When I travel to Moscow alone, I usually get held at the immigration counter by one or more Russian ladies. And, it’s not what you think. It’s their way of welcoming a foreigner who speaks zero Russian. This not only makes me feel like a spy trying to enter an unknown territory but also makes me wonder about the era of cold war. At least from the point of view of political or spy thriller movies, it is quite an interesting feeling. The story of Tetris is based exactly on such a premise.

Alexey Pajitnov was the original creator of the game Tetris which he developed out of boredom while working at the Soviet Computer Science Center. His story is an interesting one to tell. But, the movie is envisioned from the American point of view and through the lens of Henk Rogers played by Taron Egerton who later partnered with Alexey Pajitnov played by Nikita Efremov to establish the Tetris Company (TTC) and manage its licensing rights. Some of us knew the story of how these two gentlemen got hold of the worldwide publishing rights for Tetris but for most of us, it’s a roller-coaster ride.

The story begins when Henk Rogers comes across the game Tetris at an arcade in Vegas. His vision for the game was spectacularly spot on. While the game was already a hit in the soviet union, he instantly knew the value of such an addictive game for the world. He then tries to convince his banker friend to write him a check of million dollars to purchase publishing rights for Arcade, PC, and Console for his company Bulletproof Software in Japan. He knew at this point that either he could go bankrupt or become a millionaire if all plays out well. His Japanese wife, who was his other business partner in Bulletproof Software, somehow agreed to his gamble.

The movie then kicks off to a roller-coaster ride with Henk approaching Alexey in the USSR and dealing with the soviets. The movie makes a valid point that even a state like the USSR who boasts of communism has its greed when it comes to earning money. The hilarious twists and turns are part of this joy ride. Henk’s dealing with Mirrorsoft and Robert Stein in the USSR and also how the soviet officials were ready to hijack the entire situation.

The ending is very similar to Argo’s plane take off scene where Henk and Alexey eagerly wait to fly off the USSR. Overall, this movie will definitely give you a feeling of playing a strategic game which the director tries to portray through different game levels as if they are some chapters in a story book.

The only disappointing fact about this movie is that this movie offers nothing about the co-creator of the game Tetris, Vladimir Pokhilko. He along with Alexey have designed the game in Moscow. It would surprise many of us that his entire family (including him) was found dead in the US in 1998. Many say that it was the Russian Mafia. And FBI got involved to portray this as a suicide. Strange, isn’t it?

I would recommend watching this movie along with the docuseries The Tetris Murders.