[Challengers Trailer] “You think that Tennis is about expressing yourself, doing your
thing, you don’t know what tennis is.”
Last week, Zendaya made her return to the silver screen in the long-awaited movie,
“Challengers”, which was delayed by last year’s actor and writers strike. The film is an R-rated drama that tells the story of tennis superstar Tashi Duncan, played by Zendaya, whose life flips completely upside down through tennis, relationships, and betrayal.
The movie also features Broadway legend Mike Faist who plays Art Donaldson and British film star Josh O’Connor playing Patrick Zweig. Art and Patrick are best friends who share a love for tennis, and Tashi. How does this bromance battle play out? You’ll have to just see it to find out.
[Challengers EDM song]
I traveled to the one and only AMC Evanston 12 to see the movie, and asked some fellow
movie-goers what they thought.
[EMILY] I feel like I haven’t been that engrossed in a movie in a really long time. So that
was exciting. I also feel like it was very hyped up and it, in my opinion, it lived up to the
hype.
[VANESSA] I think they’ve been, um, announcing it for quite a while now. So I was
excited to see it.
[EMILY 2] It’s definitely not what I expected, but I thought it was entertaining. Somewhat predictable, but also an emotional rollercoaster at the same time. But yeah, Zendaya is great. The cinematography was great.
Challengers director Luca Guadagnino is best known for his 2017 film “Call Me By Your Name” and 2022’s “Bones and All”, both starring Zendaya’s “Dune” co-star Timothee Chalamet. Zendaya and Chalamet brought “Dune Part Two” to #1 highest grossing movie its opening weekend at the box office earlier this year.
[Dune Part Two Trailer Clip]
Challengers has already gotten a positive reaction in its first week with a 97% on rotten
tomatoes, over 125K reviews on letterboxd and social media battles over whether you are team Tashi, team Patrick or team Art. Also, it was the #1 highest grossing movie at the box office this week, making it Zendaya’s second #1 movie this year.
According to MTV, this movie has “Zendaya like you’ve never seen her before.” As many fans consider this to be her first starring role in a film, I wanted to know what they thought of her
performance.
[CASEY] I think she’s iconic. Like, first of all, she’s so hot. I think that her character is
extremely dynamic. I mean, obviously probably doesn’t make the best choices all the
time, but, she’s very multifaceted. I think Zendaya is…she’s just amazing, so I’ll watch
anything that she’s in, pretty much.
[VANESSA]I wasn’t rooting for any of them. I was like, focused on her.
[EMILY 2] Same. I really didn’t care who she ended up with.
While many people would agree Zendaya’s performance steals the show, it’s also safe to say that the actual tennis involved in the movie was also surprisingly impressive. All three leads had to endure months of tennis training to prepare for the movie, and in my opinion, that training paid off.
[Challengers clip] “Tashi Duncan- she’s in another league. You were incredible today.
COME ON!!!!”
[Emily 2] I like the tennis aspect. It was fun to see the different parts of the tournament
and people who are like more elite tennis players, versus more like lesser known professional tennis players. And I think it was interesting just like the difference in the paths despite them kind of growing up together, the two male characters.
[Challengers clip] “So how often does this happen? Going after the same girl?”
Go see “Challengers”. It has a great soundtrack, jaw-dropping plot twists, and great quotes you’ll be using for the rest of your life. But, if that’s not enough, see it for Zendaya’s viral unimpressed face, Partick’s “I told ya” t-shirt, and to test whether or not you will be the next person to become obsessed with Mike Faist.
[“Maneater” Nelly Furtado remix]
For WNUR News, I’m Jessica Watts.
