Hollywood’s love of adapting existing material continues unabated, with a recent trend towards turning business and products into compelling stories. While comic books and video games have been the go-to source for adaptation, shows and films about companies such as Uber, WeWork, BlackBerry, Nike, and even Cheetos are now in development. And, in a move that may surprise some, the latest entrant in this field is Tetris, the beloved, addictive 80s video game with a worldwide following.
Tetris follows the story of Henk, a Dutch-born, US-raised gaming entrepreneur played by Taron Egerton, who becomes addicted to the game when he stumbles upon it at a gaming convention in 1988. Henk embarks on a quest to find out how he can become part of Tetris’s inevitable success, taking him on a convoluted journey to Russia to meet its inventor, the developers at Nintendo, a software exec played by Toby Jones, and the cursed Maxwell media empire.
While the story is complex, the film manages to find its groove once the pieces are set and the plot thickens. There are moments of sub-Succession-level fun as Henk and his rivals try to level up on each other, with Egerton’s portrayal of a character perfecting a slippery charm proving both annoying and alluring to those he encounters. However, the film struggles to add any emotiveness to the story, with attempts to flesh out Henk’s family life falling flat, and the last act feeling more fantastical than fact-based.
Nonetheless, the film is refreshingly self-contained and propulsively plot-heavy, avoiding the bloat of a traditionally lengthy series but still entertaining enough to justify its existence. Tetris, like other recent business and product adaptations, aims to replicate the success of The Social Network, with the hope of slickly transforming the mechanical beats of a timeline into a compelling story. While it may not meet those lofty expectations, it finds its fun in the details of contracts and the specifics of deal-making, reminding us that even when it’s not on a screen in our hands, it’s all one big game.
Important points:
– Hollywood continues to adapt existing material with pre-awareness.
– Recent trend of turning businesses and products into compelling stories.
– Trend has moved beyond traditional sources such as comic books and video games.
– Tetris follows the story of Henk, who becomes addicted to the game and seeks to become part of its success.
– Story is complex, but film finds its groove once the plot thickens.
– Film is refreshingly self-contained and propulsively plot-heavy, avoiding the bloat of a lengthy series.
– Film struggles to add any emotiveness to the story.
– Tetris finds its fun in the details of contracts and deal-making.