When one thinks of the blockbuster, block-spinning game Tetris, one might not think of international intrigue and Soviet secret police chases through the streets of Moscow. But that’s the story of how the game came to be, as presented in Apple TV+’s tense trailer to its original movie that shares the game’s name.
The ad copy reads, “The game you couldn’t put down. The story you couldn’t make up,” and that’s pretty spot-on.
Taron Egerton reunites with his Kingsman director and Rocketman producer Matthew Vaughn to play Henk Rogers, who in 1988 discovers “the perfect game” that was created in then-Soviet Russia and becomes immediately addicted.
He becomes equally obsessed with bringing Tetris to the masses, but that’s no easy lift, what with skeptical game companies and, of course, the Iron Curtain and all.
“The Soviet Union has worldwide rights. Nothing gets out easily,” he explains, pinning his fortunes on winning over inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov), as well as the USSR’s government.
Pre-Perestroika, however, that’s anything but guaranteed.
“The most powerful men in Communist Party are watching you and your family,” Pajitnov warns him.
The streamer teases, “Based on a true story, Tetris is a Cold War–era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes and a nail-biting race to the finish.”
Tetris debuts March 31.
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