{"id":132898,"date":"2023-04-03T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-147423"},"modified":"2023-04-03T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T13:00:00","slug":"movie-review-tetris-the-blocks-dont-quite-line-up-in-this-mostly-fun-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/03\/movie-review-tetris-the-blocks-dont-quite-line-up-in-this-mostly-fun-thriller\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: Tetris – The Blocks Don’t Quite Line Up In This Mostly Fun Thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Tetris<\/a>
Image: Apple<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you\u2019re playing a round of Tetris<\/a>, the Game Boy title from 1989, nothing is more satisfying than when you line up four horizontal rows perfectly, the blocks disappear, and you get that slightly different jingle to tell you that yeah, you did it, good job. It\u2019s addictive and engrossing, and nowadays there are many different versions of Alexey Pajitnov\u2019s game on various different platforms. Tetris, a video game about falling blocks that was developed in the Soviet Union, was and still is a video game revolution.<\/p>\n

Tetris<\/strong> the movie, directed by Jon S. Baird (Stan & Ollie<\/strong>, Filth<\/strong>) is trying to replicate that satisfaction, that crowd-pleasing appeal that Tetris the video game has. But it has a much taller task than simply letting blocks fall. The film has to tell the story of how Tetris left the borders of the USSR, with political tensions reaching a boiling point in the background, and legalities, contracts, and technology twisting into a complicated web, all while addressing two different audiences \u2013 fans who know the story, and casual moviegoers (or Apple TV subscribers) who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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Tetris the movie… is trying to replicate that satisfaction, that crowd-pleasing appeal that Tetris the video game has.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The story behind one of the ‘simplest’ video games of all time is anything but that. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), the man who is out to secure the rights to Tetris for Nintendo, has to untangle this web to secure Alexey Pajitnov\u2019s (Nikita Yefremov) game. Back in 1989, families getting a Game Boy with Tetris included had no idea of the hurdles that Rogers and Pajitnov had to overcome. Nowadays, the story is relatively well documented through essays<\/a> and documentaries<\/a> (Gaming Historian<\/a>\u2019s, in particular, is a must-watch). But every time you read up about it, it still feels unbelievable.<\/p>\n

This adaptation takes a few liberties with the truth all for the purpose of entertainment. Broadly, though, it’s correct, and both Rogers and Pajitnov reportedly reviewed the script and suggested changes<\/a>. As the movie begins, \u201cThis is based on a true story\u201d flashes up on the screen in pixel lettering. And \u201cbased on\u201d is the key part, here. Broadly, it\u2019s a fun thriller, but it falls apart in a few key areas. It turns out, trying to squeeze all of that drama into a two-hour movie is a pretty tall task.<\/p>\n

\"Tetris<\/a>
Image: Apple<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The problem is that some parts are exaggerated for too much dramatic effect, while other sections are stretched a little too thin. Some of the more interesting parts are glossed over and instead traded for a fictionalised car chase sequence that, while fun, misses the point a little. The car chase feels extremely out of place and honestly made us laugh at its awkwardness initially before we just decided to settle in for the ride. The origin story of Tetris\u2019 worldwide release is already thrilling \u2013 why do KGB agents need to be sneering around every single corner, like villainous cartoon characters cackling and hatching schemes?<\/p>\n

The whole story is framed with slick production values (albeit with some slightly dodgy CGI late in the film), a likeable lead, and a soundtrack that \u2013 for us \u2013 is the highlight of the movie. Lorne Balfe\u2019s score<\/a> (with contributions from Aaron Hibell and South Korean girl group aespa) is brilliant; there are stunningly tense and sombre arrangements of Tetris songs mixed in with Russian versions of hits like Holding Out For a Hero<\/a> and Heart of Glass<\/a> \u2013 just to establish we\u2019re in the \u201880s and all. And it all lines up perfectly to set the mood for each moment in the movie.<\/p>\n

\"Tetris<\/a>
Image: Apple<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taron Egerton is the heart of the movie. Rogers, the head of a video game publisher, is dubbed \u2018Player 1\u2019 in a rather cute colour pixel art transition at the start of the film. He is the plucky hero, a cowboy businessman who wants to win big, and an underdog \u2014 everything we want our Player 1 in a video game to be. He\u2019s breathless, scrappy, energetic, and enthusiastic, and Egerton plays him with an enticing charm.<\/p>\n

