Tetris

Who ever thought that the last big battle of the Cold War was over a video game? It's true, more or less, according to Tetris, which revolves around the legal and political war over the video game. It debuted on Apple TV Plus in March, but I didn't get to it until now. It's time to press start and see how it is.

It quickly sums up how Soviet programmer Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Yefremov) developed Tetris, which soon became the hottest video game behind the Iron Curtain, and how game designer Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) came across it at the Consumer Electronics Show. He decides to invest in the relatively simple game. It's clear sailing from here, right?

No. It seems that one Robert Stein (Toby Jones) snatched up the rights already, sublicensing them to Mirrorsoft's Robert Maxwell (Roger Allam) and son Kevin (Anthony Boyle). Rogers only has the rights in Japan. It's still enough to get Nintendo onboard, especially to get it published for their forthcoming Gameboy. But when the Maxwells encroach on Rogers's territory, he decides to appeal to the Soviets directly. The Soviets aren't happy that an American wants to profit from "their" property. Rogers, meanwhile, befriends Pajitnov and decides to give him his financial due. The Maxwells won't give up without a fight. 

That's basically the gist of Noah Pink's screenplay. Its 118 minutes are full of corporate and political backstabbing, reversals, counter-reversals and more. The overall story is compelling even if it's somewhat hard to keep up with all the names. Still, it's pretty satisfying when the villains are out-gambitted. It all leads up to a fictionalized car chase as Rogers and his Nintendo partners, Howard Lincoln (Ben Miles) and Minoru Arakawa (Ken Yamamura), race to the Airport before the also-fictional Central Committee goon Valentin Trifonov (Igor Grabuzov) gets them. I'll elaborate more on the plot when I get to the characters.

Egerton plays Rogers as an affably optimistic businessman. The opening has him re-iterate what I said in the second paragraph to a bank manager (Rick Yune), and how he rejected a good deal with Nintendo for a better one. We see him as a good family man for his wife, Akemi (Ayane Nagabuchi), and his kids, though the Tetris War strains his relationships. Yefremov is quite compelling as Pajitnov, a man trying his best to live under the Iron Curtain. Their real-life friendship is a compelling plot thread. Wait till you see how Rogers gives Pajitnov some ideas to improve Tetris.

The Maxwells make for sufficient villains. They're both sneering baddies, but Kevin's sense-of-entitlement will make you detest him more. But you'll sympathize with Kevin when he realizes how financially and morally bankrupt his father is at the end. It's quite a stunning reversal. Trifonov is even more loathsome than the Maxwells, particularly when he all but threatens to toss Pajitnov's sons out a window. His being out-gambitted is the most satisfying part of the film. Stein is just fine as an antagonist, but he's outshone by the Maxwells and Trifonov.

Director Jon S. Baird's technical style is impressive. The editing is fast paced, especially during the final car chase, which even turns into a video game at times. The pixel art title cards are a fun flourish. Production Designer Daniel Taylor and the visual effects department get points for flawlessly recreating the Soviet Union in Scotland. Lorne Balfe's techno score incorporates the game's signature Korobeiniki tune. That soundtrack is easily the most memorable part of a memorable film.

If there's any flaw, it's that the video game footage is sometimes mismatched. A Zelda game featured is obviously not from the 80s. Nevertheless, Tetris is still an outstanding historical thriller. It may also get you in the mood for a round of the game. I did just that before working on this review. It's ready to stream when you are. On to the next review.