Marty scams his way through ”Supreme”

Before this past weekend, the last time I stepped into a movie theater was October 23, 2025. Between surgery, recovery, physical therapy, and wound care, going to a movie would have been a whole production. Things aren't back to normal yet, but they are a heck of a lot easier.

"Marty Supreme" follows. Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet). He is a gifted table tennis player who hustles just about everyone in his life.

Chalamet is incredible, which is not a surprise. He brings a lot of charm and charisma to a character who is an absolute scumbag. The only thing Marty cares about is ping pong, and everything he does is in furtherance of his goal to prove his superior skills. Whether he is hustling college students out of money or pitching a business idea to his friend's father, the end goal is the same: get money to play ping pong. He is so single-minded in this pursuit that he treats everyone in his life as an impediment to his success. If they can help Marty, they are useful, but the second they stop, he is quick to kick them to the curb.

I wanted to love this movie, but ultimately didn't because Marty is so unlikable. I am all for antiheroes, but you need to be given a reason to root for them. Han Solo is a smuggler with no qualms about killing anyone who gets in his way. He is selfish and only helps Luke rescue Leia for the money. Yet, at the end of "A New Hope," he comes back and takes out Vader's Tie Fighter so Luke can blow up the Death Star. We see him grow and change over the course of the movie, and he earns his moment at the end of the movie. I cannot say the same of Marty. He is the same person until the last few scenes in the movie. It is not earned, nor is it an ending the movie was leaning towards. Marty is not a character who grows and changes in the course of the film, despite what the movie wants you to think.

"Marty Supreme" is a movie with a weak story, elevated by strong performances. It wants Marty to be the hero, but he is, ultimately, the villain. In the days since I saw the movie, I have liked it less and less. I don't hate it; in fact, I enjoyed it. It just thinks Marty is someone he isn't.

7/10

Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, some violent content/bloody images and nudity.

2h 29m