Taron Egerton's Tetris movie can't quite fit all of its pieces together
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A movie about Tetris? We've all been addicted to that game over the years, but you'd be forgiven for thinking there's nothing to adapt for a movie. However, one of the biggest games of all time has a wild backstory you might not know.
Back in 1988, Dutch entrepreneur and video game designer Henk Rogers discovered Tetris, a video game created by Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov. Confident he'd discovered the next big thing, Rogers risked everything by travelling to the Soviet Union to win the rights to the game.
But Rogers wasn't the only interested party looking to profit from Tetris, which also included media tycoon Robert Maxwell (yes, that Robert Maxwell). And so began a legal battle which saw Rogers team up with Pajitnov to bring Tetris to the masses – that saw them take on the entire Soviet Union.
It's the kind of story that is so unbelievable, it can only be true. In the hands of producer Matthew Vaughn and director Jon S Baird, the story morphs into a fast-paced Cold War thriller filled with secret deals, car chases and spies.
The result is an entertaining watch, but one you wish placed a bit more faith in the true story it's based on. There's been liberal use of creative license to bring the story to the screen, even if the spirit of it and of its main players are accurate to real life.
As the story starts to veer into more conventional spy-thriller mode in the second half, Tetris becomes less engaging. It's a jarring tonal shift and the movie can't quite fit its pieces together satisfyingly, the backroom chats replaced by a frenetic dash to the airport that proves less interesting.
What Tetris always has on its side though is the central friendship between Henk Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov. Taron Egerton and Nikita Yefremov may not be totally accurate to their real-life counterparts, but like the treatment of their story, the performances are faithful to the spirit of them.
The supporting cast don't fare quite as well, with Robert Maxwell (Endeavour's Roger Allam) and his son Kevin (Anthony Boyle) transformed into pantomime villains. This lack of subtlety extends to every Russian character, except for Pajitnov, all of them stereotypes best left in the 1980s setting.
As with most Vaughn productions though, Tetris overcomes these criticisms by being an extremely fun watch. With a time-specific soundtrack packed with retro bangers, 8-bit graphics used throughout and rapid pacing, the movie consistently has enough going on to distract from any shortcomings.
If you want to know all of the crazy true story behind Tetris, you'll probably want to read up on it afterwards. But if you're after the Cliff Notes version told with a lot of retro style, Tetris will prove the right fit for you.
How to watch Tetris online at home
Tetris is out now in select cinemas, but you can also watch it at home as it's available to stream right now on Apple TV+ for all subscribers.
The streaming service costs £6.99 a month to sign up for if you're not already a subscriber. If you're not a subscriber, you also get a seven-day free trial so you could watch Tetris for free. (Just make sure to cancel your subscription before the trial is up, otherwise you will be charged.)
If you do stick around though, we've got you covered with everything that's available to watch right now on Apple TV+ and the best TV shows to catch up with.
Tetris is out now in select cinemas and available to watch on Apple TV+.
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