not great, not bad

Rating: Null/10 (21 August 2005)

Bettany is a charming actor and that's what raises Wimbledon a notch higher than it should be. You like Peter Colt and root for him. The movie does do a good job of showing us what it's like to be a part of a major tournament. The atmosphere is there. Bettany and Dunst obviously worked hard to learn tennis skills but, apart from their serves, they don't perform realistically on court. Bettany wouldn't beat many amateurs with such wristy shots and sloppy footwork. There's a fluidity that simply can't be re-created by non players and I think the action scenes would have worked better with quicker cuts instead of following Bettany's awkward attempts at chasing the ball. I do take issue with a previous poster who said Dunst wasn't attractive enough and didn't look like a tennis player. She's gorgeous and has the slender frame that you see on many of the current pros. A player with Dunst's looks would be right up there with Sharapova in terms of popularity. She also has a nice chemistry with Bettany. The romance is predictable but you do want them to get together. Wimbledon has popped up several times on the dish and I've found myself watching parts of it more than once. I guess it got more than a few things right.