The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 15, 2023. [13] It premiered on Apple TV+ on March 31, 2023. [14] According to a Samba TV research panel of 3.1 million smart television households who tuned in for at least one minute, Tetris drew in 88,000 viewers in its first two days. [15] Reception [ edit ] Critical response [ edit ]

In February 2021, filming took place in Aberdeen at locations including the University of Aberdeen’s Zoology Building, which was used as the headquarters of Soviet firm Elorg, and Seamount Court which was used for several scenes. Production then returned to Glasgow for a few days, before wrapping in early March 2021. Is this the most effective way to tell this story?” is a question that repeats itself when watching these types of shows and films, one wondering if a documentary or even a long read might have been preferable. While almost two hours, Tetris is refreshingly self-contained and propulsively plot-heavy, avoiding the bloat that weighs down so many 10-part series that could have been told in one chunk. Our protagonist is Henk, a Dutch-born gaming entrepreneur raised in the US played by Taron Egerton, and we meet him in 1988 as he’s trying to sell a self-designed game at a convention. It’s a bust and his failure leads him to another stall where a Russian game called Tetris is being peddled. He’s immediately addicted and starts a quest to find out how he can become a part of its inevitable success. Production had to be shut down temporarily after a coronavirus case on set in Glasgow. Taron Egerton tested negative but still self-isolated for weeks. I watched this film earlier today, I loved it! Sure its completely silly and barely grounded in reality but what did you expect of a movie based on Tetris? As many have pointed out there are multiple documentaries following the truth. Its very clear that its not following the real life events, more taking the idea and running with it to make a movie very inspired by over the top 1980s/early 90s action thrillers. Very fun. Clemente says a big driver behind the appeal of CTWC events is the carefree atmosphere the game fosters, something that's very different from attending a tournament for, say, a game centred on gun violence. "Unlike other e-sport communities that can be somewhat toxic, the Tetris community is supportive of each other," he claims. "I think ultimately that comes from the fact that you're really just playing a game against yourself. You're the one responsible for how you play and what you score. As far as the community [goes], we all speak the same language, Tetris, and that's what brings us together."Tetris received nominations for Best Music and Best Action/Thriller TrailerByte for a Feature Film at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards. [18] [19] Egerton was nominated for Best Actor at the 6th Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards. [20] Lawsuit [ edit ] But that retelling has just about enough in it to keep us mostly engaged, partly because we’re still so starved of juicy workplace drama ( there’s a reason why the few office-based shows like Severance, Industry and Succession were so popular last year) and that’s essentially what this is, characters in suits trying to get what they want from each other, no matter how ruthless that might make them. Tetris finds its fun in the details of contracts and the specifics of deal-making, realising that even when it’s not on a screen in your hands, it’s all one big game. Apple Original Films unveils trailer for 'Tetris,' new thriller starring Taron Egerton" (Press release). Apple TV+. 16 February 2023 . Retrieved 16 February 2023. With the new Apple+ film sure to turbo-charge awareness of Tetris, and the 2018 franchise reboot Tetris Effect bringing the game to modern consoles, subsequently adding an extension where up to three people could play together co-operatively, Brown is confident younger generations will soon start looking at Tetris with the same sort of respect as they do chess. "As soon as Tetris begins, the player understands deeply that this is a challenge worth returning to," he adds. "It's simpler and easier to learn than chess and is no less challenging. Many might argue it's a lot more fun too." Yefremov is solid as Alexey throughout the movie, but honestly, he doesn’t get much to work with. He’s much quieter than Henk, but his humble home and his modesty make him relatable. But aside from these two, many of the characters feel like caricatures or tropes, particularly the Maxwells of Mirrorsoft, the KGB, and most of the Russian characters. They feel like comic book villains, and even if it’s fun to watch Toby Jones as Robert Stein of Andromeda Software, it’s at odds with the more serious elements of Tetris.

All this is immediately apparent if you've read books like The Tetris Effect or Tetris: The Games People Play, which lay out the actual history of the game's long journey outside Russia with much more care and detail. Alternatively, you could hunt down a 2004 BBC documentary that also provides a more direct account of the real drama surrounding Tetris' complicated Soviet-era licensing drama.Taron Egerton, who is pretty much the best thing about the film, carries the weight of the lead role quite well, but you have to recognize the limits of the script he was given. Henk Rogers, the man most directly responsible for bringing Tetris to the West, helped set expectations at an early press screening of Apple TV's Tetris movie, which premieres on the streaming service Friday. "It's not a documentary," Rogers said of a film that casts him as a fearless hero working to extract the game from the grip of a brutal, dying '80s Soviet bureaucracy. "Don't expect to see that this is exactly how it happened."