Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach, turned her husband Art into a champion. But to overcome a losing streak, he needs to face his ex-best friend, Patrick, who’s also Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
One thing that’s thrilling about Challengers is that it never gives you easy answers. Is it about devotion? Manipulation? Triumph? Doom? All of them? One thing’s for sure: it’s a film about passion. Raw physical and emotional passion between humans for one another, and for the kick they get doing the one thing they can’t live without — in this case, playing tennis. And for all the right reasons, Luca Guadagnino is at his most maximalist stylistically to convey this raw passion these characters feel and bring us into the world, from exciting editing and some experimental cinematography to the synth, almost Run Lola Run-esque score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It’s the polar opposite to his more naturalistic, minimalist approach to the intimacy of Call Me By Your Name, and an upping of the ante of the wilder style of Bones and All. Zendaya gives one of her heaviest performance, portraying Tashi perfectly over a long span of time, through fascination, ambition, longing, control, and deceit. Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist are also great, particularly Faist, whose charm entrances the screen. The West Side Story star announces himself as a powerhouse whose apparent harmlessness you can’t help but feel for. Their friendship established in the opening minutes of the film sets the stage for everything to come, and makes you care for how the rest may unfold or fall apart.
Challengers is the rare film that transports you into its world in a case where there are only 3 characters who really bear any significance. There’s a scene between the three main characters that happens early on chronologically that enchants you and sucks you into the close, complicated intimacy they inhabit in this space, and the film never lets you go once this scene happens until the credits roll. It’s an experience that’s dynamic, unpredictable, and darkly human, with three riveting leading performances at its center, and sets the bar the rest of what’s to come in Guadagnino’s directorial career.
In the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel, Paul Atreides seeks revenge against the Harkonnens, who slaughtered most of his House Atreides, and liberate the native Fremen of the planet Arrakis while joining them and learning their ways, all while the fate of the Imperium lays in the balance.
The first Dune from 2021 may have been one of the most stunning blockbusters in recent memory, but this extraordinary sequel puts everything in its predecessor — and almost any action movie I’ve ever seen — to shame. Picking up shortly after the first film, the drama is heightened, the world-building is bombastic, and the sound and visual experience is a one-of-a-kind theater trip. Visceral is such an overused term these days that it wouldn’t do Dune: Part Two justice; you feel how wide this universe spreads and the history of the different conflicts and races that inhabit it. And once you’re brought into this fictional world, you’ll never want to leave, as the nearly 3-hour runtime flies by and every plot development is fascinating. Beyond Villeneuve’s imagination, Greig Fraser’s cinematography is the real MVP here. The beauty within the uncertainty of the desert planet is captured in such a scope that it demands in IMAX viewing, and the different planets all contribute a symbolic and gorgeous aesthetic. Timothee Chalamet takes us on the next step of Paul’s journey: his desire to adapt and fight and his fear of allowing power and faith to corrupt him. He proves that he’s always been a movie star that’s here to stay, and Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica also takes really interesting directions that make you see her role in the story, and of her son’s, in a murkier way. Zendaya also becomes a lot of the heart here as Chani, one of the franchise’s most noble characters, and Josh Brolin is always terrific as Gurney, while Javier Bardem puts his soul into the role of Stilgar, whose faith drives him towards Paul and Jessica. Austin Butler may be the standout, however, as Feyd-Rautha, whose deranged and sadistic presence create a nail-biting character and a powerful young man who has fully embraced his disturbed nature.
Though Dune: Part Two ups the ante with its visuals and performances, its the powerful script and heightened emotional stakes that make this experience what it is. The film explores questions as to how faith and hope can be exploited, and if the urge for power truly corrupts whoever gets a taste of it. Though you may find yourself trying to guess which paths these characters will take, there’s also lots of unexpectedness and the film’s most intense moments took my breath away. You understand so deeply the dynamics of this galaxy and its cultures, and how much lays in the balance. The exhilarating scale and exciting, constantly developing pace only works because of the passion behind each character and story thread: passion to lead, rule, fight, love, honor, avenge, or secure a future. These moral greys form the dark and poetic drama that’s impeccably guided by frame-worthy shots and booming sound. Never have I felt so deeply that I didn’t want a film to end, as once you’re sucked into this marvelous world by Villeneuve, you’ll never want to go home. We’ve rarely seen emotion and grandiose like this in action movies so flawlessly convert to a magnetic cinematic experience. The Empire Strikes Back comparisons are worthy but also a little humbling; this reaches the bar that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King set for sci-fi/fantasy epics. It’s a show-stopping galactic saga that unleashes its ambition and magnitude onto you in a way that will entrance and thrill whoever buys a ticket. It’s a spectacle that sets the bar so high for whatever else is to come in blockbuster filmmaking, and like the unreal visuals and scale of Avatar: The Way of Water, needs to be seen on a massive screen, to be transported with other people, and watch a story unfold that you’ll never forget.
