An upcoming film has proven we should always be cautious in proclaiming the movie of the year too soon as it’s December and we’ve just heard that klaxon sound.
And this late on in 2025, it’s blaring sounds pretty darned confident.
The release in question is Timothée Chalamet’s ping-pong drama Marty Supreme, quietly suggesting its quality with building buzz since it debuted as the New York Film Festival’s surprise screening in early October.
But now it’s harder to deny the treat we’ll be in for after the review embargo lifted last night, and critics fell over themselves to lavish the sports comedy-drama with praise.
Marty Supreme has been described as ‘easily one of the best movies of the year’, ‘a chaotic masterpiece’ and ‘destined to be this year’s greatest’.
Directed and co-written by Josh Safdie, known for films made with his younger brother Benny (who directed The Smashing Machine this year) including Good Time and Uncut Gems, Marty Supreme also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion and Tyler Okonma (aka Tyler the Creator).
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Set in New York City in the 1950s, it follows up-and-coming table tennis star Marty Mauser (Chalamet) as he goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness, loosely inspired by American star of the sport Marty Reisman.
At the time of publication, it holds an impressive 95% score on review aggregator platform Rotten Tomatoes from 64 critical reactions – many of which have awarded the movie full marks.
This also applies to Chalamet’s central performance, with many confidently predicting (if not demanding) that he finally lands an Oscar; the SAG Award holder has previously been nominated in the best actor category for Call Me By Your Name in 2018 and last year too for A Complete Unknown.
‘There’s no question that Marty Supreme is one of this year’s best films,’ wrote critic Max Covill while Slashfilm’s review read: ‘This is unquestionably the best performance of Timothée Chalamet’s career, and Marty Supreme is one of the best movies of the year.’
A gushing Zac Pope also exclaimed that Marty Supreme is ‘EVERYTHING you want from a movie’.
‘A chaotic masterpiece that carries the energy of Catch Me If You Can meets Wolf Of Wall Street and Uncut Gems. Timothée Chalamet gives one of the best performances of this decade,’ he added.
‘Timothée Chalamet delivers the kind of magnetic performance that people will be talking about for years in Marty Supreme, easily one of the best movies of 2025,’ declared Andrew J. Salazar for Discussing Film, while The Telegraph’s Robbie Colin Robbie Colin said it’s ‘the best film of the year, and exactly the jolt the coming Oscars season needed’.
‘For its entire two and a half hours – which whips past in what feels like mere minutes – Safdie’s film had me vibrating like a tuning fork. It’s a joyous salute to life’s beautiful cacophony,’ he observed in a five-star review.
‘The film is itself ping pong; the rhythm and spirit of table tennis is in every scene and the mesmeric effect of the spectacular, clattering, dizzying back-and-forth,’ wrote Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian in another five-star reaction.
‘Chalamet makes one of the most colossal movie performances of the 21st century seem as natural as a lay-up,’ quipped David Erlich for IndieWire, also awarding Marty Supreme an ‘A’ grade.
‘If Marty Supreme exists to prove that Timothée Chalamet could have easily kicked it with the New Hollywood icons of the Seventies, the Harvey Keitels and the Gena Rowlandses, then point proven. He’s truly one of our greatest talents,’ insisted The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey.
However, not absolutely everyone has been convinced by Marty Supreme’s greatness.
Time Magazine’s critic Stephanie Zacharek called the movie ‘hollow as a ping-bong ball’, complaining too: ‘For Safdie, a movie seems to be just an excuse for a million and one digressions and distractions; he’ll throw anything at the wall to see if it sticks.’
‘Shallow self-congratulation for American moxie at the expense of everyone and everything around us,’ complained The Wrap’s William Bibbiani, adding that Marty Supreme is ‘half a great film’.
The movie also basked in virality after A24 released a cringe-inducing ‘marketing meeting’ for Marty Supreme on Instagram, in which Chalamet partook alongside a team of employees, playing an insufferable version of himself and suggesting silly ideas for promoting the film.
This included embracing the colour orange – a ‘hardcore’ and ‘corroded’ shade – and changing the Statue of Liberty to match, and releasing a fleet of orange blimps into the sky to rain down ping-pong balls.
Marty Supreme is released in US cinemas on December 25 and UK cinemas on December 26.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.