Compelling tennis match makes for dynamic drama in true story 'Borg vs McEnroe' (2025)

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MORE MOVIES 'Borg vs McEnroe,' 3.5 stars

Bill Goodykoontz|The Republic | azcentral.com

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Critic's rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

There was a time, not so long ago in the scheme of things, when tennis was a going concern — when the best players, and there were many, were known more for what they do on the court than what commercials they appeared in.

That’s no dig against current players. If Roger Federer and Serena Williams aren’t the greatest players of all time, you’d have to come up with a pretty good argument to prove otherwise. But tennis is not the pop-culture draw it once was — and yes, it really was. Who in tennis are they going to be making movies about 40 years from now?

“Borg vs. McEnroe,” Janus Metz’s film about events leading up to the titanic 1980 Wimbledon final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, revisits that era. Tennis players are rock stars now, some business suit tells Borg at one point, right before Borg strolls into Studio 54 for a big night of partying.

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But the status and the popularity are just strands of the story, in which Metz traces the steps both players take to reach the finals. For the icy Borg (Sverrir Gudnason, who looks amazingly like his character), it’s a chance to make history, to win his fifth straight Wimbledon title. For the fiery McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf, in maybe the unlikeliest yet best performance of his career), it’s a coming-out party, a chance to prove that he truly has arrived as the best player in the world.

It’s nearly impossible now to understand what a big deal this was. But it was huge. It had everything — two of the all-time great players with completelyopposite personalities, a good guy and a bad guy. They couldn’t have been more different.

Except they weren’t. A big part of the film is devoted to the players’ upbringing. (The young Borg is played by Leo Borg, Bjorn’s son, and Marcus Mossberg; Jackson Gann plays the young McEnroe.) Both were obsessives — you don’t get to be the best without that kind of devotion. But it’s surprising to see the young Borg as an angry, racket-throwing brat — previously the image we held only of McEnroe. Borg’s talent is unquestioned, but if he can’t contain his temper his success is in doubt.

That’s where Lennart Bergelin (Stellan Skarsgård) comes in. He takes over as Borg’s coach, mentor and father figure. It’s a struggle — Borg is a genuine hothead, and bristles at the notion of the controlling Bergelin. Bergelin finally confronts Borg and tells him he has to shape up, get his emotions under control.

And he does. Just like that. He goes from an explosive jerk in one scene to a controlled, almost robotic technician on the court in the next. It’s the one area of the story (the script is by Ronnie Sandahl) that rings false, or at least incomplete.

McEnroe’s story is less surprising (and less time is spent on it) because it’s more familiar. His mother lectures him on scoring only 96 out of 100 on a test. His father makes him perform complex multiplication as a parlor trick for guests. With Borg the pressure seems more self-generated, but McEnroe has plenty of pressure, too.

That plays out in different ways in their adult lives. Borg becomes obsessed with ritual, superstition, little tics he’s convinced help him win (maybe even make him win). McEnroe becomes so competitive he won’t speak to his opponents, even ones who are his friends. (When one sits down to join him for lunch, McEnroe just packs up and walks out without saying a word.) When he checks into his hotel he maps out, on the wall with markers, his path to the finals, to Borg. Would he go so far as to hide a friend’s ankle brace if he was about to play him? Maybe, maybe not. The point is that no one would be surprised if he had.

Metz does a really nice job of shooting the final match, of ratcheting up the tension. Then again, the five-set marathon does a nice job of that all by itself. Gudnason is good as Borg, but mostly he’s a portrait of tightly coiled silence, occasionally lashing out.

LaBeouf is the best thing about the movie. He captures McEnroe’s drive and his “Super Brat” side, which is easy enough for an actor of his skill, but also his pain, his need to please his father. All that’s mixed up inside him, and LaBeouf allows it to come to the surface, recognizable. He’s terrific.

Who wins? If you don’t know, you definitely should find out for yourself. It was a seminal moment in both men’s careers (Borg would retire within a couple of years; McEnroe would rise and eventually become the best analyst in any sport). But it was also a seminal moment in the sport’s history, one that will be tough to top.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.