Game, set… match!Zendaya’ssteamy sports dramaChallengersserves up an ace for the actress as the film eyes its late April release. But critics are already raving about the sports romance, which is directed byCall Me by Your Name’svisionary filmmaker,Luca Guadagnino. And, at the time of this writing,Challengersboasts a nearly perfect score on the Tomatometer, registering 96% on Rotten Tomatoes against 56 reviews.Maureen Lee Lenkerof EW declares the movie a “grand slam of psychosexual passion and tension” in Entertainment Weekly’s review. Lenker also writes:
Anchored by three arresting performances and playfully experimental direction, Challengers is fresh, exhilarating, and energetic.
Challengers
Meanwhile, Mashable’sKristy PuchkodeclaresChallengers"one of the best and sexiest movies of the year." Puchko also says:
While it may be too much for some audiences to handle, there’s no doubt Challengers is hands down one of the best and sexiest movies of the year.
David Rooneyof The Hollywood Reporter adds:
Smart, seductive and bristling with sexual tension, Challengers is arguably Luca Guadagnino’s most purely pleasurable film to date; it’s certainly his lightest and most playful.
Zendaya’s Challengers Lobs a Winner into Theaters
WhileCall Me by Your Namereigns asthe best of Luca Guadagnino’s films,it’ll be interesting to see how much of a threatChallengerswill become to dethroning the 2017 Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer-led romance. By comparison,Call Me by Your Namescored 94% on the Tomatometer against 368 reviews. And, with that in mind,Robbie Collinof the United Kingdom’s Daily Telegraph givesChallengersa perfect 5/5 score. Collin writes in his review:
“Challengers must be the most purely pleasurable film of the yearso far. Like a great tennis match,it’s a clash of sleekly honed bodies and minds,and the question of who finally comes out on top is irrelevant to the fun of the struggle itself.”
Zendaya Goes For Game, Set and Match in Steamy New Challengers Trailer
Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor serve up the sexiness on-screen in the upcoming sports romance Challengers.
Peter Debrugeof Variety says:
The plot of ‘Challengers’ might sound stale, and yet, there’s an electric spark to Guadagnino’s approach that elevates the material, rendering it fresh.
Joining Zendaya’s former tennis star turned coach, Tashi Duncan, is Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. Faist plays Tashi’s lover-turned-husband — the actor starred in one ofSteven Spielberg’s best movies,West Side Story— while O’Connor (The Durrells, The Crown)fills out the torrid love triangle as a jilted lover and former best friend. AndMatt Zoller Seitzof RogerEbert.com praises all three actors:
It’s a treat to see three comparatively young actors nailing the kind of understated flirty gravitas that the stars of movies for grownups used to exhibit in earlier eras.
Finally,Siddhant Adlakhaof IGN declares:
Feels electric and alive, en route to an intrepid climax that translates complete emotional sincerity through the medium of sport. It’s as painful as it is exuberant, resulting in one of the best and most exciting films this year.
Challengersopens in theaters on April 26, and AMC Theatres is presenting specialChallengers: Early Accessscreenings to the public on Monday, April 22.
