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SYNOPSIS:
Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) is rapidly approaching the end of
a lackluster tennis career. On the verge of retiring he gets
a wild card to play at the prestigious Wimbledon championship,
his one last chance. Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst) on the
other hand is top of her game, focused and has one goal in
mind – winning. A chance encounter sparks an undeniable
attraction between the pair and the unthinkable happens. Pete
rediscovers his form winning his first match and Lizzie starts
to discover there is more to life than winning tournaments.
With many obstacles along the way, can Peter continue on his
winning streak and can Lizzie balance her commitment to tennis
with falling in love?
MOVIE
REVIEW
I confessed I know nothing about tennis or what the
title meant by "Wimbledon".
But that won't stop you from going on this ride, simply the
above criteria is not a perquisite. It's a sweet story of
how two tennis players, one on the rise and the other well,
on the verge of retirement falls in love with one another.
The pacing is swift and there's never a dull moment. There's
the usual Brit wry humour of course (consider this is a Working
Title production, famed for "Love Actually" and
"Notting Hill"). What's really set this movie apart
from the usual lovey dovey stuff is none other than the sizzling
chemistry between the real-life British man (Bettany) and
American lady (Dunst).
Dunst has come a long way since her debut in "Interview
With A Vampire", in "Wimbledon" we see her
as a coming-of-age young lady ready to embark on a remarkable
journey we called love. Her performance is natural and faultless.
Bettany ("Master & Commander") compliments by
putting in a convincing performance as a tired tennis player,
coming to terms with his family, finding his true love and
his career along the way.
For those looking for some excitement, there are a few well-choreographed
tennis matches to drum up your adrenalin. If there's one short-coming
about "Wimbledon", it's the way the story flows,
predictable and routine to an extent. But in reality, isn't
it how couples fall in love in the first place? Former tennis
star John McEnroe guest star as a commenter.
"Wimbledon"
serves best for dating couples or for married couples needing
a new dose of romance vaccine. It's time to get ready some
champagne and strawberries, pop in this dvd, sit back and
enjoy the sweetness.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
"Welcome To The Club" is a short
and quick featurette which takes audience (especially for
people liked me who knows nothing about this sport) to the
world of tennis. Presented by two staff from the visual effects
team, "Ball Control" is about the
effects used in the movie exhilarating tennis matches. It
might be interesting to see how Paul Bettany went through
countless takes just to allow the effects team to capture
his motion. "Coach A Rising Star"
takes a look at the work of the movie's tennis advisor Pat
Cash (who also appeared in the movie as one of Paul Bettany's
opponent). For those who are looking for more details about
the making of "Wimbledon", you might like to switch
on the director Richard Loncraine
and Paul Bettany's commentary track. It's pretty
interesting to hear both of them bantering about the cast,
location shooting in their crisp British accent.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, the dialogue and sound recording
is excellent. As it is a romantic genre, expect a couple of
lovely songs to go along the way. Watch out for the finale
of the movie whereby the surround speakers are given a good
stretch in the final match.
Eagle-eye viewers might notice some flickering during some
portions of the movie and at times, some outdoor colours seem
to be unnaturally brighter than usual. Fortunately on the
whole, the transfer is still rich enough and no specks, marks
are spotted.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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