Challengers First Reviews: “The Most Gripping Sports Movie in Years”

The first reviews for Challengers are in, and the verdict is that Luca Guadagnino has served up a hit.

Out of early screenings, critics are calling the film starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor " the most gripping sports movie in years " and " Smart, seductive and bristling with sexual tension ".

Guadagnino's sexy twist on the sports movie genre was due to hit Venice's prestigious film festival in September 2023 but delayed release in tandem with the strikes in Hollywood.

Now, audiences are finally getting their hands on one of the most anticipated Warner Bros releases of the year, which follows a love triangle between a former tennis prodigy, her husband and her ex-boyfriend.

Challengers currently sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes from 57 reviews, and here's a closer look at a selection of what they had to say.

Challengers Review Roundup

• Collider: This is a film that could've easily been more conventional and lascivious in its approach, yet Guadagnino's handling of Kuritzkes' screenplay makes this into something far greater. Simply put, Challengers is quite a serve.

• Polygon: Challengers is just plain fun — playful, aggressive, and a thrill to watch. It isn't like anything else that's hit cinemas in the past few years.

• NME: Playful, sexy and compelling, this is one of the best films of the year, with sensational performances from its three leads

• Guardian: Moment by moment, line by line and scene by scene, Challengers delivers sexiness and laughs, intrigue and resentment, and Guadagnino's signature is there in the intensity, the closeups and the music stabs.

• Empire: Operating at the peak of his powers, Luca Guadagnino has the time of his life with this practically sadistic exploration of unrelenting obsession.