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker goes on a school trip to Europe with his friends, only to be recruited by Nick Fury to take on the Spider-Man mantle once again and team up with interdimensional hero Mysterio to fight new threats known as the Elementals.
Spider-Man: Far From Home marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and had a lot of expectations to fill consider it not only has to follow the grand phenomenon that was Endgame but also follow up on the story of Spider-Man: Homecoming and make a story that still feels new and exciting. Well not only does Spider-Man: Far From Home live up to the expectations for a good Homecoming sequel but it also introduces new concepts and unexpected turns even after 23 Marvel films, proving that they haven’t yet lost their steam. Tom Holland still carries the film wonderfully and continues to convince me that he’s the best Spider-Man yet. Peter is now trying to hold onto his youth and is afraid to accept new and bigger responsibilites after losing an important figure in his life. Peter must learn to mature and step up throughout the film which makes for a strong arc in the film. Also great is his chemistry with Zendaya, who is also really great in her role as MJ, who we didn’t see enough of in Homecoming but is a leading part here. Watching their connection blossom throughout the film is really sweet and was done well by the writers and actors. Also really fun parts of the film are Jacob Batalon as Peter’s hysterical best friend Ned, and Jon Favreau as Tony Stark’s assistant Happy who is still played with plenty of charm, and he and Peter once again have great scenes together.
What director Jon Watts is once again able to do with this sequel is maintain that “high school movie” tone with Peter facing issues like bullies, crushes, etc., but Watts also makes sure to bring us a high-stakes superhero movie with threats and responsibilites that Peter must face as Spider-Man. He keeps the tone light and adds plenty of humor as we’re used to seeing from Marvel, and keeps the signature Marvel hero, villain, and conflict tropes. However, one thing I was underwhelemed by was the visual look of the film. Marvel has always impressed me with the production design, cienamtography, and visuals in their films, espeically lately with the gorgeous Captain Marvel and Avengers movies, but here the movie feels very boringly shot and there is no color scheme or visual style that will keep your eyes in awe like the past Marvel movies this year have. The battles often feel well-realized but the green screen also sometimes doesn’t blend in and the design for the Elementals villains as well as the final battle are also less impressive visually. Also, the fact that Sony oversees these Spider-Man MCU films while Disney controls all the others leads to some questionable or unexplained references to the bigger universe, which are sometimes welcome but sometimes a bit much or raise unneeded questions rather than serve as world-building. While Homecoming had fun small appearances from Iron Man and Captain America, here some of the connections to the rest of the MCU feel like Sony trying to constantly remind the world that their property is part of Disney’s Marvel universe as well. Other than the obvious impact Infinity War and Endgame have on the main character, some of this world-building raises more questions than it needs to and possibly tampers with the consistency Disney has been keeping so smoothly through its MCU films. I feel like there were also some underdeveloped plot points throughout the film, and they could have extended the runtime by only 5 minutes to help establish these more, like we don’t see much of how the world is readjusting after Thanos’ actions shook the universe, and we also hear peoople repeadetly mention a large character from Endgame but I think we needed a bit more about how Peter is affected by that character’s loss. Also, the timing of the release was way too soon (only 2 months) after Endgame, which was the big conclusion to many years of MCU films — so why not wait a bit longer and let us take in the first big chapter instead of diving right into the next one? Hopefully this won’t undermine the effect of Endgame as a finale as time goes by, because both these films are still great on their own. What Spider-Man: Far From Home does best, however, is remind us why we love this incarnation of the character and why he resonates with audiences, as well as provide new challenges and growth for the character as well deliver on the tone of a film that has to feel large-scaled on small-sclaed at the same time.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is a satisfying sequel that ups the scale and stakes for Spidey with more locations and more cdhallenging foes than before, even though it’s visually dull compared to the other big Marvel movies this year, and the pacing could’ve been slightly improved. However, the performances, storyline, and humor all deliver as expected and there’s an awesome mid-credits scene that changes the game for the future of Spider-Man.
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