Film: Tetris

 

GENRE: Bio Drama
RATING: R for language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 58 minutes
PLATFORM: Apple TV+
STARRING: Taron Egerton (Rocketman, Kingsman, Robin Hood)
Mara Huff (newcomer); Toby Jones (Captain America, Hunger Games)
DIRECTOR: Jon S. Baird (Stan & Ollie, Filth)
WRITER: Noah Pink (Genius – TV series)
PLOT: Behind the scenes of Russian contract negotiations surrounding Tetris being brought to America and the world.     

FULL DISCLOSURE: I like Tetris.

STORY STUFF: This film is a mash up of The Social Network, The Americans, Halt and Catch Fire with an ending much like Argo. Not bad company to be among but not really original either. The initial appeal of Henk Rogers learning about Tetris goes a little quick. I thought the film would focus on this more. The majority of the film revolves around securing licensing rights from the Russians as the USSR is crumbling. Odd how much they care about a video game. This film could have been a good twenty minutes shorter. There are some facts here and there but the car chase is completely fabricated. The story is interesting but not captivating.         

ACTING STUFF: Egerton plays up the energetic salesman well but he’s the only really standout in this film. Most of the other characters are just too cartoonish. One of the Russians is just too sinisterly evil to take seriously. Ah well.   

ARTISTIC STUFF: I love seeing all the old eighties technology. Nothing like the nostalgia of the old school floppy disks. I like the Tetris-y establishing shots of different cities. There are also some misplaced digital add-ons in the chase scene that would only work if it was used a couple more times in the film.     

VERDICT: Two stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You have like contract negotiations and the 80’s Russia.
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Air