I have been waiting so long to watch "Challengers." Now that it's just dropped on Prime Video, I can finally watch it this weekend.
Now you may be asking, "Why didn't you just see it in theaters?" And that's a fair question. But with a newborn at home, a night out at the movies wasn't happening. I would always have to wait until this movie arrived on one of the best streaming services to watch this erotic drama masquerading as a sports movie.
Okay, that's a bit dismissive of the important role tennis plays in this movie. But while director Luca Guadagnino takes great care with the sports-driven plot of this movie, it's really about the love triangle between Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist.
Well ... that and the Nine Inch Nails techno soundtrack. Here's why you should be watching "Challengers" — currently my most anticipated movie I have yet to see this year — on Prime Video this weekend, and why it should have been on Amazon's streaming service much sooner.
What is 'Challengers' about?
“Challengers” stars Zendaya as tennis star-turned-coach, Tashi Duncan. The movie centers around her and professional tennis players Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and follows their shared relationship over 13 years.
And it is a messy relationship. Told in a non-linear structure, "Challengers" volleys back and forth between the trio as rising stars (2006, the trio in college before and after a brutal injury derails Tashi's career (2007-2011) and the trio in the present day (2019) after Patrick has fallen from grace while Art is one of the best tennis players in the world thanks to Tashi's coaching.
Ultimately, the narrative is bookended by two matches between the pair of male tennis pros. In the earliest part of the timeline, the two face off for the boys' junior singles title at the U.S. Open. In the present day, the two face off in the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event in New Rochelle. Regardless of the timeline though, it's always Tashi that they play for.
'Challengers' is about the passion, not the plot
Again, sports aren't irrelevant to "Challengers." But while the plot is laden with tennis, the story is about the trio's often toxic romance. There's passion, fights, infidelity and just about anything else you could want from a taught romantic drama. Without the chemistry between Zendaya, O'Connor and Faist, this movie simply doesn't work — tennis or not — and that's evident even from the trailer.
It doesn't hurt though, that this movie also features a brilliant score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. These two, both members of the iconic band Nine Inch Nails, turn essentially any movie score into something brilliant, and on a few occasions, even Oscar gold. Their soundtrack is the main reason I want to watch the upcoming movie "Tron: Ares" and it's certainly a reason I'm looking forward to watching "Challengers."
Amazon needs to stop trying to make MGM Plus happen
Hopefully, you're now sold on "Challengers" and are already mentally queueing it up on Prime Video. Especially if, like me, you're one of the hundreds of millions who have Prime Video as part of your Amazon Prime subscription.
Unfortunately, we all could have already seen "Challengers" on Prime Video if it wasn't for Amazon continuing to try and make MGM Plus a thing.
One of Amazon's other streaming services, MGM Plus features a selection of shows and movies that admittedly, are often quite good. That's because it features shows and movies produced over the past 100 years by the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
But I don't want to pay for a second streaming service to watch all of Amazon's content — I want to watch all of Amazon's content on Prime Video, which I already have by paying for Amazon Prime. And if Amazon would just put all their shows and movies on the streaming service I already have, I'd likely watch a lot more of them.
Case in point, "Challengers" has been on MGM Plus since July. We all could have been watching it already. But we didn't because we didn't want to pay $7 a month for yet another streaming service, especially when the movie is going to end up on Prime Video anyway. We already went through this with "American Fiction," and we didn't need to go through it again with "Challengers."
Stream "Challengers" now on Prime Video
