Overview: Armed with a clear vision and a brazen 78-page plan, Richard Williams (Will Smith) is determined to write his daughters, Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton), into history.

Training on Compton, California’s abandoned tennis courts - rain or shine - the girls are shaped by their father’s unyielding commitment and their mother’s (Aunjanue Ellis) balanced perspective and keen intuition, defying the seemingly insurmountable odds and prevailing expectations laid before them.

Based on the true story that will inspire the world, “King Richard” follows the uplifting journey of a family whose unwavering resolve and unconditional belief ultimately delivers two of the world’s greatest sports legends.

Blu-ray Verdict: Well, sports movies bring with them a certain set of expectations and, yes, cliches. Add to this is that King Richard is also a bio-pic and you instantly assume that it also comes with other certain baggage.

The hook in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s movie is that it is based on the early lives of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams (played here by Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton respectively). Still, the focus is clearly on their father Richard (Will Smith). More precisely, the movie only covers the few years leading up to Venus’ professional debut at the ripe old age of 14.

Richard is depicted as a man with a plan (literally, in this case). He drives the girls hard in his dogged determination to make them champions, so hard, that neighbors call social services!

To Green and writer Zach Baylin’s credit, the movie clearly shows the Williams family as a unit. The three other sisters are also shown to be bright exceptional young ladies. And, their mother Oracene (Aunjunue Ellis; extremely good here) makes clear that she is an equal partner in the marriage - and the girls’ career.

Growing up in Compton, the Williams’ face obstacles such as crime and gangs and when they venture into the mostly lily-white world of tennis they aren’t in the clear there either.

Simply put, without Will Smith the movie wouldn’t work. Smith plays down his usual chiseled looks and slumps and talks like an older man. He is full of brash and braggadocio, but Smith mostly keeps it in check even if his star charisma is never fully scrubbed away.

As two tennis coaches, Tony Goldwyn (as Paul Cohen) and Jon Bernthal (Rick Macci) capably show the exasperation with Richard’s overbearing tennis dad, whilst also recognizing the once-in-a-generation talents of the sisters (or is that twice, in this case?)

Somewhat surprisingly, the script’s focus is much more on Venus than the female tennis GOAT Serena, but she was the older sibling (and Sidney’s big brace-filled smile does light up the screen).

Acknowledgment must also go out to the filmmakers for not cutting too many corners with an overload of typical sports montages, even if it does slow the pace and adds unnecessary minutes to the movie.

That all said, and to my mind, King Richard doesn’t fully succeed as a bio-pic, unsurprisingly to an extent since it was co-produced by Venus and Serena. Director Green has admitted that the screenplay was submitted for their approval and their sister Lyndrea worked on set in the Costume department.

Indeed, their input extended all the way into the editing phase, so it has since been revealed. Richard’s rougher edges are certainly softened (he didn’t just have one other son, but allegedly other children totaling into the teens in number!), but not completely.

Regardless, it’s a fair portrait overall and is as a sports movie where it clearly shines. It follows the basic path of the sub-genre, but does it really well (sports films also have the advantage of lower standards for accuracy, of course). It’s entertaining and uplifting and for today’s movies, that’s all you can truly ask for.

4K, BLU-RAY & DVD ELEMENTS:
“King Richard” 4K UHD combo pack and Blu-ray contain the following special features:
• Following the Plan – The Making of King Richard
• Becoming Richard
• Champions on Screen
• Deleted Scenes

“King Richard” DVD contains the following special feature:
• Following the Plan – The Making of King Richard

The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green from a screenplay by Zach Baylin, produced by Tim White, Trevor White, Smith, Isha Price, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Adam Merims, Lynn Harris and Allan Mandelbaum, with Jon Mone and Peter Dodd executive producing.

The ensemble stars two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” the “Bad Boys” films), Aunjanue Ellis (“If Beale Street Could Talk,” TV’s “Quantico”), Saniyya Sidney (“Hidden Figures,” “Fences”), Demi Singleton (TV’s “Godfather of Harlem”), Tony Goldwyn (the “Divergent” series, TV’s “Scandal”) and Jon Bernthal (“The Many Saints of Newark,” “Ford v Ferrari”), alongside Andy Bean (“IT Chapter Two”), Kevin Dunn (the “Transformers” films, TV’s “Veep”) and Craig Tate (“Greyhound”).

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, A Star Thrower Entertainment Production, A Westbrook Production, A Keepin’ It Reel Production, “King Richard.”

• On January 4th, 2022, “King Richard” will be available for early Premium Digital Ownership at home for $24.99 and for 48-hour rental via PVOD for $19.99 SRP on participating digital platforms where you purchase movies.

• On February 8th, 2022, “King Richard” will be available on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD. “King Richard” will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

“King Richard” | Trailer | Warner Bros. Entertainment

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