Marty Supreme Review

By Leif Lesperance

“Marty Supreme” was released on Dec. 25, 2025, to great critical acclaim. During its runtime of two and a half hours, the movie follows the complicated life of Marty Mauser, a table tennis player loosely based on the real-life athlete and hustler Marty Reisman. The film shines through its standout story and acting, as well as its unique editing and cinematography.

While “Marty Supreme” is marketed as a film about table tennis, its real story cares about the player behind the sport. The film takes place in 1952 during Mauser’s life of drama and crime, exploiting illegal shortcuts to escape poverty and pay for his trips to global table tennis tournaments. He fantasizes about luxurious living, spending money that he doesn’t have to feed his dreams of beating his one-sided rival, Koto Endo, and becoming a world champion.

The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, his performance winning him Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice Awards and a Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy Actor in a Motion Picture, among several other wins and nominations. The film includes many talented supporting actors, including Odessa A'zion as Rachel Mizler, Mauser’s childhood friend and occasional accomplice. Gwyneth Paltrow portrays Kay Stone, a wealthy former actress, and Kevin O'Leary appears as her husband and businessman Milton Rockwell. Tyler Okonma, known famously by his stage name Tyler, the Creator, returns to the screen as Wally, a taxi driver, fellow table tennis player, and one of Mauser’s closest friends.

The cinematography and editing in “Marty Supreme” have been highly praised for their ability to place viewers in the headspace of its explosive main character, with fast pacing disrupted by emotional intensity and accented by unapologetically brazen vulgarity. The film, shot mostly on 35mm film, has a gritty feeling that complements the New York City setting. While the table tennis scenes are polished, the rest of Mauser’s life of crime is characterized by chaos, quick cuts, and layered sound.

The film received a rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 89 out of 100 on Metacritic. Viewers praise “Marty Supreme” for many things, but its greatest asset is its ability to forgo the classic uplifting pro-athlete narrative in favor of something raw and real. Overall, “Marty Supreme” is unafraid to peel back the layers of a skilled athlete and reveal what it can really take to reach one’s ultimate goal.