TETRIS (APPLE TV+) (2023)

SYNOPSIS: Based on the true story of American video game salesman Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) and his discovery of Tetris in 1988. When he sets out to bring the game to the world, he enters a dangerous web of lies and corruption behind the Iron Curtain. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

This reviewer isn’t much of a gamer but at least he knows about Tetris (the falling block puzzle videogame), Nintendo and Atari, names which are often mouthed by the various characters in Tetris.

Tetris is apparently not about how the popular beloved game is created but how the game was sold to millions around the world in this very enjoyable movie produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring his frequent collaborator, Taron Edgerton.

Henk Rogers (Edgerton), a video game salesman saw the potential of Tetris in a Vegas trade show and goes about asking for its licensing rights only to find out it’s actually created by a man named Alexey (Nikita Efremov) in communist Soviet Union. Realising the huge potential of Tetris and convincing the tops guys at Nintendo, Rogers travelled to USSR under the pretext of a tourist visa and approach ELORG, the agency Alexey worked for.

But things get a lot complicated when a shady software salesman, Robert Stein (Toby Jones) and a billionaire, Robert Maxwell and his son is also in negotiation with both the President of ELORG and a sinister dangerous KGB officer.

For a movie filled with argument about business contract, rights and licensing, Tetris for a lack of a better description is fast food filmmaking at its best. You don’t really need an excellent command of the corporate world or knowledge of videogames, handheld devices to know that Rogers is at his wits end dealing with unscrupulous competitors and KGB officer with his own hidden agenda.

Writer Noah Pink and director Jon S. Baird maintains a breezy pacing by packing in addition to all the corporate stuff some dark themes about the cold war. Espionage, threats and the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev also make an “appearance” in this intriguing drama. Despite touting this as a true story, we are pretty sure there’s no death-defying car chases involved in the whole Rogers and Alexey story.

Clearly, there’s lots of effort dedicated to the production values in making the entire flick looks like it’s its shot way back in the 1980s. Clever usage of CGI, all the costumes and props are authentic enough. Best of all, Edgerton ever the consummate performer makes this a highly watchable, underdog story. We are not even sure the origins of Tetris can be turned into a movie initially but judging by the end result, we are certainly not disappointed at all.  

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee