Tetris (Film) — A Review

7th May, 2023: Tetris.

Potatoes … potatoes, potatoes, potatoes … !

It’s Sunday: so you know.

And, yes: I’ve got some spuds in the oven.

Frankly?

Dinner is almost ready to eat.

Equally as frankly?

Once it is eaten?

I’m going to be settling in with the AppleTV+ film, Tetris.

In 4k, so you know.

Once I’ve watched it … ?

I’ll have my written and video reviews up, tomorrow night: I’ll see you then!

~≈🎞️≈~

8th May, 2023.

Based on the history of the hit game, Tetris opens with a brief animation: telling us the year is 1988.

An initial piece of narration tells us that we’re at that year’s Consumer Electronics Show, where Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) of Bulletproof Software is trying — with little success — to sell copies of his newest game: a version of Go.

With such a resounding lack of success that his aide … has disappeared off to a rival stand, to play the latest in video games.

A pirated Russian thing called Tetris.

Henk … ?

Is hooked.

And, in a meeting with his bank manager, Eddy (Rick Yune), Henk has to confess: he’s managed to spend a fortune, to get the Japanese rights for the game, before he’s paid back the loan for his failed version of Go.

Eddy is understandably sceptical, when Henk tells him his bank manager going to earn a fortune.

All the manager has to do … ?

Is loan Henk a few million more.

Before Henk takes a set of trips to London, Japan, and Moscow.

By way of Nintendo’s American HQ in Seattle.

They’ve got something they want him to look at.

~≈🎞️≈~

Now … 

What did I make of Tetris?

The film, that is?

I really should try and spend less time with the game!

I’ve a couple of questions about Tetris.

Firstly?

Is Tetris accurate?

Is it an authentic re-telling of the the early history of the Tetris game, and how it was brought to the West?

I couldn’t tell you.

I’ve got dim and distant memories of the BBC’s Tetris: From Russia With Love documentary, very dim and distant memories, and those?

Those memories tell me this is fairly accurate.

But I honestly couldn’t be sure.

Plus, of course, whenever someone makes a movie like this, a movie that’s ‘based on true events’?

We have to assume there’s a certain amount of fudging going on, a certain amount of massaging.

If, for no other reason than to keep costs down by melding a few characters together, or shortening the run time*.

So … ?   Accuracy?

I don’t know if Tetris is accurate to its sources.

My second question is this: is Tetris entertaining?

Does it have an exciting story?

One that’s both fast paced, comprehensible, and engaging?

Yes, Tetris does!

Right from the start, Egerton reels us in with a fairground style opening speech: then throws us into the plot with a minimum of fuss, and a huge amount of charisma.

And, by narrating each change part — as the film bookmarks each act with a slew of 8-bit animations — keeps us both engaged, and informs us of what’s happening.

That helps … 

As do the performances!

Egerton put’s in a good turn as Henk Rogers, the central character.

As does Nikita Efremov as Alex Pajitnov, the man who invented Tetris.

Igor Grabuzov, as the corrupt Valentin Trifonov, and Sofia Lebedeva, as the idealistic KGB plant, Sasha, were both fantastic.

If you’ve ever wondered what a Soviet version of a Nazi Gestapo officer would look like?

It would look like Grabuzov as Valentin Trifanov.

The real star of the show?

Was Roger Allam, as the late, and very unlamented, Robert Maxwell.

Between Allam’s† performance, voice and make up?

We had the real villain of Tetris.

Top that off with some dramatic action at the film’s climax, and with hell of a car chase thrown in?

I can really only ask one last paired of questions.

Is Tetris a good film?

Is it entertaining?

Yes.

You’ll have a great time watching it!

Tetris

★★★★

*        If I’ve understood the industry correctly?   Studios prefer films that are around ninety minutes long to something that’s a Fellowship of the Ring sized, three hours.   In the space of those three hours, you can show one film once: and the shorter film twice.   Studios can make their money back, quicker, with the shorter film.

†        I spent most of the film wondering where on Earth I knew Allam’s voice from: it’s the one thing about him I recognised.   Then I realised I’d seen him as Lewis Prothero in V for Vendetta.   It takes me a while, sometimes!