Film Review: Tetris – 8/10

“Good ideas have no borders…’

There have been some great films over the years about entrepreneurs. Despite the fact that this reveals a troubling obsession with capitalism, I’ve enjoyed them like anyone else. The Founder, The Social Network, Steve Jobs – all very watchable. Tetris follows the same blueprint and it really is a fascinating tale…

Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) has the vision to see that the innovative videogame Tetris will be a worldwide smash. What he believes will be an easy acquisition ends up being a wild goose chase featuring Russian spies, Nintendo executives and disgraced newspaper editor Robert Maxwell (Roger Allam).

I’ve no idea how much of this tale is true but director Jon S. Baird and writer Noah Pink spin a yarn for the ages that proves the old maxim that truth is often stranger than fiction. Veteran composer Lorne Balfe creates a score that incorporates the iconic Tetris theme tune and the film blends reality with charming 16-bit graphics in a move that will delight fans of vintage videogames. Egerton once again proves that he is one of the most versatile and compelling actors of his generation and the supporting cast, Toby Jones’ dodgy German (?) accent aside, also does a great job in grounding the fast-paced story in reality. Nikita Efremov is particularly captivating as Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov and the use of Russian actors helps to sell this video game as one of the catalysts of the collapse of the Soviet Union – I’m pretty sure it was Tetris and Rocky defeating Ivan Drago that did it.

Tetris is pure entertainment. Just as the game has brought delight to millions, so will the film. Highly recommended.