When i first heard they were making this film & it was going to be Will Smith as Richard i was like, take my money now. So here i am with my money ready to be taken. I know alot about this story so lets see how well they portray it.

Id say it was either people my age or people my parents age at the cinema to see this. All the people who had grown up watching the Williams, or the people who knew the story & followed it & watched them grow up.

Trailers, West Side Story (yep) The Matrix (yep) Cmon Cmon (probably), The Cumberbatch with some Cats & Taika (never heard of it but yes) & Boxing day (yep advanced preview next week is booked). So thats a pretty good line up. Cumberbatch & kittens sounds like heaven to me.

& then the film started… well if Sir Ken is going to win the Oscas for Belfast, its going to have to be exceptional. Im not sure much is going to beat this.

Will Smith is finally going to win an Oscar. There were points when i was watching this film where i forgot it was Will Smith, due to the outfit & the way he carried himself & dealt with certain things & the attitude. It was very clever. There were moments when he turned & did a few things &suddenly you went ahh Will, but other than that, he nailed Richard he really did even down to the toothpick.

Okay i am a bit biased here, i know the story, ive seen the videos & clips & i have been lucky enough to see Serena live at wimbledon (one of the few occasions she lost) but they are amazing & so is there whole family. & it was just so right. I know retro especially all the 80s & early 90s is in right now, but everything was spot on, from the roads & neighbourhood & some of the tennis rules, it just got it all spot on & i love that it even went down to the hair styles too. Perfect.

Even tho i knew the outcome & what it lead onto, i was still sitting there watching Venus have that match going come on girl don let her get in your head, i mean yes i knew she would & the mind games in tennis as much as they are still there arent there to that level anymore, but yea as some who knows they end up becoming icons & stars, i was still sitting there hitting every ball with them. I was on the edge of my seat.

The girls mums & Richards wife, give some absolute classic moments to this film, especially when its the argument about going pro & what shes also given up for the kids. That was spot on. Weve all seen her in the stands & it was so right.

Everyone acted there arses off, in the best way possible. They knew they had to get it so right & they just went for it . I mean the fact that Jon Bernthal is normally a doggy henchman or bad guy in a film & here hes a dedicated tennis coach, a role he shouldnt have done but bosses it at that tennis school. & it was funny to see someone stand up to him as well, normally hes usually the one screaming out orders.

Cleaning the tennis courts in Compton was important, okay it wasnt as bad as in real life, but it was important to see that. & then the gangs who had it in for them & the one who protected them. So much so that when the coach turns up they are all just like you whos the white posh dude. I liked that.

Watching Cinderella as a role model very clever & then the fact he wanted to put it on again as they didnt learn all of the lessons from it, thats dedication.

& the Serena & Venus montage at the end, showing exactly what they did do in the next 25 years was brilliant. I loved that. I was sitting there going oh yea i remember seeing that.

So lets stop award season shall we. Good luck to any film that wants to go up against this. It just got it so right & so perfect. Will clean that shelf, a little golden statue is coming home with you in March.