King Richard - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

King Richard



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Will Smith back in a starring role. Years ago he was the mega star of the 90s and early 2000s, but after his children came of age he sort of took a back seat in Hollywood productions. Some have rumored that it’s because they had a family pact of when one person was taking the spotlight, the others sat back and gave that person support (about 10 years ago that was Jaden as he tried his hand at acting), while others have speculated that Smith got tired of the limelight. Whatever it is, the cinematic world has been lacking since he stepped away as a leading man and I was really excited to see him come back as King Richard Williams after all of the documentaries and books about the influential rags to riches father came to light a few years back.

King Richard tells the tale of how Serena and Venus Williams came to be the worldwide tennis phenomenons that they are today. For those of you not in the know about the two sisters that have ruled tennis for over 25 years, their father was one of the driving forces behind their rise to fame. Richard Williams (Will Smith) grew up dirt poor in Louisiana, and moved to Compton with his wife later on. He struggled with the old days of racism, getting chased by KKK members, and living from hand to mouth. However, he saw gold in his daughters when he realized that there wasn’t a whole lot of black women in Tennis (while they state this in the film, it actually was when Richard noticed that the winner of a particular tennis match won $30,000 that he saw dollar signs) and ever since Venus and Serena were 5 years old, he and his wife made them eat, breathe and sleep tennis.

Claiming to have an 87 page plan for success, William drove his daughters to the best trainers, the best diets, and literally talked and spun his yarns in the press till they could not HELP but take notice of his two daughters. While it sounds like William was a bit of huckster, he really did have gold on his hands. Serena and Venus were THAT good, allowing them to rise up through the ranks aided by the driving force of their father, Rich Macci (Jon Bernthal) and soon would become some of the greatest tennis stars to ever exist.

The film is solid, but it’s also an example of a cookie cutter story, telling all of the highlights of William’s attempts to create the master race of tennis players. We get to watch him push his daughters, but also focus on their growth, their education, and their well being. Will Smith is utterly phenomenal as Mr. Williams. Just looking at the old footage of Richard Williams back in the day and comparing to Smith’s performance is jaw dropping. Will literally absorbed so much of himself into the role that it’s difficult to actually tell them apart at times. However, the rote cookie cutter aspects of the film are just too obvious. The stereotypical rises and falls happen like premade beats, and the ending of the film (while inspirational) feels a little hollow and cliched.

Another factor of the cookie cutter aspect is the fact that there is some definite controversy about the validity of much of the movie. Yes, I know, “based on a true story” when dealing with a biopic means that we’re to expect some definite fictional tweaks to things. Which is usually not a bad thing, but here there’s some heavy controversy due to the fact that the Williams twins have basically been blessing this thing back and forth, as well as other family members heavily involved in the production. This means that a lot of the darker aspects of William’s push to MAKE his daughters champions have been sort of swept under the table (things like him verbally “abusing” the daughters, ripping heads off their dolls as motivation, and making sure the daughters stayed abstinent so as not to derail their careers). It is what it is, but I would definitely say that there has been some grains of salt that are to taken when watching some of the lionization of the infamous man who raised his family out of poverty but making his daughter’s super stars.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, strong language, a sexual reference and brief drug references




Video:

Due to supply issues, Warner has continued to supply reviewers with Blu-rays only, so no 4K UHD this time around. Being that the film was given a 2K digital intermediate master, I’m not tooooo horrified, as the Blu-ray is pretty incredible to being with. It’s given a slightly yellowed look during portions of the film, hearkening back to the mid 80s, but clears up really well as the story progresses. The digital looks is glossy and shiny, with great details, stunning colors during the match with Vicario, and some silky deep blacks. There’s some very mild color banding a teensy bit of crush, but this is one incredible looking 1080p disc with very little you can say about it negatively.









Audio:

Being that this is heavily dramatic film the choice of Dolby Atmos is a bit overkill for the audio mix. It certainly is a great sounding track during the tournaments, but other than that the audio mix is a bit more reserved. Tons of time talking means that the mains and center are heavily utilized, with only brief moments where the bouncing of a ball on the court or a the screams of the crowd light up the surround channels. It’s good, everything flows smoothly, and the score is powerful. It’s just simply a very good dramatic track with an Atmos shell. I noticed some mild overhead usage during the crowds yelling that really adds some immersion, but overall, still just a very good dramatic track.










Extras:

• Following the Plan: The Making of King Richard - Feautrette
• Becoming Richard - Featurette
• Champions on Screen - Featurette
• Deleted Scene

Final Score: ​

King Richard is a solid enough biopic that really thrives off of Will Smith’s enthusiasm for the role. He takes some of the more cliched elements of the story and makes them enjoyable just through sheer force of skill and will on his part. While everyone does a good job surrounding him, Will IS the highlight of the movie, and well worth the price of admission alone. The Blu-ray is fantastic on a technical level, showcasing great video, good audio, but some rather meager extras. Worth checking out if you’re into the world of biopics.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton
Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Written by: Zach Baylin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 145 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: January February 8th, 2022

Recommendation: Check It Out

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out.

I wonder sometimes, is it better for the parents to push their dreams and aspirations onto their children or have the kids live out their own dreams and aspirations??
The above is a general question not particular to this particular story..

I know some folks want their kids to be the next sports star or movie star or whatever profession they (the parents) couldn't get and they push this to their kids and most kids can't handle the pressure or are not as fortunate to have the talent or willingness/drive to get to that point and it ends up doing more harm then good..

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm curious to see this. Back in 2003, I was living in Philly and the Venus and Serena were in town for a tournament... they held a private workout at an indoor tennis facility at our health club and I was able to sneak a peek of them practicing through a small port hole on a vinyl divider. Richard Williams was there... he was in shorts and unlaced Timberland boots, walking back and forth on one side of the court while his daughters volleyed.

It was neat to see the three of them together. V and S were awesome to see up close.

Amazing champions!