Apple has released its first trailer for Tetris, a biographical drama about one of the most important games in history starring Taron Egerton. It’s a game that many people will recognise. It’s the game that became a global sensation. I barely even know anyone who hasn’t played the game, if not, at least they know it.
Back in 2020, it was revealed that Tetris was being developed into a film. Of course, many wondered what the film would turn out to be. Many gamers have seen Adam Sandler’s Pixels, and many did worry that it would turn out the same way. But some even hoped that it would be like The Lego Movie, which turned out to be a lot of fun.
No one really knew what to expect. But Tetris director Jon S. Baird assured that the film would be closer to Social Network, which is a film about the social media giant, Facebook. In other words, it’s a drama.
Tetris the movie is based on a true-to-life story of Henk Rogers and how he got Tetris into the hands of gamers all around the world. While the game was made by Alexey Pajitnov, Rogers is the main reason why Tetris is a global phenomenon.
Taron Egerton stars as Henk Rogers in Apple’s Tetris
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Apple just released the trailer and I was actually very impressed by it. And yes, it is closer to Social Network. But I can’t shake the fact that the movie actually reminds me of Ben Affleck’s Argo, which is another historical drama.
During the 80s, at the height of the cold war, Russia and the US weren’t on speaking terms. At the time, everyone was worried that a war would break out at any time.
Alexey Pajitnov worked for the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union; not only that, but his work was also involved with the KGB. Since his game was made using software and hardware from the government. It was going to be difficult selling the game. But somehow, it did spread like wildfire in Russia, and eventually got out of the country and reached the US.
Henk Rogers is known for getting Tetris for Nintendo’s Gameboy. Getting the rights for the Gameboy was the most important one because, at the time, no one owned the rights outside Russia. But that is the interesting part. Rogers had to fight for the rights against Robert Stein of Andromeda Software and Kevin Maxwell of Mirrorsoft. Not only that, but it would be interesting to see how Nintendo got the rights for consoles and handhelds.
In the end, Henk Rogers also helped Alexey Pajitnov immigrate to the United States. They were able to get the rights from Nintendo when it expired. Finally, Rogers and Pajitnov started The Tetris Company.
Tetris Trailer Reveals That It’s More than a game
Credit: Apple TV Plus
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The director of the film Jon Baird is known for making Stan and Ollie with Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly. The movie was also a biographical film based on Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. The film has had high praise from critics, has received several nominations and has won a couple of awards.
I also wonder if we’ll get to see a cinematic version of Shigeru Miyamoto, who is famous for making Mario Bros. He was also involved (even for a small bit) in getting Tetris for Nintendo.
With that said, the Tetris movie might be something a lot of gamers might look into. I, for one, am looking forward to it. Although I still have reserved feelings about it because the trailer showed some car chases that I’m not sure if it’s real. Because even though I am familiar with the history of the game, I don’t really know if car chases did happen in real life. Or is that just for the cinema?
As I mentioned earlier, this reminded me of Argo, where they added a chase scene at the end to make it more exciting. But that never really happened in real life.
But I do believe that the tension is there. Other than trying to get the business deals done, these people were in a country that was still at the centre of the Cold War, which only ended in 1991. At any point, their lives could have shifted to something more than they expected.
What do you think of the Tetris trailer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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