Let me be clear from the start: this review contains spoilers, and yes, Marty Supreme is a complete shit show.
The movie opens strong. Visually, it’s stunning. The fashion is intentional, the color palettes are rich, and the cinematography feels thoughtful and cinematic in a way that immediately pulls you in. On a purely aesthetic level, I wanted to love this movie. It looks good. It feels curated. It promises substance.
But halfway through, the experience becomes exhausting, and not in a meaningful, artistic way. More like the way it feels to have a friend who is always in chaos.
At first, that kind of person can be fascinating. Their stories are wild. Their audacity is almost impressive. You listen in disbelief. But after a while? You’re drained. There’s no growth. No accountability. No pause between disasters. And eventually, you stop caring. Not because the stakes aren’t high, but because the chaos never balances out.
That’s Marty Supreme.
Marty Is an Ego With No Anchor
Marty is an ego-driven, delusional asshole with zero life stability. He scams constantly and genuinely believes he deserves fast money by any means necessary. Not because he’s clever or strategic, but because he feels entitled to it.
There’s no moral conflict. No internal struggle. Just endless selfishness.
And the people around him pay the price.
The Way He Treats the People Closest to Him
Marty treats his friends and family like collateral damage.
He “helps” his child’s mother by scamming housing for her after her husband kicks her out, yet refuses to call her his girlfriend and repeatedly insists the baby is not his. To make matters worse, he misses the birth of his child because he flies to Japan for a ping pong marketing stunt that leads to absolutely nothing. No title. No money. No payoff. Just ego.
His mother is treated with consistent disrespect. His uncle, who is one of the few people attempting to tether Marty to reality gets robbed at gunpoint for $700 so Marty can fund yet another impulsive international trip. A trip fueled by delusion, not opportunity.
There is no gratitude. No remorse. Just entitlement.
The Movie Star, the Businessman, and Marty’s Delusions
Marty gets involved with a movie star who initially finds his aggressive confidence intriguing, until she realizes he’s emotionally stunted and completely detached from reality. Still, Marty believes he’s in control.
When he discovers she’s married to a powerful businessman, he pivots immediately….. attempting to manipulate the movie star for sex and money, while using the businessman to advance his ping pong “career.”
Both see through him. Both screw him over. Honestly? Deserved.
The Dog, the Gangster, and Yet Another Scam
One of the most telling moments happens when Marty tries to scam a hotel room just to shower. He’s told the cheap room has no working bathroom. He uses it anyway and literally falls through the floor while bathing.
This leads to a senior gangster, who deeply loves his dog, being injured. Marty is asked to take the dog to the vet. Instead, he steals money from the man, loses the dog, and later tries to scam him again by pretending to collect a reward for “finding” the dog.
The kicker? The gangster is ready to kill over that dog. Marty’s recklessness puts multiple lives at risk all for money he didn’t earn.
Even His Best Friend Isn’t Safe
Even Marty’s closest friend, played by Tyler, The Creator, gets dragged into his nonsense. After a wild night of scamming, Marty refuses to split the stolen money while leaving Tyler’s taxi cab destroyed and potentially unusable. A cab that feeds a family. Marty doesn’t care.
He never does.
A Movie With No Real Resolution
By the end of the film, Marty is back home, unable to play ping pong professionally and facing the same reality he’s been running from: he’s a criminal with no plan, no growth, and no future.
What’s unsettling is that despite the damage he causes, despite lives being lost along the way…….he’s never truly punished.
The movie ends without transformation, reflection, or consequence.
And maybe that’s the point.
Some people never learn. Some people don’t evolve. Some people burn through others and keep moving.
On Michael B. Jordan & the Critics Choice Snub
Speaking of unrealized potential, I genuinely feel for Michael B. Jordan here. He delivered one of the most charismatic performances of the year, and yet he was snubbed at the Critics Choice Awards, even though Marty Supreme has only been in theaters for a week.
This feels emblematic of a larger issue: sensational chaos often gets more buzz than substantial, nuanced work. If you want a long read on why Jordan’s performance in Sinners deserved far more critical discussion, check out my earlier Posh Auntie breakdown here:
👉 https://poshauntie.com/index.php/2025/04/27/top-10-takeaways-from-ryan-cooglers-sinners/
Final Thoughts
My personal hope? That Marty is forced to spend the rest of his youth working in his uncle’s store living the very life he despises. A quiet, mundane version of hell on earth for someone addicted to chaos.
But if the movie taught me anything, it’s this: Marty’s unhappiness won’t humble him.
It’ll just make him even crueler.