Cert - 15, Run-time - 2 hours 11 minutes, Director - Luca Guadagnino

The lives and loves of three tennis prodigies (Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor) unwind on the court when the two men meet after many years in the final of a low-level pro tournament. The opening stages of Challengers frantically bat back and forth between times like a tennis ball being ricocheted from one side of a court to another. It's a style which gets off on the wrong foot as we see the start of the first and most interactions between the central trio of characters play out at the same time. The former being 13 years prior where they show themselves to be tennis prodigies, the latter seeing former best friends Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) reunited in the final of a low-level pro tournament.

Sat in the crowd is Art's wife, and Patricks' ex-girlfriend Tashi (Zendaya), a former prodigy who after an injury became her husband's coach. It's as the three properly begin to talk at a Junior US Open party that Justin Kuritzkes' screenplay begins to calm down and give them a bit more time and space to breathe. Yet, perhaps the biggest sign of this is in Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score. Working more alongside the film instead of randomly cropping up as a burst of a nightclub-ready dance track to close each scene.

As the central rivalry comes to a true clash in the final match glimpsed throughout we continue to cut back to the growth and developments in the central love triangle. While at times true feelings may be difficult to truly understand due to it seeming like there are no true feelings in either set of romantic relationships - and at some times verge on a thick air of dislike - there are still a good set of performances to lead the film, particularly when getting more dialogue-heavy scenes to sink in to.

Many have already proclaimed Challengers as a turning point in Zendaya's career - almost a second coming - however, the film further cements the dramatic chops of all three of its leads. While the pacing of the bookends may cause a slight stumble - despite there being a good deal of investment and some tension, as the final set plays out - there's plenty of interest to be found in the rise and fall of the relationships. However, sometimes thinking about the real thoughts and intentions that are a part of them is brought up a bit more than director Luca Guadagnino perhaps intends.

More is added to the drama as rivalries spark and eventually flare up. Colliding with the varying career trajectories, and struggles, that the trio individually face. What holds them back and what do they put themselves into in the face of that. It all leads them to the eventual finale and the different perspectives from which they watch, or participate in it. There may be some bumps along the way, but after the cluttered opening stages, there's a well-performed, gradually building love triangle drama at play.

Four stars, Jamie Skinner