King Richard (2021)

“Venus and Serena gonna shake up the world. ” – Richard Williams

Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Nov 2021)

Brief Synopsis – Biopic of Richard Williams the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams as he does his best to help make his daughters the best at all that they do.

My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve heard a lot about over the past few months especially since the performance by Will Smith is supposed to be amazing.

I actually knew very little about the story and only right before going to the theater did I even find out that it was a biopic about the father of Venus and Serena Williams who inspired and trained them to be the best kind of tennis athletes that they could be.

The story is told quite well and despite numerous inaccuracies within the story, it still is quite enjoyable and engaging throughout.

This probably has much to do with the performance of Smith who is great in this role even if he doesn’t really transform himself so much in this role as he has done in the past.

The focus of this film is all on the teaching and training methods of Williams as he and his wife are willing to sacrifice so much for all 5 of their daughters, but mostly for the two younger ones who were amazing tennis payers from a very young age.

The film takes place in the early 90’s and they do a nice job recreating that time and place and this helps make things feel even more realistic and genuine throughout.

The tennis scenes are done well, but it is more enjoyable to watch the expressions on the face of Smith’s character during these matches than to watch the games themselves because is gives the viewer the feeling that a parent can have when they see their child succeed and excel at whatever endeavor they attempt to do.

Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The screenplay King Richard was featured in the 2018 black list – the annual list of well-received, unproduced screenplays. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)