Borg vs. McEnroe

It is the 1980 Wimbledon tennis championship. Bjorn Borg is the number 1 tennis player in the world and the undisputed king of Wimbledon. He has won the tournament four times in a row - a fifth consecutive time would be a world first. However, a new face has appeared in the tennis world and presents a serious threat to Borg's title hopes - John McEnroe.

Good movie, and surprisingly so. Seeing Shia LaBeouf in the credits, as McEnroe, made me set my expectations quite low. However, it turned out to be an interesting and exciting movie.

What made the movie good was that it is not a dry, join-the-dots docudrama. There is character development, showing Borg and McEnroe's backgrounds, how their sporting mentalities and personas were formed and how these influence, to the point of determining, their game. Very engaging.

The choice of rivalry contributes to the engagement of the movie. There could not have been more opposite rivals in the world of sport. Borg: the ice-cold, emotionless base-line player. McEnroe: the temperamental, irascible, serve-and-volleyer. The contrast, and how their personalities affect their game, makes for enthralling viewing.

I'm no tennis expert, but the tennis scenes seem very well done and realistic. Also, the mental side of playing sport at the highest level is covered fairly well.

Good performances from Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and Shia LeBeouf as McEnroe. Good support from Stellan Skarsgard and Tuva Novotny.

On the negative side, the coverage of Borg's mental side state seems overwrought and slows down the momentum of the movie. Yes, it was necessary, actually vitally important, to the movie, as it showed the pressure Borg was under and the downsides to fame and being the world Number 1 (at anything). It also provides a good explanation to what would happen later in Borg's career. However, too much of the movie is showing how Borg wrestles with these demons - we got it the first time round, no need to repeat it several times.

In addition, the focus appears mostly on Borg. McEnroe's background is sketched very basically. A bit more balance was necessary.

I felt a bit robbed after watching the recent lacklustre Australian Open final. My summer tennis fix craved something a bit more satisfactory. Coming across Borg vs McEnroe was good timing.

If possible, I think it's best going into this movie somewhat blind. I didn't know the outcome of the 1980 Wimbledon final depicted here. I had little knowledge about Bjorn Borg, and what I knew about McEnroe just consisted of temper tantrums. My lack of knowledge really helped make this film quite gripping.

Shia Lebeouf delivers perhaps his career best performance as McEnroe. He perfectly captured the attitude and personality of the man. The film has more of an emphasis on Borg's journey which is completely fine though, given he's portrayed by a captivating Sverrir Gudnason. Stellan Skarsgard rounded out what was an exceptional cast. The film really settles into a nice rhythm once coach Skarasgard teams up with the young Borg.

The rock n' roll McEnroe scenes provided a welcome contrast to the often serious, brooding scenes of Borg. I also had no idea McEnroe was so intelligent! This film is really an in depth character study that does more than just skim the surface of who each man was. The ending was fantastic and the friendship which developed between the two was surprisingly heartwarming.

Borg vs McEnroe has a very similar feel to that of Ron Howard's Rush - so if you're a fan of that, you will probably like this. Tennis fans should love this too! A very serviceable sports film.

Sports dramas seem to be on the rise and there have been quite a few prime examples in real life that serve in the story department. This is one of them. And Borg McEnroe is really something to enjoy, with some powerful performances. I myself had not the results in the back of my head while I watched it. So I was kind of unprepared and could enjoy what was going on in the movie at all times, without being spoiled.

Having said all that, the movie concentrates more on the off court drama, rather than the game itself. But you will get iconic moments from the game(s), don't worry about that. It may not have gotten any recognition from the Academy Awards, but that spot was already taken by I, Tonya. Also a good movie and probably a good double bill with this one ...

I liked how the movie brought me back to those days when tennis players were like superstars (although you would not know it if you watch the last aierport scene where Bjorn and John have a lWhat I did not like is how the movie overkills the contrast between them and yet, it is contradictory in that the "calm/predictable/shy" Bjorn fires his coach without thinking it over much and is ready to leave his fiance as well ... which makes him as volatile as McEnroe supposedly is... Meanwhile there is no tennis analysis whatsoever. I loved how John had the best hands in tennis and how graceful and talented he was at the net ... Sverri Gudnason plays and moves a little bit like Bjorn, Shia LaBeouf is a DISASTER as John McEnroe: his movements are totally non-tennis and totally wrong!!! The movie shows them as if this is the first time they play one another when it really was the SEVENTH time they played one another. This is just on of many liberties they take to tell the story they want to tell: the Ying/Yang that movies require in order for those watching to get the point... Too many flashbacks: the whole movie seemed like a long string of Bjorg remembering hitting against a wall and John getting rejected by his parents!!!

After I, Tonya this is the second sports related movie I watch this month and twice I didn't have huge expectations about it and twice I was pleasantly surprised. The difference this time is that I would never watch figure skating in real while tennis is an appealing sport to me. I remember watching the rivalry on the tennis courts between John McEnroe and Björn Borg. Those were great games of tennis. Everybody knows McEnroe for his temperament and of course his great tennis skills but what was interesting to me is to see how Borg used to be while he was little. He was exactly the same as McEnroe and so it doesn't surprise me at all that they became friends in the end. The movie is very well made, with a lot of back story, and so not only tennis shots. Shia Leboeuf did a good job portraying John McEnroe, but the amazing thing in this movie must be the stunning resemblance from Sverrir Gudnason with Björn Borg. It's like they could have been brothers. Even if you're not into sports, or tennis in this case, this movie is certainly worth a watch. A movie full of emotions.