A One Mann’s Movies review of “Tetris” (2023).
I missed this Apple+ offering when it came out last year (as I did with “Blackberry”, which is also on my catch-up list!). Whizzing us back to the heady days of 1984 and a Russia where Mikhael Gorbachev is stuggling to hang onto power, this is a wonderful little film. Who knew that a movie about the licensing of Tetris gaming rights and the definitions within contract wording could entertain for two hours?!
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) is a dynamic businessman who gets a sniff of the possibilities of a new and addictive video game called Tetris. He needs to acquire gaming rights for the new ‘handheld’ (i.e. “Gameboy”) market, but the problem is that the game was developed by a Russian government employee – Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) – and everyone wants a piece of the lucrative action.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Taron Egerton, Toby Jones, Nikita Efremov, Oleg Stefan, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle, Ayane Nagabuchi, Ben Miles, Sofya Lebedeva, Igor Grabuzov.
Directed by: Jon S. Baird.
Written by: Noah Pink.
Twitter Handle: #TetrisMovie.
Running Time: 1h 58m.
“Tetris” Summary:
Positives:
- Entertaining cold-war intrigue based on an amazing true story.
- Quirky 8-bit graphics are cleverly used.
- A great ensemble set of performances.
Negatives:
- The to’s and fro’s of the rights and contract wording might confuse some viewers.
- The treatment of the illegally-present Rogers seems a bit ‘tame’.
Review of “Tetris”:
Depicts a unique period of history
There is so much going on in this film! As well as the game itself, we are in a period where: Nintendo and Atari were battling for world video-game supremacy and every child (and many adults) were about to disappear down a tunnel of addiction called the Game Boy; the crooked publisher Robert Maxwell (a very realistic Roger Allum) was about to go down for raiding the Mirror Group pension fund; and that Russian breath of fresh air – ‘glasnost’ – driven by the Mikhael Gorbachev’s Perestroika movement was about to run out of steam. All of this is reflected in this fascinating snap-shot of the time.
Contractual intrigue
The true story behind the famous game is amazing. The fact (slight spoiler) that Western publishers were merrily promoting product that they didn’t have the rights to (the Russians were oblivious) is extraordinary. While the wheeler dealing between Henk (Egerton) and the weasily Robert Stein (Toby Jones) might lose a few people, it didn’t detract for me from what is a decent cold-war thriller. The jeopardy is enhanced by a truly menacing performance from Igor Grabuzov as the KGB’s Valentin Trifonov: a scene where he is calmly giving Pajitnov’s young children a lesson on the acceleration due to gravity from a high gantry is chilling indeed.
A terrific supporting cast
Taron Egerton is great as the harrassed entrepreneur, although his moustache does look a bit ridiculous on him. Supporting him are a well-cast line up of familiar and not-so-familiar faces: Toby Jones is ever-excellent; Roger Allum and Anthony Boyle are bombastically awful as Robert and Kevin Maxwell respectively; Nikita Efremov adds great warmth to the growing friendship with Henk; Ben Miles is great as the US Nintendo chief Howard Lincoln; and I really liked the performance of Sofya Lebedeva as Henk’s young and sexy translator Sasha.
Fun graphics
With all of the extraordinary lifelike graphics in modern games like “Call of Duty”, it seems crazy to think that only 40 years ago we thought that this sort of 8-bit graphics games were amazing. But we did! The film leans into that by showing 8-bit recreation of the different locations as we move around the world.
Even more fun, an exciting car chase through the streets of Moscow is annotated with 8-bit graphic effects during the different ‘prangs’ that the cars receive. At one point we flip into a full graphic representation reminiscent of some of the first 80’s racing games like “Turbo”!
Great score
There’s another good score from Lorne Balfe and some well-chosen tracks including “Holding Out For a Hero” (sung in both Japanese and Russian!) and “Heart of Glass” (in Russian).
But wouldn’t a bullet have been easier?
When something is ‘based on a true story’ you wonder how close to the truth it was or whether aspects (such as Trifonov’s involvement) are laid on for dramatic effect. Because frankly, given that Henk was in Russia illegally on a tourist visa and that he was giving the KGB such trouble, I would have thought that he would have been rapidly dumped into a Gulag prison or, more likely, find himself down a dark alley with a bullet in his head. The simple “roughing-up” he received didn’t sit very comfortably with me in the storytelling.
Summary Thoughts on “Tetris”
This was a surprisingly entertaining movie. A solid and well-acted thriller, directed by “Stan and Ollie“‘s Jon S. Baird and based on an amazing true story. Recommended.
“Tetris” is available to stream on Apple TV+.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Tetris”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLM1naCfME .
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