Borg vs McEnroe (2018)

A sport like tennis has a lot in common with, say, boxing when it comes to easy-adaptation for drama. Both sports are a one-on-one clash of athleticism, playing styles, and sheer determination. Team sports (football, baseball, basketball, etc.) are tougher to pin down, as they feature so many moving parts. That is why a movie like "Borg vs. McEnroe" can succeed so spectacularly.For a basic plot summary, this film tells the story of the rivalry between tennis pros Bjorn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf). Borg is the ultimate stoic (never showing any emotion whatsoever), while McEnroe is the loose cannon, know for his temper tantrums on the court and his berating of match officials. It mainly focuses on their 1980 clash at Wimbledon, where they meet in the finals and both have a great deal on the line (as flashbacks show how both their respective upbringings led them to this point).What makes "Borg vs. McEnroe" such an infinitely interesting film is how it is truly a study in contrasts. While one could almost accuse the film of playing up those differences for the sake of drama, the fact of the matter is that there indeed was such a disparity between personality types even in real life. Even casual sports fans have seen one of McEnroe's "you cannot be serious!" rants, and Borg's own history is written all over the tennis record books. Basically, this was a rivalry that begged to be made into a film like this (the only wonder being that it didn't happen even sooner).To pull this off, of course, the acting has to be top-notch, and indeed it is. Gudnason's Borg is an enigma, equal parts quietly confident and (behind the scenes) glaringly insecure. LaBeouf is masterful at playing McEnroe, as he is so good at playing the semi-manic personality. This is a role that he was practically born to inhabit, and it was good to see him back in front of the camera instead of being the subject of memes and derision. I've always considered his acting to be impeccable in almost everything he's ever done.Overall, then, "Borg vs. McEnroe" is one that I'll be recommending to everyone. Even if you aren't into tennis or are much of a sports person in general, this is one that transcends its pastime based on the character clash. Everyone can find an "in" for this movie, as it is a classic struggle of wildly different personality types at its core. It's unfortunate this film doesn't seem to be getting a large theater opening, as it is far superior to "Battle of the Sexes", another tennis-centric movie within the past year.

In full disclosure, I am a tennis player and as a boy I idolized McEnroe. I admired Borg a great deal as well. What made this match and all of their matches so great and so riveting was their completely opposing approaches to the game. Borg was the greatest baseliner to play the game. It was nearly impossible to get get the ball by him. His steadiness and zen-like approach to the game gave birth to many baseliners in his wake, most notably someone like Andre Aggasi. McEnroe was was the first ever punk rock athelete. No player in history had shown so much anger and rage, but mostly so much desire to win. It was raw rock n roll. It was a bit of a paradox because though he was a punk rocker in his attitude and in his passion, his game was a throwback to Rod Laver. He was an artist on the court. On any given point you might see topspin forehands, slice backhands, drop shots, lobs, breath taking volleys, and backhand overheads. He had a complete game. While Borg was content to outhit his opponents, McEnroe was eager to cut the points short. He would take every opportunity to come into the net and display his artistry. Of course none of this is apparent in the film. The problem with sports films is that most actors are not atheletes. So a director has to be inventive in his camera work to cover the fact that his actors don't know how to play. A rally with Borg might go 15 Strokes. Tennis is about court position. For McEnroe to beat Borg he had to chose his spots. When is the right time to approach the net? Where do you hit the ball when you are there? Shia was quoted as saying that he despised tennis and he hopes to never play again. He clearly chose this roll, not to impress us with his tennis skills, but because he wanted to play McEnroe the man. This film unfortunately climaxes with the finals match at Wimbledon, normally something I would enjoy because after all this film is about tennis, but it is shot so horribly that you never see Borg hitting back 10-15 groundstrokes. You never see his unquie at the time, 2 handed backhand Vs Mac's classical one handed. You never see Borg trying to pass Mac at the net. You never see the tennis artistry of McEnroe at all in this film. The way it is shot you really only see the the players heads and quick 2 stroke rallies which is like going to see Miles Davis play Mary had a Little Lamb for 2 hours. I feel bad for tennis players because they will feel cheated like I did by this film, but I feel worse the non-tennis fans because they will walk away from this film and completely miss how revolutionary and inspiring these two great athletes are. They might just shrug and say "what's the big deal?"That is a crime.

In Borg vs McEnroe (my latest review), Shia LeBeouf's John McEnroe utters, "you cannot be serious" and "you guys are the absolute pits of the world". This actually happened a year later, not during the 1980 Wimbledon semifinal (which is briefly depicted in "vs"). Oh well. We all get a kick out of seeing John McEnroe throw a tantrum on the tennis court. The filmmakers I suppose, added his famous outburst in just for effect.Anyway, "vs" is slow-moving yet intricate. It also lacks excitement but feels saddened and absorbing. Borg vs McEnroe is equal to 2017's Battle of the Sexes, better than 2004's cutesy Wimbledon, and less syrupy than 1979's Players. If I had to rank it in the small throng of tennis movies, it would be near the top.Based on a true story, predictable if you know tennis, and relatively accurate in terms of baseline recreation, "vs" chronicles the events leading up to John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg's famous clash at the 1980 Wimbledon final. Borg and McEnroe met 14 times in their careers with a record of 7-7 between the two of them. Borg vs McEnroe the movie pushes all that aside to handily focus on said final. Torrid behind the scenes stuff, wooden rackets, public cigarette smoking, headbands, mulled grass courts, and bad sportsmanship. It's all there vividly in "vs".In truth, "vs" is a decent flick. Janus Metz Pedersen's direction is solid as he creates something that is R-rated and at times, pressure cooked. He does well with various flashbacks and numerous overhead shots of the sweaty tennis action. The way he uses camera angles to film groundstrokes and volleys is like nothing I've ever seen before.Pedersen's "vs" is also a master thesis in the character development of one Bjorn Borg (played by Sverrir Gudnason who looks like Borg and gets his mannerisms just right). As for the McEnroe persona channeled by Shia LeBeouf, well it's not fully drawn-out and for good reason. LeBeof gives a decent performance but doesn't look like John McEnroe, strut like John McEnroe, or completely act like John McEnroe (too many obvious F-bombs and no East Coast accent). The producers probably knew this and didn't want to fluctuate and/or elaborate on Johnny Mac's hard-ass back-story.All in all, it's hard to make a compelling film when you know the outcome. Also, Borg vs McEnroe's pace is somewhat glacial with some muted scenes feeling like pseudo PowerPoint presentations. Still, "vs" is edited well (check out Borg's superstitions/rituals with his Donnay sticks and his overall body routine) and has an effectively saturated look. As independent fodder made carefully with a little skill and craft, Borg vs McEnroe secures "match point" and gets my harnessed recommendation. Rating: 3 stars.

I really enjoyed this. I thought both actors did a great job and both of them nailed their characters. The film lags a tad with the childhoods; however, overall it's just about the games and the tennis up to that epic final. And what a final! Thumbs up from me.