Tetris movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Tetris

This dramatic movie was released in select theaters on March 24, 2023 and on streaming on March 31, 2023.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 58 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

This mostly true story about one of the world’s most popular video games was directed by Jon S. Baird, and written by Noah Pink.

Most people don’t know the history of Tetris, nor did they ever think they needed to. As it turns out, we did! Who knew it involved dangerous and deceitful people all over the world?

THINGS I LIKED:

Great performances all around.
The talented cast features Taron Egerton. He’s such a chameleon of an actor. I adore him in everything he does. I was so happy for him when he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in Rocketman. For that same movie, he also won “Actor of the Year” from GQ Awards and Satellite Awards, the “Virtuoso Award” by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, “Breathrough Actor Award” by Hollywood Film Awards, and many more. One of these days, he’s going to win an Oscar. I think he’s that great! His infectious, charming personality in this role makes you root for him from beginning to end.
Other cast members include Nikita Efremov, Toby Jones, Sofya Lebedeva, Ben Miles, Roger Allam, Rick Yune, Anthony Boyle, and more.
I’ve never seen Toby Jones speak with that accent before! I always enjoy his performances.
I love how elements of the actual Tetris game are embedded into the telling of the story, especially during transitions.
Filming began in Scotland in 2020 but had to be put on hold due to the quarantine.
Younger audiences will get to learn a little bit of what it was like to live during the Cold War. A better, more serious spy movie about that is Tom Hanks’ Bridge of Spies. Tetris is definitely not trying to be that movie, by the way.
In an early scene, Henk talks about how he can still see the Tetris pieces in his dreams. This is actually a real phenomenon called the Tetris Effect. The term was coined by journalist Jeffrey Goldsmith in 1994 to describe when something that one focuses on for extended periods of time starts appearing in their thoughts, perceptions, and dreams.
We get to learn about events at the end of the movie by seeing photos and text on the screen about the real people involved in the events of the story.
Lorne Balfe created original music that sounds like it could be in a Tetris game itself.
It’s fascinating to watch how video games moved the world’s technology to the average person. We see the same thing happening today with virtual reality. I recently started exercising to some really fun games on my son’s VR headset. VR is AMAZING. The technology is so astounding and real that I accidentally crashed into a wall in my house and hurt my arm. ha ha

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some audiences will be bored watching all of the legal licensing negotiations, which is the bulk of the movie.
Robert Maxwell’s makeup looked super plastic and odd.
When the real Henk Rogers and Alexey Pazhitnov reviewed the script, they revealed that a lot of the facts aren’t quite true, being given a Hollywood flourish to the story details.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be completely bored because every scene is mostly adults arguing in legalese.
Some profanity, including F-bombs.
There are subtitles that need to be read when Japanese and Russian are spoken.

THEMES:

The Cold War
Computer technology
Gaming
Capitalism vs. Communism
Espionage
Priorities
Greed and power
Family

INTERESTING LINES:

“Good ideas have no borders.” – Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov)
“Ah, come on! You guys are the kinds of cliffhangers!” – Henk Rogers (Taron Edgerton)
“Technology is the future, and video games are leading the charge.” – Henk Rogers (Taron Edgerton)
“I played Tetris for five minutes, yeah. I still see falling blocks in my dreams. This game isn’t just addictive. It stays with you. It’s poetry. Art and math all working in magical synchronicity. It’s the perfect game.” – Henk Rogers (Taron Edgerton)