--- title: "Challengers: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/challengers/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/challengers" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 21 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Challengers (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 21 reviews: 19 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. The reviews are largely agreed, and agreed loudly. Most critics find Challengers Luca Guadagnino’s most purely entertaining film, and the praise settles on the same three things: the central trio, the tennis, and the sex, or the promise of it. Zendaya is named most often, usually as the film’s engine, with Josh O’Connor a close second and Mike Faist rarely far behind; several reviews say the chemistry among them carries the picture. The tennis sequences are singled out for inventive camerawork that keeps the matches tense even for viewers who do not care about the sport. The Reznor and Ross techno score divides opinion: many call it thrilling, while the Evening Standard and Deadline find it intrusive. Deadline also objects to choppy time jumps, and The Ringer thinks the energy is all on the surface. The spread is narrow apart from one outlier: Eye for Film, filing months later, finds the film dragged out and thin on character. ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/5/5. 12 April 2024. The review calls the film a fun, smart and sexy character study powered by strong performances and playful direction. It singles out Josh O’Connor’s charismatic turn as a standout alongside the film’s sharp dialogue and energetic style. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/challengers) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2024. Guadagnino, O'Connor and Zendaya deliver the greatest tennis movie in history with terrific performances and a sexy masterclass in tension. The critic praises the faultless central trio and the director at the top of his game. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/challengers-film-review-zendaya-josh-oconnor-tennis-movie-n6qnctw50) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2024. The critic calls it Guadagnino’s most purely entertaining film, a scintillating mix of romantic triangle and gripping sports drama with playful showmanship. Zendaya is praised as superb and commanding, with the dynamic tennis sequences and score singled out for their intensity and wit. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/challengers-review/5192345.article) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2024. The critic finds the film smart, seductive, and one of Guadagnino’s most pleasurable and playful works, with strong chemistry among the leads driving the love-triangle story intertwined with tennis competition. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/challengers-review-zendaya-josh-oconnor-mike-faist-luca-guadagnino-1235870986/) ## The New Yorker — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 April 2024. The critic calls the movie irrepressibly entertaining and exuberantly lusty, an amped-up story of a three-way romantic rally in the tennis world. He praises its free-floating horndoggery and stylish rebuke to puritanical mainstream cinema. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/06/challengers-movie-review) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2024. Guadagnino's tennis love triangle is the most purely pleasurable film of the year with sleek bodies, minds and racquet-twanging steaminess. The critic singles out the chemistry and tense tennis sequences for praise. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/challengers-review-zendaya-josh-o-conner-mike-faist/) ## Los Angeles Times — Amy Nicholson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 April 2024. The critic describes the film as sexy and adrenalized, exposing tennis as rife with sexual frustration through inventive camerawork and excess. She singles out Zendaya’s ferocious, slicing performance as the standout element that cuts through the noise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-04-25/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino-mike-faist-josh-oconnor-tennis) ## Radio Times Rating 4/5. 12 April 2024. The review describes a breezy, sexy tennis drama that benefits from strong performances and inventive match sequences. Zendaya is singled out for one of her most electric roles, though the final act is noted as somewhat indulgent. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/challengers-review-zendaya/) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 April 2024. The critic finds Guadagnino back in strong form with a focused, witty and erotic tennis love triangle that recaptures the yearning of his best work. The film's playful energy and strong performances, especially Zendaya's, keep it entertaining throughout. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/challengers-luca-guadagnino-summons-potent-yearning-his-finest-work-with-hot-heavy-tennis-drama) ## The Guardian — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 April 2024. Guadagnino delivers an absurdly sexy, fun tennis romance with power plays and interlocking desires among three leads. The critic singles out Zendaya's star quality and the film's erotic tension for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/apr/28/challengers-review-luca-guadagnino-zendaya-mike-faist-josh-o-connor) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 25 March 2024. The critic praises the film as wildly enjoyable and electrifying, crediting Guadagnino for delivering two strong movies in one with its sports drama and charged love triangle. Zendaya’s performance is highlighted as a particular strength amid the sweaty, kinetic tennis sequences. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/challengers-review-2024) ## Empire — Alex Godfrey 12 April 2024. The critic hails the film as horny, hungry and phenomenally exciting filmmaking with exquisitely precise direction, where every tennis moment is rooted in character and the stakes feel life-or-death. It singles out the tactile, physical filmmaking, the three lead performances and the thrilling, mischievous energy of Guadagnino at his peak. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/challengers/) ## Evening Standard — Maddy Mussen 12 April 2024. The critic finds the film a dizzying, horny ménage à trois tennis drama with stellar performances, particularly Zendaya cementing herself as a leading lady and O’Connor as a spectacularly watchable antagonist, plus creative tennis sequences and a standout threesome scene. The thumping techno score is singled out as the main fault for being overly intrusive. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/challengers-review-film-2024-zendaya-josh-o-connor-mike-faist-b1150897.html) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland 26 April 2024. The critic praises the psychosexual tennis drama for its killer central performance from Zendaya as a cocky, self-assured femme fatale driving the power dynamics, with strong supporting turns from Faist and O’Connor. It singles out the homoerotic tension and Zendaya’s invigorating presence while noting the film relies more on implication and desire than explicit sex scenes. