(Images via HBO Max) King Richard, the inspirational biopic of not the Williams sisters — two of the all-time greatest athletes — but of their strong-willed dad, is an effective feel-good watch, albeit one that asks viewers to go along with the sister-producers' contention that without him, they're nothing.
In an understated, award-season-friendly performance, Will Smith embodies Richard Williams, a man raising his family in '80s and '90s Compton in the best way he knows how — and his way isn't just the best way, it is the only way.
At times insufferably egomaniacal and dismissive of his loyal wife Brandy (powerful presence Aunjanue L. Ellis) and so pushy with his daughters that at least one neighbor calls Child Protective Services on him,