War and Piece

We all know that when a movie bills itself as "based on a true story," it could fall anywhere within a wild range of fidelity to the actual events that inspired it. And that's fine, because for some stories, absolute faithfulness to the truth isn't the most important thing. Sometimes, an audience is perfectly happy to be lied to in the name of entertainment.

So.... Tetris.

Newly streaming on Apple TV+ is the movie Tetris, "based on the true story" of the efforts by Henk Rogers to secure handheld distribution rights to the megahit-in-waiting video game Tetris. The game is a "breakout" in more than the normal sense of the word, as forces in the Soviet government fear the cultural hole it could punch in the Iron Curtain. They step in to thwart Rogers, and danger ensues.

There is a true story here, and if you believe the Wikipedia entry, the contours of this movie's plot do more or less capture it. Even still, as you're watching Tetris, you can be pretty sure that Henk Rogers never got involved in a car chase with the KGB on his way to the airport. You wonder to what extent goons actually threatened the family of Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov. You sense that this is a heightened version of reality.

And that's kind of fine. After all, you're getting a movie with car chases, hired goons, and more. This movie is part spy thriller, part heist movie, part family drama, and part love letter to video games. And while these elements never come together as perfectly as a long piece sliding in to complete 4 lines at the once, there is something satisfying here. (Yes. One is obligated to make a Tetris gameplay reference in the middle of any Tetris movie review. Sorry, I don't make the rules.)

The movie is at its best when it's being irreverent and fun-loving. Establishing shots are overlaid by 8-bit graphics, and the film is divided into "levels" rather than "acts." A delightful score from composer Lorne Balfe treats the entire affair like a Mission: Impossible movie, even as it (of course) weaves in phrases of the music from the game. Star Taron Egerton plays the whole thing like this is life or death, and you almost start to believe that at times.

Still... let's all be realistic here: this story here is slight. It's over-dramatized for this script because there probably aren't enough real-world twists and turns to create a compelling narrative more grounded in truth. The movie often lands in the uncanny valley of taking things seriously without doing it in the "too seriously" way that engenders the real fun; then it starts to feel like a sort of low-grade Bridge of Spies. (And let's all admit, if I asked you to name as many Steven Spielberg movies as you could, how many of you would have even remembered Bridge of Spies?)

I keep posting about different reasons you should subscribe to Apple TV+ if you don't already. (I just did that earlier this week.) This is not one of those posts. This is an "if you already have Apple TV+, you might have fun with this" post. Specifically, if you're a fan of games (and you probably are, if you're reading this), you'll probably find Tetris a bit of escapist, if slight, fun. I give it a B-.