John McEnroe wasnt tennis first bad boy.
Jimmy Connors threw his racket and yelled at umpires long before him.
But the brash New Yorker did elevate tantrum-throwing into a sort of performance art.
Part of his white-hot temper was, no doubt, sincere.
Still, it all would have been pointless showboating if he wasnt such a magician on the court.
Tennis hasnt been quite the same since he hung up his whites and retired.
But youd be wrong.
It was the stiletto vs. the sledgehammer.
The volcano vs. the iceberg.
Borg vs. McEnroeisnt your usual phony recreation of one single and telling momentous sporting event.
McEnroe was just as much of a contradiction.
He and Borg understood one another more than anyone watching them would have ever guessed.
Maybe thats why they brought out the best in each other.
Aside from the decent-but-hardly-remarkableBattle of the Sexes, the sport cant claim aRockyorHoosiers.
The on-court action is adrenalized and dramatic, especially during the excruciating fourth set tiebreak.
Of the films two stars, its LaBeouf who seems especially well cast here.
But theres something about playing McEnroe that brings out the sort of unpredictable subtlety hes always been capable of.
The two may not look much alike, but LaBeouf completely inhabits McEnroes squalling, short-fused inner storms.
Its the kind of performance that his fans have always suspected hes had in him.
And now, finally, hes delivered it.B+
