LIKES
The Sports Moments:
While not campy like the Mighty Ducks, and certainly not as complete as movies like Hoosiers or Miracle, King Richard is a movie whose sports scenes are worthy of watching. Tennis matches may seem repetitive, but the film does a great job of showing off highlighted matches to give enough of the historical starts of the Williams sisters. The ending bout especially has some key moments, and though I would have liked a little more time in the match, or some adlibbing to make good volley moments that sports dram do well. Still, the movie gives enough of the sports feel to spice things up and break up the other dramatic elements.
The Cinematography:
It's beautiful, and I agree with the way they have captured the moments of King Richard's plan into the modern day cinema. A blend of old footage, acts as fun launching the film to recreate history once again. The angles chosen to depict those key moments, with dynamic camera work keeping up with the chaos of life. It has filters and lighting to really bring out the feels of the family, and continues to fluctuate as the movie requires. When you see the setting and how they've taken us back to the decades where the girls were growing up, you are pulled further into the story and a bit distracted from some of the liberties taken in the film.
The Story:
Again, the liberties taken in this movie I am not sure of, but the movie shows a lot of heart about a man whose principles were very limiting, but also inspirational in the goals designed. Richard may not have been the best parent, but his tale has a lot of gut wrenching moments in both the positive and negative aspects. This film shows you the layers of the Williams' father, all the turmoil that he held and why he pushed them as far as they did. The character centric plot gradually fleshes out insight into his checkered past, giving you perspectives from all the people this "stubborn man" put them through in his quest to make his plans a reality. Many of the secondary characters got their due time on the film, and those avenues were smart to continue to renew the investment into the tale. An even smarter decision was the intermittent shift to Venus' side of the story, and getting to see her feelings and views during the key elements were pretty cool for me. Her story never swallowed or took too much away from the main story, but instead threaded easily through it and picked up the energy and pace as Richard's story started to get repetitive. This helped keep the 2.5 hours from feeling too long and drawn out.
The Politics Are Controlled:
I'll admit it gets preachy and a little in your face with the dialogue and certain scenes. However, King Richard was not the worse agenda pushing piece to come to the theater in the recent years. There are really inspirational moments, and some great comedy moments they use to fight the agenda, and many of them still hold the heart of Richard's journey to get his family the respect and stability they needed. It kept again the character at the center most of the time, and did a great job not diverting from that key story they were trying to tell us, which I'm greatly appreciative of letting the story tell the message instead of the in your face dialogue.
The Acting:
Hands down the best part of the movie is the acting from so many members of the groups. The coaching staff, the other competitions, even the sisters who had a few lines sold me to the tight knit family the Williams were. However, the top billed cast is who I will focus on for the sake of time. Bernthal is the key coach you get in the movie and he rocks in the wide eyed coach, with dreams of making it big through his athlete's talents. A bit of jerk, which he plays well, Bernthal accomplishes the complex nature that this role held. Balancing precariously between potential antagonist and full on friend of the group, and I loved his energy in his goal to keep Richard from diverting too far with his plan. Ellis' role as the mother was amazing as well, the antithesis of Richard on some levels, while also playing the role of the faithful wife helping to support the family when Richard was focused on other parts. She's strong, she's bold, but she has that empowering presence that works super well for the role, if only I could have had more time with her. I have to say that Saniyya Sidney accomplished a lot in her role as young Venus, holding so much emotion and keeping it in check, with well-executed acting for most of the movie. She resonated with everyone in this group, and her and Smith's chemistry was an entropy favoring reaction that I would love to see again. As for Smith, again the man has proven his acting chops and the mantle of the "king" was a good fit for me upon watching him. One part emotional blend, one part comedy, and fantastic mimicry of the Williams patriarch, Smith's ability to take the inspirational and the mannerisms and blend them into a fun, yet serious, role worked for me. I enjoyed watching the obsessive nature of Richard emerge with each new venture, and Smith's evolution of the character was great as he never lost touch with Richard's core personality traits. Certainly an Oscar worthy performance from this reviewer.
DISLIKES:
The Pace At Times:
While most of the movie goes at smooth pace, there are times where the tangential paths were not the right tangents to use for me. Richard had a bunch of stuff to unleash, and when trying to balance Venus' tale into the mix, it leads to some inconsistent pace that feels a little bloated. A minor complaint, and one that is minimal once the exciting things come up.
More Tennis Scenes Would Have Been Nice:
Again it's a sports movie according to the genre, and I'd have liked a few more moments of movie magic to spice up the game scenes that we got. Certainly the final match of the movie had that, but there were some other ones that could have used a little intervention to give me the excitement other sports movies have accomplished. This might have helped break up the slower pace for me, and give a little more room for the sound editing, cinema, and Sidney's work to elevate further.
Lots of Story Sort of Skimmed over:
The story is about King Richard, and for much of the film we have been given insights into the hardships he faced and the actions he did. Sadly, Richard's story still feels skimmed and incomplete from what they could have been. All the stories of the past could have been done in either flashbacks or shown earlier in the movie, or perhaps a better execution of his talks to the girls about the horrors he faced. His checkered past being reduced to a few sentences and I can't say how this would have been better without more time or a second movie to paint his life with. Richard lived a lot of stuff and this movie again did a decent job hitting the highlights, but it's not the most complete story of the bunch.
The Character Usage:
Again, bravo for the connections and the things they presented in this film with the actors mentioned above. King Richard though advertises that both sisters get the fair shot in the game, but really it's only Venus' tale that gets most of the focus. Richard's interactions with much of the family he promoted has those key moments in monologues, there are other components that I wish I had more time with. The oldest daughter and her strives to academia, the other two daughters sort of falling into the unknown, which may reflect what is seen today, but still would have been nice to see more of. I wanted to again see more of his wife's involvement, seeing her coaching the girls as we got glimpses at the beginning of the movie. Even more shots of her working in the shadows while he continued his drive would have been great or maybe more into the family trying to make their way during the non-tennis moments could have helped alleviate the bare use of the other characters. This was again especially true of Sarena's tale, an interesting story itself, but again glazed over in an odd choice of a few key moments and promises that either indicate a sequel or meant to put a nod to how much he was working on her plan. I don't know, but I'd have liked again more time to balance the two sisters and the father, (the people on the poster) to really deliver on the promises the trailer made.
The VERDICT:
King Richard accomplishes much in its two and half hour runtime with quality that is certainly geared towards the Oscars. It's got fantastic sound and video quality, using both in an artistic approach that really adds finesse and atmosphere to the story of the Williams' father. It's got heart, tells a tale of heart, and shows a dramatic dive into a man's legacy to make his family's life better. The acting is sensational, chemistry key in many of the interactions, but Smith certainly pulls out a lot of quality cards in his latest leading role. Yet, the movie is another big promise of a lot of stories being represented fairly, and the potential for a good sports movie mixed in. King Richard's tale is sort of like that in this film, but does not quite deliver on all fronts to make a consistent quality film balancing all of these into a short time frame. There was much to still learn about this man, requiring a read by yours truly of his history, but this movie does a decent job getting things started. The portrayal is still incredible though and when balancing everything in this drama, alongside still needing some more sports moments, I give this film:
Biography/Drama/Sport: 7.5
Movie Overall: 7.0.
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