Tetris

Available on Apple TV+

Apple’s latest big budget foray is not dissimilar to another recent release, Ben Affleck’s Air, in the sense that it manages to construct an intriguing (if not a little formulaic) picture out of an incredibly niche topic. In this instance, the subject is the race to license and patent the video game Tetris during the late 1980s, a contest which was made all the more complicated by the fact that the original intellectual property was owned by Soviet Russia.

Noah Pink’s screenplay taps into that Cold War paranoia well, constructing an overarching tone that means Tetris blends the playful hue of its video-game aesthetic with a welcome amount of shade. Alas, Jon S. Baird’s cautious direction (which jars with previous work such as the delightfully caustic Filth) ensures that viewers are seldom left doubting whether a happy ending is in order, with the film’s final act literally descending into a car chase that looks and feels as if it’s been lifted straight out of an arcade game.

Taron Egerton’s energetic lead performance is undoubtedly key to the film’s overall appeal (though it sometimes feels like a pastiche of Wolf of Wall Street DiCaprio), and praise also ought to go to the film’s overall style, which plays on the comfort blanket charms of both the 80s and retro video games to craft a distinct look and feel. While Tetris is unlikely to live as long in pop culture consciousness as its namesake, there’s plenty to like about this charming affair.