King Richard Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

Downs...

3. It's A Totally Standard Sports Biopic

The most obvious criticism that can be levelled against King Richard is that it does feel a bit like a "Wikipedia page biopic," plowing through the pivotal beats in its subjects' lives in fairly by-the-numbers fashion.

This is thankfully offset by the clear passion of basically the entire ensemble cast and some rock solid direction, though the film as a whole still can't fully escape feeling like a generic sports movie at times.

Whether you know much about the Williams family's story or not, there's little inspiration or creativity to the way in which it's presented, clinging pretty safely to the genre's stylistic and screenwriting tropes.

But on the flip side, the safety of its framework gives Smith and his co-stars the floor to dominate the screen in pretty much every moment, free of more ambitious filmmaking that might distract from their work.

It's a difficult balance to strike, and while a slightly more adventurous approach wouldn't have hurt, sticking to what works is hardly a fatal flaw here.