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/challengers-review-zendaya-3022366) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Rating Critic's Pick. 25 April 2024. The critic finds the film a fizzy, lightly sexy and enjoyable tease centered on a changing love triangle among tennis players. She singles out the three appealing leads and the pleasure of watching attractive people circling one another with desire. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/movies/challengers-review-zendaya-mike-faist-josh-oconnor.html) ## Total Film — Neil Smith 12 April 2024. The critic describes it as a pulsating tale of erotic tension and discord among three tennis players, entertaining throughout with operatic sensuality in key scenes and a virtual grand slam of acting from Zendaya, Faist and especially O’Connor. It notes the stylish, racy makeover of the sport but suggests it might be too heady for some. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/challengers-review/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 5/5. 23 April 2024. The critic praises Guadagnino's kinetic, entertaining and horny direction in a tennis movie that's not really about tennis, with spellbinding performances from the leads. The complex, toxic dynamics of the central love triangle and innovative camerawork are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/challengers-review-zendaya-scores-twisted/) ## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric Rating 5/5. 12 April 2024. This is without a doubt the single most exciting movie of the year, a sexy twisted tale with three incredible lead performances and the best-filmed tennis action outside the ATP tour. The euphorically bouncy EDM score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross perfectly complements Guadagnino’s intoxicating direction. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/challengers-review/) ## Consequence Rating A-. 12 April 2024. Guadagnino delivers a propulsive, captivating story of love and competition through a true love triangle, with a loud techno score, meticulously observed details, and inventive filming of the matches that keeps viewers engaged. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2024/04/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino/) ## Digital Spy — Mireia Mullor Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2024. The critic calls it the horniest movie of the year and a lustful, exhilarating watch driven by star-making performances, epic slow-motion scenes and a phenomenal soundtrack. Zendaya's nuanced, power-hungry turn as Tashi is singled out for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a60524284/challengers-review/) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating 8/10. 12 April 2024. The film is one of Guadagnino’s twistiest, most compelling, and nonstop horniest works, a culmination of his talents that blends passion, unpredictability, and character drama into immensely entertaining viewing. [Read the review](https://collider.com/challengers-movie-review/) ## NME — Matthew Turner Rating 4/5. 12 April 2024. The critic hails the playful, sexy and compelling film as one of the year's best, with sensational performances and off-the-scale chemistry from the three leads. The brilliantly structured screenplay that unfolds like a tennis match and the pulse-pounding score are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/challengers-review-zendaya-tennis-3617067) ## /Film — Witney Seibold Rating 7.5/10. 12 April 2024. Guadagnino spins a pretty simple tale into a skillful 131-minute epic with excellent performances from the cast. Mike Faist stands out as the ambitious Art navigating love and tennis in the shadow of his friend, while the non-linear structure effectively juices the story. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1558459/challengers-review/) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 April 2024. Challengers is broad commercial entertainment that thrills and titillates with its hyper-extended love triangle, cheeky homoeroticism, and kinetic style, but remains more about surface-level energy than deeper substance. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2024/04/25/movies/challengers-movie-review-zendaya) ## Deadline — Valerie Complex Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2024. The critic finds it a flawed but deeply human film that explores love, rivalry and personal growth through the tennis metaphor. She praises the sharp character development, O’Connor and Faist’s palpable chemistry, and Zendaya’s compelling presence while complaining about choppy pacing from time jumps and a distracting score. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/04/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino-1235882400/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 28 December 2024. The whole thing is ludicrously dragged out over 13 years and sitting through it feels like longer, with no real character development despite accurate tennis details. Zendaya handles the age span convincingly but the film offers little depth or engagement beyond surface appeal of its attractive stars. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/challengers-2024-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Film Stories — Maria Lattila 26 April 2024. Guadagnino delivers his sexiest film yet, a captivating character study of a tangled love triangle elevated by intricate power dynamics and sexual politics. Zendaya dominates the screen with sizzling chemistry alongside O’Connor and Faist, matched by a pounding Reznor/Ross score that the critic feels in their bones. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/challengers-review-zendaya-dominates-the-screen-in-luca-guadagninos-sultry-tennis-drama/) ## Paste — Brianna Zigler Rating 8.5. 24 April 2024. Challengers is a grandiose, propulsive, erotic love triangle that treats tennis matches as outlets for sexual release and power dynamics, buoyed by longing, a pulsing score, and exhilarating performances from its three leads. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/luca-guadagnino/challengers-review) ## Polygon — Tasha Robinson 12 April 2024. Challengers is a sharp, snappy, and blisteringly sexy sports-and-sex drama that provocatively pushes back against puritanical culture, with creative verve, sensual physicality, and a fun, thrilling watch thanks to its lead performances and direction. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/24127886/challengers-review-zendaya-luca-guadagnino/) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating A-/B+. 18 April 2024. Guadagnino flips the love-triangle scenario on its head with a glorious late-’90s thumping techno score that heightens tension in the pivotal tennis matches. The filmmaking is completely ace, delivering a cinematic matchpoint through style, editing and the central performances. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/challengers-review-zendaya-rules-this-love-triangle-20240418/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/challengers.md