Tetris the movie... is trying to replicate that satisfaction, that crowd-pleasing appeal that Tetris the video game has. Instead, Rogers said, expect a movie that "got the feeling across, the feeling of being in Moscow for the first time, breaking the law." I seem to recall that I haven't played a game of Tetris in the last 18 years, and what I knew of its conception was sparse in more ways than one, so part of me thought it might be interesting to see what a movie on the subject could offer. But as it turns out, one huge problem got in the way, and that was the unfortunate eagerness of its creators to turn that story into something akin to The Social Network. All this is immediately apparent if you've read books like The Tetris Effect or Tetris: The Games People Play, which lay out the actual history of the game's long journey outside Russia with much more care and detail. Alternatively, you could hunt down a 2004 BBC documentary that also provides a more direct account of the real drama surrounding Tetris' complicated Soviet-era licensing drama. And why is this a problem? Quite simply. Tetris is a film that aims to create an intricate story about something that was actually simple, and this carries with it problematic and questionable baggage when you begin to realize that the events unfolding on screen simply don't have that level of momentum, drama and tension to sustain that kind of narrative approach.

Dean, Jonathan (24 August 2020). "Taron Egerton: 'The Tetris film is more Social Network than Lego Movie!' ". British GQ.Taron Egerton stated in a GQ Magazine Interview that the movie is going to be more Social Network than the Lego Movie. Tetris is a 2023 biographical thriller film based on true events around the race to license and patent the video game Tetris from Russia in the late 1980s during the Cold War. It was directed by Jon S. Baird and written by Noah Pink. The film stars Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, and Anthony Boyle. Love film and TV? Join BBC Culture Film and TV Club on Facebook, a community for cinephiles all over the world. Many retro games don't age well. Either people try to recreate them with 'modern' appeal and they fall flat, or they put a new coat of paint on an old game – hence all the video game 'remasters' and 'remakes' from the past several years. Tetris largely avoids this trap, because it doesn't need a big graphical upgrade to look and feel modern. The original design was so timeless, that the bones behind it will always stand up." Henk Rogers, the man most directly responsible for bringing Tetris to the West, helped set expectations at an early press screening of Apple TV's Tetris movie, which premieres on the streaming service Friday. "It's not a documentary," Rogers said of a film that casts him as a fearless hero working to extract the game from the grip of a brutal, dying '80s Soviet bureaucracy. "Don't expect to see that this is exactly how it happened."

Apple Original Films unveils trailer for 'Tetris,' new thriller starring Taron Egerton" (Press release). Apple TV+. 16 February 2023 . Retrieved 16 February 2023.Pingitore, Silvia (19 March 2023). "Interview with Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov" . Retrieved 4 July 2023. Munsell, Mike (17 February 2023). "Meet Henk Rogers, video game icon turned climate champion". Canary Media . Retrieved 23 March 2023. When asked why a game as simplistic as Tetris is so often cited as being at the apex of video game development, Monshouwer continues: "It is the prime example of 'easy to learn but hard to master'. On the most basic level, there’s a pleasure in tidying up. Each time you play, you get better. You can get into a flow where your hands and mind become one."

Is this the most effective way to tell this story?” is a question that repeats itself when watching these types of shows and films, one wondering if a documentary or even a long read might have been preferable. While almost two hours, Tetris is refreshingly self-contained and propulsively plot-heavy, avoiding the bloat that weighs down so many 10-part series that could have been told in one chunk. Our protagonist is Henk, a Dutch-born gaming entrepreneur raised in the US played by Taron Egerton, and we meet him in 1988 as he’s trying to sell a self-designed game at a convention. It’s a bust and his failure leads him to another stall where a Russian game called Tetris is being peddled. He’s immediately addicted and starts a quest to find out how he can become a part of its inevitable success. Some of the film’s best moments involve Henk and Alexey bonding or talking with each other, or when political tensions and contracts begin to bubble up and congeal. In one scene when Rogers is staying at the Pajitnov’s home, he gets to see the very first home computer version of Tetris. Asking if he can play it, he sits at the desk, playing with a sort of childlike glee and fascination. Then, he asks the game’s creator a question – “Why can’t both lines disappear at once instead of one at a time?” to which Alexey responds, after a brief pause, that he “never thought of that”. These are two people who are meant to be together, to succeed together, and in that single scene, you feel the spark of friendship kindle between them. Image: Apple In February 2021, filming took place in Aberdeen at locations including the University of Aberdeen’s Zoology Building, which was used as the headquarters of Soviet firm Elorg, and Seamount Court which was used for several scenes. Production then returned to Glasgow for a few days, before wrapping in early March 2021. Special offer is good for three months after the first activation of the eligible device. One offer per Family Sharing group. Plans automatically renew until cancelled. Other restrictions and terms apply; visit apple.com/promo for more information. On being told that an American businessman can't obtain a visa, Rogers obtains a tourist visa to enter Moscow. He hires Sasha, a young and seemingly naïve Russian woman as his interpreter, and despite her warnings, enters the ELORG offices. On showing a copy of Tetris for Famicom to Nikolai Belikov, the ELORG chairman, he informs Rogers that his copy is "illegal," as ELORG has not released the video game rights to Rogers. A meeting is arranged to discuss the rights.Tetris received nominations for Best Music and Best Action/Thriller TrailerByte for a Feature Film at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards. [18] [19] Egerton was nominated for Best Actor at the 6th Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards. [20] Lawsuit [ edit ] Today Apple Original Films unveiled the trailer for the highly anticipated thriller, “Tetris,” starring Taron Egerton. a b Brittain, Blake (8 August 2023). "Apple's Tetris movie ripped off tech writer's book, lawsuit says". Reuters . Retrieved 8 August 2023. I watched this film earlier today, I loved it! Sure its completely silly and barely grounded in reality but what did you expect of a movie based on Tetris? As many have pointed out there are multiple documentaries following the truth. Its very clear that its not following the real life events, more taking the idea and running with it to make a movie very inspired by over the top 1980s/early 90s action thrillers. Very fun. Taron Egerton, who is pretty much the best thing about the film, carries the weight of the lead role quite well, but you have to recognize the limits of the script he was given.