Since the movies are based on name brands gaining popularity, many steps have been made to apply the same methods in the cinema industry. For example, when the subject was a movie called “Tetris,” there were probably only two options: This might have been an animation about the adventure of living blocks in a typical Hero’s Journey pattern, similar to “The Lego Movie” (2014) or “The Emoji Movie” (2017).
However, it turns out that the second option must have been more reasonable for producers as a more classic formula: a biography film focuses on the game’s backstory. Furthermore, due to the abundance of materials, it had the potential to be more than a regular business movie based on a true story. Assertive distributors were involved in conspiracies, industrial espionage, and sabotage under the Iron Curtain. A cultural phenomenon was about to spiral upward in the middle.
As a threshold matter, the film introduces Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), a strong-minded game publisher, and shows us his first encounter with Tetris at the Consumer Electronic Show in 1988.
After he falls in love with the game at first sight, Rogers attempts to secure the rights to “Tetris” and gets into deep water without a doubt. Although Taron Egerton seems to play the starring role, his character Henk Rogers is not the only protagonist in the storyline.
Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov), the inventor of “Tetris” and a programmer at the Soviet Computer Science Center, also has a major role in the chain of events. At first, he codes the prototype of his game with the intention of entertainment; then, it goes from strength to strength around the office workers in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Despite this considerable popularity, the lack of intellectual property rights inhibits Pajitnov from reaping the rewards of his success. Worse still, he has to face threats from government officials, charged with treason unfairly like his father.
As emphasized in the film, in a conflict of interests where everyone tries to get a slice of the cake, Alexey is the only person without benefit from this situation. Moreover, none of the competitors pay tribute to his work except Henk. In the process, Rogers cast his lot in with Pajitnov over their shared passion for the game. However, besides this friendship, some formidable adversaries conspire against him and put a spanner in the works.
Although the Soviet Union is on the brink of collapse, former alliances are resuming between global companies and corrupted authorities. While Henk negotiates with commissioners from ELORG, he gets into difficulties as an American foreigner in Moscow under the communist regime. Even so, Henk fraternizes with a liberal group through Alexey, giving him a new perspective on Russian citizens.
Although new editions in battle royal format have been made later, the original version of “Tetris” was never about competition in the first place. The sole purpose was to arrange the falling blocks with different shapes and colors in a row. Howsoever simple it may seem, this essential combination of math and art gives excellent pleasure to minds and directs players’ attention to the flow state.
Contrary to the relaxing nature of this game, the “Tetris” movie takes a different tack and focuses on worldwide competition as another type of strategy game. There is a battle of bureaucracy on various front lines of video game rights, arcade rights, and handheld console rights to Tetris. Furthermore, the bone of contention does not only affect individual entrepreneurs or software companies.
The challenge between Nintendo and Atari, legendary console brands, takes place as a side note in the film. Especially Nintendo has a crucial role in striking a deal with Henk Rogers and publishing “Tetris” through their factory-fresh product, Game Boy.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Minoru Arakawa, and Howard Lincoln make the scene as the CEO and chairperson of Nintendo, but representations of historical figures are not limited to this. For example, near Soviet Russia, Nicolai Belikov plays a vital role as the vice president of Elorg (Elektronorgtechnica), and Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, appears in the film.
Additionally, well-known business people such as Robert Maxwell, a British media proprietor, and Robert Stein, the first video game distributor who discovered Tetris, are involved in this rivalry as opponents of Rogers and Pajitnov.
As a period drama, characters, settings and events based on reality perform well. Besides, the 8-Bit graphic art utilization as a visual narrative technical and nostalgic tracks in the synth-wave style significantly contributes to the retro atmosphere.
Much as the cloak-and-dagger parts and that exhilarating car-chase sequence are composed of fiction, these factors can give thrilling vibes in a plot about commercial disputes more than expected.
Apart from this rat race, a struggle for freedom becomes the heart of the matter. It is possible to witness a shared vision, a dream of independence, in the final stages of the Cold War.
