Shia shines as McEnroe

MOVIE: Borg vs McEnroe STARRING: Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason, Stellan Skarsgard

RATING: M SHOWING AT: The Strand REVIEWER: Vicky Roach 3.5/5

IT’S a testament to the skills of Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen (True Detective) that this fictionalised account of the legendary 1980 Wimbledon men’s singles final has you on the edge of your seat, even though the outcome is preordained.

Of course, it helps that Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf re-enact the intense rivalry between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe with such conviction, you’d swear that either one of them had the ability to rewrite the accepted version of events.

Screenwriter Ronnie Sandahl interweaves the two men’s backstories to give some insight into how much each of them has at stake.

Early footage reveals the young Borg (Leo Borg) to have had more in common with tennis’ superbrat than most people realise.

Before being mentored by former Swedish tennis champ Lennart Bergelin (Stellan Skarsgard), the five-time Wimbledon winner, who was nicknamed the Ice Borg for his calm on-court demeanour, was just as prone to racquet smashing and temper tantrums as his US nemesis.

There are some fun scenes at Studio 54 and for the most part, the filmmakers play each shot, just as Bergelin advises Borg to do.