, then I'd say the product placement is what makes sponsors and companies climax - it will not surprise me for a single bit the top executives for the brands featured in this film to multiply their affection for Amazon MGM and Warner Bros studios.

Challengers scores 8 out of 10 for me. Check out my YouTube video review (soon) here.