PLOT
Henk Rogers, an American salesman, attempts to acquire the Tetris video game’s rights and spread its popularity by travelling to Soviet Russia. However, he soon learns that he must face severe challenges in the form of corruption inside the Soviet system, resulting in a high-stakes court battle to protect the game’s rights.
Tetris’ origin story is intriguing, and the movie captures the backroom bargaining necessary to popularize the game. The film starts confused because it concentrates on who owns what in the agreement, but it rapidly evolves into an exciting journey that keeps the audience interested.
REVIEW
Tetris gives a fascinating overview of the difficulties of making the game appealing to a large worldwide audience. The video primarily focuses on the game’s origins and the legal challenges its distributors encountered in the early 1980s, all against the backdrop of the Cold War.
While the movie’s opening may turn off viewers since it explores legal ground, 8-bit animation saves it and lets the remainder of the film flow smoothly after you overcome that first obstacle. Only after you’ve seen the movie do you grasp how compelling the tale of the game’s worldwide triumph is. In addition, “Tetris” explores the contrasts between capitalism and communism, explaining why the former finally failed in Russia.
As a salesperson, Taron Egerton gives a passionate performance. He appears in almost every scene of the movie, and his realistic representation keeps the viewer interested in the plot. Mainly beautifully done are the sequences where he tries to convince the Russian authorities of the game’s potential.
Robert Maxwell is played to perfection by Roger Allam. The game’s programmer, Alexey Pajitnov, is played honestly by Nikita Efremov. Even though Toby Jones’s time as Robert Stein is so fleeting, his performance is noteworthy and significant.
Rating: 3/5
The movie shows a brief history of the game in the first thirty minutes. The remaining time, evocative of an espionage thriller, is spent on the tough negotiations that Henk Rogers had to do to secure the rights. Because of the film’s deft screenplay, we can comprehend the goals of each character engaged in the struggle for the game’s rights. It’s an exciting film with a gripping plot and a strong cast. These reasons lead to a rating of three stars out of five.
Jon S. Baird is the filmmaker. It is produced by Gregor Cameron, Len Blavatnik, Claudia Schiffer, Gillian Berrie, and Matthew Vaughn. Henk Rogers, Mara Huf, Tracy, Miles Barrow, and Dennis Jackson make up the main cast, along with Taron Egerton. The movie was made available on Apple TV+ on March 31, 2023.
