Last night Cineworld Unlimited Card members had the chance to check out King Richard eleven days before its release in UK cinemas and I popped along to check out the new movie starring Will Smith.
King Richard follows the journey of Richard Williams (Will Smith), an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever. Two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Bad Boys for Life”) stars as Richard, under the direction of Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”).
Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard has a plan that will take Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) from the streets of Compton, California to the global stage as legendary icons. The profoundly moving film shows the power of family, perseverance and unwavering belief as a means to achieve the impossible and impact the world.
I have to say that this isn’t usually the type of film that I would make the effort to check out, but I do like tennis and over the years have enjoyed the matches that the Williams’ sisters have played in, so King Richard did whet my appetite to see the back story of the two phenomenal tennis players.
Richard Williams takes his daughters to the local tennis court where over the years he has honed his skills in teaching Serena and Venus in his way, his passion for them to make something out of their lives is evident as he takes them through their training regimes.
His love for them, the sport and what can be accomplished is seen by his constant attempt to find them a professional coach, he visits many of the coaches handing them booklets he has produced showing the talent and stats of his two daughters.
Eventually, he finds a coach for the girls that is willing to take them on, it seems that King Richard’s perseverance has finally paid off.
One thing that comes across with Will SMith’s character is that he wants to do everything his way, they are his daughters and so he knows the best for them, which does annoy the coaches that train Serena and Venus, even to the point later on when they are signed up with Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal, The Walking Dead) to tell him that the Venus will no longer play in the juniors and won’t be playing again before she becomes pro!
King Richard is a Joy to Watch
As I mentioned earlier I wasn’t sure about checking out the movie, but I’m glad I did thanks to Cineworld, this is a wonderfully made bio-pic that even if you aren’t a tennis fan it will bring a smile to your face and especially during the key tennis matches, yes you may know the outcome but you still find yourself cheering on Venus.
Will Smith brings us a wonderful performance as Richard Willams and I found myself disliking and liking Williams at the same time, his love for his girls shows through with Smith’s performance, as does his continuing need to still have his input in the way that they are trained.
Saniyya Sidney as Venus and Demi Singleton as Serena Williams are wonderful on the screen and you can believe that they are siblings as they move along in their early years before becoming the tennis superstars that we know today.
The rest of the cast are also great to watch. The director Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, Top Boy) has brought us a wonderfully crafted movie about family and one that has some great choreographed tennis scenes that are great to watch.
King Richard is a film that isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you fancy a change from all the all-out action movies and Sci-Fi then it’s certainly worth checking out when it is released in UK cinemas from the 19th of November courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
It's not just about tennis it's about family
Movie title: King Richard (2021)
Movie description: A look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams.
Date published: November 9, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 2h 18min
Director(s): Reinaldo Marcus Green
Actor(s): Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