If you know anything about Henk Rogers, though, you know he\u2019s not really<\/em> an underdog. This is the founder of Bullet-Proof Software, the company which was responsible for what many call the \u201cfirst major Japanese RPG\u201d, The Black Onyx. Rogers is seen wearing a Black Onyx t-shirt in one scene, but the movie isn\u2019t interested in Rogers\u2019 history or resume other than the odd nod. It wants to paint a feel-good feature of the underdogs triumphing over greed and \u201cbad\u201d capitalism. And the film does a great job of illustrating a rosier, more explosive picture.<\/p>\n

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It wants to paint a feel-good feature of the underdogs triumphing over greed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Some of the film\u2019s best moments involve Henk and Alexey bonding or talking with each other, or when political tensions and contracts begin to bubble up and congeal. In one scene when Rogers is staying at the Pajitnov\u2019s home, he gets to see the very first home computer version of Tetris. Asking if he can play it, he sits at the desk, playing with a sort of childlike glee and fascination. Then, he asks the game\u2019s creator a question \u2013 \u201cWhy can\u2019t both lines disappear at once instead of one at a time?\u201d to which Alexey responds, after a brief pause, that he \u201cnever thought of that\u201d. These are two people who are meant to be together, to succeed together, and in that single scene, you feel the spark of friendship kindle between them.<\/p>\n

\"Tetris<\/a>
Image: Apple<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yefremov is solid as Alexey throughout the movie, but honestly, he doesn\u2019t get much to work with. He\u2019s much quieter than Henk, but his humble home and his modesty make him relatable. But aside from these two, many of the characters feel like caricatures or tropes, particularly the Maxwells of Mirrorsoft<\/a>, the KGB, and most of the Russian characters. They feel like comic book villains, and even if it\u2019s fun to watch Toby Jones as Robert Stein of Andromeda Software, it\u2019s at odds with the more serious elements of Tetris.<\/p>\n

The film is also always keen to remind us that it is, indeed, a video game movie. The pixel art transitions throughout start off feeling cute and novel, but by the tenth time you\u2019ve seen them, they\u2019re tiresome and they detract from the drama and complexity the film is trying to convey. Henk speaks to the president of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamauchi (Togo Iwaga, who looks uncanny in the role) in weird Mario metaphors, such as asking for a mushroom to help power him up.<\/p>\n

\"Tetris<\/a>
Image: Apple<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The thing is, the movie doesn\u2019t need to remind us that it\u2019s about a video game \u2013 it\u2019s about Tetris<\/em>, one of the best-selling, well-known games of all time. It came packaged with the fourth best-selling video game console of all time. Tetris is one of those rare games that transcends the medium and has universal appeal because it\u2019s a puzzler about falling blocks. It could have done with fewer nods to the medium, really, though we did enjoy watching Henk see the Game Boy for the very first time, another moment where childlike wonder comes over his face as he holds the grey brick in his hands for the first time at Nintendo of America.<\/p>\n

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The thing is, the movie doesn\u2019t need to remind us that it\u2019s about a video game \u2013 it\u2019s about Tetris, one of the best-selling video games of all time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So moments like the car chase sequence, or scenes where a CEO goes between multiple different rooms to try and negotiate multiple contracts, with each person getting more frustrated, might feel like a bit much (although a version of the latter did actually happen, apparently), but they add flavour and appeal. Again, this is a feel-good movie, one that we already know the conclusion to. We\u2019re supposed to root for Alexey and Henk because of where Tetris is today in the cultural landscape. Thanks largely to the charisma of the lead actor, this dramatisation just about manages to make us care, but it feels messier than it should.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Tetris is, ultimately, trying to stuff too much within its two hours. It feels muddled, unsure of what tone it wants to strike. It\u2019s trying to be a political thriller, an dramatic action flick, and a heartfelt feel-good story all at once, and its over-the-top characters and action clash with a real-life story about humble origins, corporate greed, and complicated legalities. It often comes across as cartoonish as a result. This means the blocks don\u2019t quite line up for us, aside from a sublime soundtrack, a likeable lead performance from Egerton, and a bit of heart. It\u2019s not a high scorer for us, but if you can live with the extra fluff and flash, it\u2019s a little bit of fun while it lasts.<\/p>\n