Tetris Review

When we were young my brothers and I tended to club together for Christmas presents. After all, there was much more chance of getting something big like a NES or a PlayStation if we consolidated our wish to Father Christmas. So we weren’t sure what to make of the one brown box we unwrapped when I was seven or so. It sure wasn’t bike or computer shaped.

It turns out our parents had unintentionally taken inspiration from the gift when packing it. We opened the box to find a smaller box. And inside that box? Three Game Boys. Like Russian Dolls.

And which game was packaged with them? Tetris.

Everything about Tetris feels perfectly tuned to hold your attention. From the catchy music to the games’ overall simplicity. Tetris has a firm grip! Over thirty years later my wife and I have a Game Boy with Tetris that we still play. That grip remains firm.

Just one more go.

So to watch Taron Egerton’s portrayal of Henk Rogers as he exudes passion and excitement for this new game…I get it. Because I feel it too.

Concentrating on the businessman in the story rather than the creator – Russian Alexey Pajitnov invented Tetris – is a tricky choice to make, especially when Egerton isn’t anywhere the real Rogers in terms of descent. Whitewashing? Perhaps. But Egerton is brilliant. I believe his passion and desperation and sheer balls. I loved him in the first Kingsman, but this, Rocketman, and even Eddie the Eagle have shown him to be fearless and versatile.

The large Russian cast is impressive. Igor Grabuzov and Oleg Stefan stood out as members of the USSR Government and Elorg Corporation respectively, but Nikita Efremov as Pajitnov does so well to carry the weight of the situation he finds himself and his family in.

Story wise, it’s clear that in dramatizing the tale some liberties have been taken. It still manages to touch on both the precarious situation in the USSR as times are changing, and breezes through the potentially mind-numbing intricacy around contracts and game rights. The breeziness, and melodrama at points, won’t sit well with some. But personally I’ve watched YouTube documentary pieces on Tetris so I was all in on the entertainment side of things.

About two thirds in the story threatens to move too far away from Rogers and Pajitnov, but it comes back together by the end. The film may not grip me in the same way as the game long term, but for a single playthrough I had a great time with Tetris.

And bravo to Egerton’s tash by the way. Love it.