Will Smith steps into the shoes of ‘King Richard’

Above : Will Smith stars as the title character of “King Richard,” which opens Friday. (Photo/Warner Bros.)

It’s been a while since Will Smith has had a bona-fide winner of a film.

The former “Prince of Bel-Air” was a hit in a number of films, from “Bad Boys” to “Independence Day,” “Men in Black” to “Ali.”

Not so much in recent years. Yet that could all change with “King Richard,” which opens wide on Friday. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, and based on a screenplay by Zach Baylin, “King Richard tells the story of the father of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and the sisters’ initial rise to success and fame.

It is (as of this writing) carrying a 89 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes . Some of the comments include:

Moira Macdonald of the Seattle Times wrote that the film “though perhaps a tad overlong, is as irresistible as the young legends at its center; you watch with pleasure, thinking of the many future champions it might inspire.”

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote that it “Manages to be both a surprisingly nuanced portrait of a flawed and deeply complicated man and the kind of classic-uplift sports movie that used to fill multiplexes once upon a time.”

And Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “It is far from a perfect film, but it tantalizes, thanks to the strong subject matter and the sharp characterizations and performances.”

Besides “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which I wrote about on Tuesday , other Friday openings include:

“India Sweets and Spices” (AMC River Park Square only): An Indian-American woman returns to her New Jersry home after her first year of university and struggles to meld her new-found sense of independence with her family’s traditional expectations.

Tomris Laffly of Variety wrote: “Everything starts and ends with tradition in ‘India Sweets and Spices,’ an inviting intergenerational dramedy of comforting flavors, both witty and familiar.”

And at the Magic Lantern :

“Hive” : A Kosovar woman, whose husband has been missing since the Serbian conflict, tries to make her own way despite the traditional sexist attitudes of her village’s men.

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote, “ ‘Hive’ seizes and holds your interest simply through the drama created by sympathetic characters trying to surmount awful, unfair hurdles.”

That’s all for now. So go, see a movie. And enjoy.