King Richard

Brandi is a more interesting character, thanks to a superb performance from Ellis, and their scenes together are the best in the movie, although the tennis sequences are very well shot and edited.

Smith is entertaining. His single-mindedness should make him a bore but he somehow retains his talent to amuse whatever else is on his mind.

Featuring a towering performance from Will Smith in the title role, proving that a hero is not necessarily easy to root for.

This is a dream role for Will Smith and he attacks it with gusto. Williams is a larger-than-life character who just happens to be real, and Smith embodies his underdog, combative, indefatigable spirit to perfection.

King Richard has a Will Smith problem. It is obviously meant to be award catnip for Smith and a cinematic crowning for Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena. And yet Smith's starring role may be the weakest part of the film.

In this compelling, well-acted but conventionally told biopic about the unconventional dad of tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams, actor Will Smith makes another convincing bid to collect some acting trophies.

Will Smith is enjoyable as the stubborn and ambitious father of tennis greats Venus and Serena - but don't expect anything hard-hitting.

King Richard suffers from ... a conflict of interest.

Anchored by Will Smith’s towering performance, “King Richard” overcomes its sanitized characterization of an exacting man to present a closer look into tough-love parenting. The result, all puns intended, is a grand slam.

“King Richard” does something not often shown in media, but focuses on the psychological abuse of young, affluent teenage girls and how it leads to a negative self-image.