Challengers

Sex appeal in films has been around for decades in so many forms. Some are on-the-nose with beautiful actors sharing a kiss in revealing clothing and some are more subtle such as the odd romance that commences in The Greasy Strangler. Several years ago, a filmmaker named Luca Guadagnino hit the world by storm and continued to make sexy movies in the strangest ways in different genres. His latest visual innuendo movie is called Challengers, which is a recipe for sex and tennis between three people told in a different way that resembles a sexual relationship over time.

Luca is no stranger to showcasing sexual feelings of a frank nature on film. His remake of Suspiria not only told a bold horror story that enhanced the sex appeal of dancers and witchcraft from Dario Argento's original film, but it put his name on the map. From there, fruit and sex won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar with Call Me By Your Name which led to the bloody sex appeal in the cannibalistic lover story - Bones and All. But now, Luca explores the world of sports and a decades-long friendship and how sex and infatuation play a part in their lives by going back and forth in time to show their struggles and triumphs that parallels a game of tennis.

But this 131-minute movie is a big tease in a lot of ways that romanticizes the sexual metaphors of sports and tennis complete with tons of slow-motion action shots and sexual turmoil between three friends. Told in time jumps from when the cast were children to the the present day and everything in between with no rhyme or reason, the story follows two friends, Art and Patrick (Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor), who are both up-and-coming young tennis stars. They come across another tennis player named Tashi (Zendaya) who is on her way to becoming the best tennis player in the world. The three become friends which leads to heavy sexual feelings where Tashi takes notice and starts her master manipulation of these two men over the years.

Tashi eventually ends up with one of them but never stops thinking about or seeing the other. This culminates in Tashi's injury that hinders her from playing the sport but to rather coach others. Her new family and kid show one element of a nurturing, caring woman whereas her manipulating side shows her dwindling lover for her husband and longing for their other friend. The result brings back the two former friends to battle it out on the tennis court in one last tournament with Tashi in the middle. While Luca doesn't necessarily have a strong-seeded message in Challengers, it simply exists to watch three people share their good times and turbulent moments in their sadistic way of love and romance.

In the end, the film is wrapped in a pretty bow, but the journey to this moment is ripe with two hours of betrayals, affairs, and one woman's manipulation of two men she allegedly loves. Does she love them for who they are, or for the sport of it all - tennis included? It's never really explained nor are there actual explicit sex scenes, but rather strongly suggested bodies in motion and kissing that might make a bigger impact than actually showing all of the goods. But that's not what this movie intends to be. Challengers suffer from its wonky time jumps that reveal some of the hardships and successes of these characters, but it can be too long in the tooth to arrive at the main event where the two men battle for one woman's love, only to find love in themselves, which might have been Tashi's plight all along. That all being said, this might be one of the most artfully told stories about tennis and a three-way that would make Wild Things do backflips with very good performances from all involved.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Challengers serves its way to Blu-ray + Digital Code via Warner Bros. and MGM. The sole disc is housed inside a hard plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. There is an insert for a digital code. The artwork features Zendaya with her sunglasses that show her two men playing tennis.

Challengers comes with a 1080p HD image that looks great. The lack of any 4K release right now is strange hopefully we'll see a 4K release or even a Criterion debut down the road. Or maybe this is the new Warner Bros. marketing model. Either way, it's a weird release given the past few years where they usually release great products.

The colors are vibrant during the present-day scenes with outdoor sequences that boast the green and blue colors of the tennis court and the stands. The many colors of costumes in the stands look amazing and the bright neon yellow tennis ball looks excellent. The flashbacks have a warmer quality to them with tons of ambers, browns, and yellows from the college rooms to the other interiors set during their teenage years. Black levels are inky and these skin tones are natural.

The mix of digital and celluloid film used to shoot this movie looks great and provides some wonderful detail with a wide array of creative angles. From POV view shots of the ball to handheld action scenes, and wider shots all provide ample detail that shows facial pores, sweat, pimples, individual hairs, and textures in the ball, rackets, and wardrobe. De-aging looks smooth but good whereas the modern-day makeup looks much more textured. There are no issues with banding, aliasing, or heavy noise.

This release comes with a Dolby Atmos track that sounds wonderful in its limits. There are no big explosions or gunshots here, but the tennis matches sound wonderfully immersive when there are no slow-motion effects. The sound of the racket hitting the ball comes with that iconic pop. The footsteps running back and forth are exquisite on the tennis court too. Sexual scenes have the necessary smooches and body slaps of skin-on-skin action. There isn't much action from the height speakers except some great camera angles looking upwards from the ground. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's score is the highlight that provides a suspenseful, yet sex-induced beat that rivals the motions of a tennis match. It's pitch-perfect. The dialogue is clean, clear, and easy to follow.

There are NO extras on this release.

Challengers is a wild story to watch unfold about three people who are in love with each other for better or worse with a game of tennis that is a metaphor for their relationship. And it proves that Luca Guadagnino understands the many facets of romance in any decade or genre. The 1080p HD image looks great, but the lack of any 4K option is annoying. The Dolby Atmos track sounds wonderful too. There are no extras on this disc which begs the question - why spend money on a physical copy of this? Unless you're fine with 1080p and don't need any bonus features, save that money and hold out for a 4K release or a collector's edition with extras, because this movie would be worth the money then. In its current form, Worth A Look