King Richard

Will Smith delivers a tour de force performance in this engaging family drama as the overbearing father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. It's a beautifully shot film with strong performances overall. My only gripe is that this is not a biopic about the Williams sisters. Instead the film chooses to focus on its main star - Will Smith - as the helicopter parent. Venus Williams gets some screen time on her rise to fame, but Serena is inexplicably ignored in the plot despite being arguably the more famous star of the two.

Now in their 40s the Williams sisters Venus and Serena have become what their dad predicted years ago, arguably the two best female tennis players ever. If you believe him, his plan started before they were born.

It is important to keep the title in mind, it is the Dad's story. Of course you can't tell the dad's story without a lot of focus on the sisters and this movie does. It focuses more on Venus and her professional start because she is the older of the two.

I well remember Richard Williams all those years ago, in his public persona he came across as a real jackass, and because of his personality it was hard to like him. But honestly, this is a superb movie, it shows a lot that none of us could have known. If this had been a fictional story it would be hard to accept. The movie is long, running almost 2 1/2 hours, but it is so well made that it never seemed long. Will Smith gives an award-worthy performance in the role and in fact on March 27th won the Oscar for best actor. And slapped Chris Rock onstage for making fun of Will's wife's shaven head.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library. During the movie I wondered how the junior tennis was depicted so realistically and the 9-minute "making of" extra shows how they did. They used real champion caliber junior tennis players as tennis doubles and used face replacement technology to make it look like the young Venus and Serena actors were actually playing and hitting the shots.

"King Richard" is an interesting film, because we all know what the ending is, but have no idea of the process. Therefore, it has to have an engaging middle, so that the sure ending becomes well deserved. Acting is good by all actors and actresses. I enjoyed watching this uplifting film.

Sure its a well made movie, but I have my issues with the direction. Mainly that it just feels void of character. It felt more like a sitcom, with a very streamlined narrative. Its very clear what emotion you need to feel at what point. The music is very blunt, and there is very little room for interpertation.

Thats my main problem with these very american movies. Its a constant barrage of 'now feel sad' , 'now feel happy' ect.

But apart from that, sure its not a bad movie. And I do have to give credit to its pacing. With a 2,5 hour runtime, the movie didn't feel like it was draggin its feet.

So all in all, competant movie, but awfull directing.

5/10: hmm.

Although it has its moments, Reinaldo Marcus Green's 'King Richard' fails to serve a powerful, winning smash. It is mostly formulaic, with some of the drama bordering on melodramatic. Will Smith delivers a pretty monotonous, borderline caricatured performance. The 'King Richard' star dwarfs, especially when combined with a forceful Aunjanue Ellis and a revealing Saniyya Sidney, and leaves the film without a compelling central figure.