Tetris

As "Tetris" (2023 release; 117 min.) opens, we are reminded that "This is based on a true story", and we are in "Level 1, 1988" as Henk Rogers is at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, trying (and failing) to push a video game called "Go". In another booth, someone is hawking a game called "Tetris" and after trying out the game for a few minutes, Rogers is completely bowled over. He needs to find a way to get a license to that game, one way or another. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest film from Scottish director Jon Baird ("Stan & Ollie"). Here he brings the origin story of how the game "Tetris" became a worldwide phenom, but not before there was a frenzy over the legal rights, as fragmented as they were (both as to territories and as to platforms: video, arcade, handheld, etc.). In essence this is a legal drama and hence one cannot assume that this would be an enjoyable or engaging film to watch,. But as it turns out, this is very much enjoyable and engaging. Mostly set in the late 80s and early 90s, and effortlessly shifting settings from the US to Japan to the UK to the USSR, it becomes a zany affair, full of energy. Taron Egerton ("Kingsman", "Rocketman") as Henk Rogers is clearly having a ball with this role. If you wonder where the film was shot and what location stood in for those 80's era Soviet buildings, it is in fact Scotland (Aberdeen and Glasgow). Bottom line: I found this movie to be far better than I could've expected.

"Tetris" premiered at last month's SXSW festival to immediate acclaim. It started streaming on Apple TV this weekend, and I couldn't wait to see it. If you are in the mood for a zany legal drama on how Tetris became a mega-seller, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

I never knew this entire back story behind the success of Tetris. I was intrigued when I first saw the trailer and wonder if it could be any fun or good and I'm glad to say it's a pretty cool movie and I did enjoy it quite a ton. Taron Egerton did such a good job in the role and did some good acting and i think this movie was a pretty fun time and the whole story behind tetris. I think it was a pretty solid movie and now I want to play some tetris after watching this movie. This isn't groundbreaking but it's just a fun time in general which I think people should watch and I recommend to watch it.

Wow, I can't believe how much I enjoyed the new Tetris movie. Who knew that a movie about licensing a video game could be so emotionally engaging? I was hooked from start to finish.

The story was surprisingly compelling, without being too complicated or over the top. The focus on the journey of businessman Henk Rogers and the Tetris inventor, Alexey Pajitnov, was just the right balance of drama and fun. And the way they captured the excitement and anticipation of bringing the game to the world was thrilling.

The acting in this movie was top tier. Taron Egerton delivered an incredible performance as Rogers, and I was impressed by how he brought so much depth to his character. The chemistry between him and the rest of the cast was palpable and made the story even more enjoyable.

But let's talk about those plot twists, they were pretty good! I won't give anything away, but there were a few surprises that kept me on the edge of my seat. And the way they resolved the conflicts was satisfying and left me feeling content.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves video games, underdog stories, or just wants a fun and engaging movie experience. The attention to detail in the pixelated graphics and the captivating story make it worth watching. So, if you're looking for a movie that will have you feeling all the emotions, go see "Tetris"!

"Tetris" is the movie I didn't even know I needed.

A ridiculously entertaining (and probably at least partially ridiculously fabricated) "based on true events" story about the fight between a desperate American video game creator and Soviet Russia over the rights to what would become one of the most famous games of all time.

I wasn't sure I was going to like it at first, as it has a very jokey, self-aware tone, as does Taron Egerton's performance. But both won me over quickly, and not long into the movie I was all in. Egerton is a ball of charisma in the lead, and he's easy to root for. The movie gets a little silly at the end (a car chase to the airport, really?) and seems to be taking historical accuracy lessons from "Argo," but by the time the end came around I didn't care. I've been complaining recently that entertaining movies for adults are in short supply, so I'm not going to quibble when one comes along.

Grade: A.

Rating: 8.2 Overall, a very entertaining movie that is a well constructed fun watch to see how Tetris escaped the Soviet Union as the tone coupled with performances help bring the audience on a fun ride, though the movie is a bit too safe in its writing and storytelling.

Good Direction (Really helps set the tone and of the movie through a more lighthearted approach to storytelling; he gets a good amount out of his actors; the movie does feel very safe and nothing extraordinary in terms of its direction), Pretty Good Acting (Very Good from Taron Egerton (Does a good job in commanding the lead in the movie and showing a range of emotion throughout, the source material really limits him from going above and beyond like his other roles though), Pretty Good from Toby Jones, Pretty Good to Good from Nikita Yefremov (A bit more of a reserved performance so there is not too much to work from (not entirely his fault as that was how the character was written), but he does do a good job playing off of Egerton throughout the movie), Pretty Good from the rest of the cast), Very Good Story (The overall story is well laid out, though it is a bit overt in its storytelling, and the story elements build off of each other to create suspense for the climax), Pretty Good to Good Screenplay (A bit simplistic in the dialogue but flows well throughout; not too much symbolism because its a biopic; the humor throughout the movie was decent and helped make the film pretty lighthearted; no real foreshadowing), Good to Very Good Score (Really enjoyed how they interpolated the Tetris theme into it and used the score throughout to build suspense), Good to Very Good Cinematography (Helps with placing emphasis on different subjects and was overall very professional throughout), Good Sound (Enjoyed how it replaced sounds with 8-bit sounds to make the movie feel more like a video game from the 80s), Decent Editing (Really helped give that video game feel to the movie; the transitions between countries felt a bit amateurish though; There were also these weird freezes throughout the movie (do not know if this was intentional or if it was just from it being a world premiere and the is not fully polished yet)), Very Good Visual Effects (Gave the movie a more 80s, NES feel when it was used in conjunction with scenes; the 8-bit animations replacing shots were pretty good but felt a bit amateur (though overall I did enjoy them)), Plot Structure was pretty standard as it followed the standard arc (with the all parts of the plot being evident), Pacing was pretty steady with no major issues (no need to add or cut anything), Climax was executed well as it was a fun rush filled with action in a movie that does not have any (though it helps suspend the disbelief if this actually happened in real life), Tone was very tech as well as 80s and I felt the movie did a really good job at establishing tone; the movie did a really good job at making it a programming/CS movie as they spoke about concepts very well throughout the movie, Watched World Premiere at SXSW.