“Marty Supreme” is Supremely Great (Review)

“Marty Supreme” is a film as big, bold, and ambitious as the character at its core.

In the aftermath of the Safdie Brothers’ remarkable “Uncut Gems” in 2019, the two filmmakers appeared to be drawn in different creative directions. As a result, Benny and Josh Safdie split off to pursue separate projects, each tackling a biographical sports-drama period piece. Benny Safdie’s film, the Dwayne Johnson–starring “The Smashing Machine,” was released earlier this year and was quite good, leaving Josh’s “Marty Supreme” waiting in the wings for several months.

Interestingly, while “The Smashing Machine” often felt a bit too generically “sports drama” in its approach, “Marty Supreme” goes in the opposite direction. It’s an adrenaline rush of a film that captures much of the restless energy that defined the brothers’ earlier collaborations, channeling it into something fresh and unexpected.

For a movie that is, on paper, about ping pong, “Marty Supreme” is never anything less than utterly riveting. Safdie and star Timothée Chalamet command the screen from start to finish, making every moment feel urgent, electric, and alive.

TOP FIVE THINGS ABOUT “MARTY SUPREME”

5. The Ping Pong

To start off on a basic and exceedingly obvious note, Marty Supreme tells the story of real-life table tennis athlete Marty Mauser, and thus features multiple set pieces built around the character playing a game of ping pong. Just as the character crusades for the validity of table tennis as a genuine sport — one that “fills stadiums overseas” — so too does the film strive to lend the sport this bona fide sense of authenticity, and it succeeds several times over.

The ping pong sequences are show-stopping numbers unto themselves. Full of articulate, precise, and powerful visual choices, these scenes are thrilling and capture Chalamet and company playing in sustained takes, truly allowing the audience to feel the rhythm and tension of the match at hand. If you had told me that a fifteen-minute ping pong sequence would be one of the most hooting-and-hollering finales of 2025, I would have called you insane — but Marty Supreme pulls off that hat trick and makes it feel entirely normal.

4. The Music

Despite the fact that the story of the film takes place in the 1950s, Josh Safdie makes the unconventional choice to score it entirely with bold, lush ’80s synths, and this choice pays off in spades. Between the carefully selected ’80s needle drops and composer Daniel Lopatin’s synth-driven score, the film pulses with a distinctly ’80s-sized sense of zeal and grandeur. Not only is the music flat-out great, with Lopatin crafting what may be his best score to date, but it also clings to the visuals like glue, creating a real, palpable sense of synchrony.

The story of Marty and his ambitions weaves seamlessly into the arena-sized tones of these synthesizers, with each element seeming to motivate the other. Beyond that, there’s something deliciously clever about scoring a film centered on young, brash, independent creativity — constantly pushing up against the capitalist machine of the 1950s — with music that would later come to define that same kind of cultural energy in the 1980s. Ingenious stuff, and the final needle drop is immediately unforgettable, taking an overused ’80s track and making it feel entirely new again.

3. The Craft

Marty Supreme is a $70 million movie, and every single cent of that budget is visible on the screen. It feels like a big, expansive film, one where Safdie and company build a distinct, idiosyncratic world and then invite audiences to step inside it. To that end, the craftsmanship on display deserves real attention, as it plays a major role in making the experience feel so visceral and tactile. Jack Fisk’s production design, in particular, is breathtaking. By constructing entire blocks of period-accurate 1950s city streets with beautifully integrated set extensions, Fisk and his team bring the world of Marty Mauser to life so convincingly that you never question it for a second. It feels authentically old-school in the best possible way—a true throwback to classic filmmaking craft.

Costume designer Miyako Bellizzi’s work is just as striking. Her choices throughout the film are deeply expressive and artistic, jazzing up the period while still staying firmly rooted in 1950s Americana. The result feels fresh and distinctive without ever drifting into anachronism.

And then there’s legendary cinematographer Darius Khondji, who absolutely shoots the hell out of this film. Marty Supreme looks genuinely cinematic in a way few movies manage today, thanks to Khondji’s bold, confident use of light, color, and shadow. It’s a beautifully crafted film on every level.

2. Chalamet

Every nook and cranny of this film is populated with incredible performances from the likes of Tyler Okonma, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, and Fran Drescher. However, to say that Marty Supreme wouldn’t be Marty Supreme without Timothée Chalamet feels like an understatement. The actor has been on an incredible upward trajectory over the past few years, rising both in popularity and in the range of his abilities, and Marty Supreme feels like the logical culmination of that progression.

His central performance is the kind of captivating, endlessly charismatic work that keeps the audience locked in, even as the character does undeniably unsavory things. Within it, Chalamet blends a wide range of tones and influences, pulling from comedy, drama, and tragedy—often all at once.

As a testament to the sheer range on display, there are moments where his delivery feels like a John Mulaney-doing–Ice-T-on-Law & Order: SVU impression, and others where it seems as though the façade completely cracks, revealing the deeply insecure and struggling young man beneath the bravado. It’s a tour-de-force performance in every sense of the phrase.

1. Safdie’s Direction

For my money, Marty Supreme is the finest directorial accomplishment of Josh Safdie’s career. I adore the untethered anxiety nightmares of films like Good Time and Uncut Gems, but I was genuinely astounded by the way Marty Supreme sees Safdie carving out a new path, essentially having his cake and eating it too. It’s his most polished, technically complex, and large-scale effort to date, yet it still pulses with his unmistakable sensibilities and rhythm.

Part of this success undoubtedly comes from the fact that Safdie and co-writer Ronald Bronstein — who also collaborated with both Safdie brothers on those earlier films — once again share editing duties here. That continuity creates a direct line between what’s written, what’s shot, and what ultimately makes it to the screen. The result feels closer to the intimacy and cohesion of a smaller film, just executed with all the advantages that a $70 million budget can provide.

RGM GRADE

(A)

Marty Supreme is one of the best films of the year — a staggering accomplishment on every level. Where The Smashing Machine saw Benny Safdie stepping outside his narrative comfort zone while remaining in familiar visual territory, Marty Supreme finds Josh Safdie doing the inverse: telling a story whose tone and emotional stakes feel closely aligned with his earlier work, while pushing the film’s visual language and craftsmanship into exciting new territory.

In short, I love Marty Supreme. It’s rich with substance and exuberantly entertaining at every turn. It’s the kind of movie that delivers a fantastic theatrical experience while still leaving you with plenty to sit with and think about afterward — which, honestly, is about the highest praise a film can earn.

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