Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker

Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker certainly drew attention at its premiere at the 73^rd edition of the Berlinale, where all eyes were on the protagonist freshly released from prison (in a meta turn of events, a photograph of Boris Becker as a guest at a previous Berlinale was used by newspapers alongside a particularly damning headline and, as such, recurs in the film).

Two sittings of interviews with Becker make up the main narrative: one is from 2019, the other conducted three years later, shortly before his sentencing over withholding assets. The production sets out with the clear goal to find out where it all went wrong for the uniquely successful tennis star, but soon strays into a classic retelling of his career. In all fairness, the film presented at the festival was only the first part of two, and the second is likely to dig deeper into his downfall. Still, the Apple TV+ exclusive has more of the makings of a PR campaign to rehabilitate the prodigy’s reputation than an unbiased documentary baring the truth.

Throughout his interviews, the tennis star talks like a man spinning a yarn, but perhaps grandiloquence is just a natural side effect of growing up in the limelight and having microphones shoved in your face on a daily basis from age 17. Renowned filmmaker Alex Gibney only challenges his subject once: when Becker’s statement contradicts an event described in his autobiography.

When it’s neither the sportsman nor one of his companions providing commentary on the archive footage of his matches, a CGI-animated tennis ball spinning in slow motion occasionally disrupts the material. This is the height of any creative execution, as most of the material presented offers exactly the same result a deep dive on YouTube will get you.

Selina Sondermann

Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker is released on Apple TV+ on 7^th April 2023.

Watch the trailer for Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker here: