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Tetris
(Apple Original Films)
By Lucas Allen
If you had a Game Boy back when it first came out, then you’ve very likely played its pack-in game Tetris. This simple puzzle game of stacking blocks in rows has become an addictive time-waster since its American debut in 1989. Just the idea of making a movie out of a video game like that is ludicrous, especially when it could end up looking like “Pixels,” or worse, “The Emoji Movie.” But luckily, “Tetris,” from producer Matthew Vaughn and director Jon S. Baird, takes on a more straightforward biographical approach, and is a conventional Cold War-set thriller.
Searching for a hot new title to license for his software company, Henk Rogers (Taron Edgerton) discovers Tetris during a 1988 Las Vegas convention. He convinces his banker (Rick Yune) to lend him enough money to try to license it for both arcade cabinets and Nintendo consoles. However, the gaming rights are already tied up with corporate mogul Robert Maxwell (Roger Allam) and his son Kevin (Anthony Boyle) with Robert Stein (Toby Jones) personally handling the negotiations. Not giving up, Rogers risks both his life and his family’s welfare to travel to the Soviet Union to negotiate for Nintendo, where he befriends the game’s designer, Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov).
Right from the start, his visit is met with nothing but roadblocks, with state representative Belikov (Oleg Shtefanko) sending out his goons to intimidate him. There’s also the language barrier, and Rogers needs help from his interpreter, Sasha (Sofya Lebedeva). Soon, it’s clear it will take more than negotiations for Rogers to leave with the license alive.
Much like “Cocaine Bear,” you can take its introductory text “based on a true story” with a grain of salt. With this film, what you get is a comedy of errors about political intrigue and licensing agreements that are taken a bit too seriously. There is some humor, but the vast majority of these scenes are done with a straight face that affects the film’s entertainment value.
Even though the main character’s quest for video game rights in a foreign country is essential, it tends to drag it down a bit with scenes of business deals that are more confusing to a viewer than in a Star Wars prequel film. Then you have the over-the-top evil caricature of the Soviet government, which becomes ridiculous as the movie goes on. It’s fine when it’s set in the late 1980s, but it becomes almost too uncanny and timely for today’s politics that it leaves an ugly feeling to the casual viewer.
On the plus side, the real power of this film is the 1980s nostalgia and the video games of that era that had an impact on the entire world. Granted, it’s not as obtuse as something like “Stranger Things,” though seeing those old consoles and 8-bit pixels are enough to give any 35 to 40-year-old adult a rush of memories. Composer Lorne Balfe also creates a synthesizer score worthy of Devo or Styx that helps enhance both the tension and the action. There’re also some hit songs of the time from Europe and Pet Shop Boys that’ll get the toes tapping, and Japanese and Russian covers of “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Heart of Glass,” which is odd but still fits the overall 1980s tone.
The real heart and soul of this movie is Edgerton, who continues to shine as a young actor challenging himself in every role. Here, he puts on an American accent and mustache to wonderfully play a short-sighted but heartful man trying to do the right thing. Efremov makes for a fine pivotal character as the game’s creator caught in the middle of the chaos, while Jones excels in his small supporting role. The combination of Allam and Shtefanko is a powder keg of slimy 1980s villainy on full display that again, it becomes quite much for timely social commentary.
Ultimately, “Tetris” holds the power of nostalgia in the palm of its hands. It helps turn this otherwise weak political thriller into something unique and interesting, so that the less-than-stellar parts seem like filler. Still, if it does make you vie for reliving your childhood memories by playing the game on your old Game Boy (or on the Nintendo Switch’s current online service), then game on.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3 Stars (Out of Four)
