Is the Tetris Movie Accurate?

I wasn't expecting game grumps to be in a movie today but oh well

I certainly think Robert Stein's portrayal was more balanced, and appreciated that a lot! I think of him most through his own confessions of self-disappointment in the BBC Tetris documentary. He made a bad deal, and was a bit too focused on his own needs, but came out of it losing the most. I empathise with him a lot. I would be interested to hear more about his life to be honest, his searching for games across Europe has always been a really interesting part of the Tetris story. He is still to thank for the legacy.

"Those aren't level 28 colors, Rob " 😂😂😂

I love how Kevin Maxwell was just like “Sounds about right, but you’re giving my dad too much credit.”

Really great review! I liked the way you talked - as a story teller yourself - about the ways the film makers added some things and compressed the timeline to improve their story telling. Usually film critics are'nt film makers themselfs, but you are. And you're using this to great effect here! Well done!

As a person who's done a lot of similar work having to do research and making a good story, it's not something that's easy. They did a good job, a bit overboard as you said but when making a story to be seen by the masses, you have to condense many things and sometimes omit events in order to focus on what the story is supposed to be.

2:45 as a non-tetris player you do a good job at this. You have made me interested in following the competitive tetris scene because of your vids 🎉

I really admire your work and have enjoyed learning about the classic tetris community through your accessible and compelling coverage

Great review, you didn't get hung up on small details or even large "hollywoodisms" and were grounded and realistic, with an overall positive tone that is the truth at the end, if this bring more interest in Tetris, even a little bit, that's a huge win for the community!

I think the transitions to 8 bit animation during the car chase helped to show that part is less authentic. I think they did that sequence well but I'm not surprised that part is not based on reality.

Great review. Love Gaming Historian's documentary and have watched it many times so needless to say it was so great seeing that story come to life, even if they did take some liberties with making the story to make it more dramatic. But loved the movie and your review. Keep up the great work! :)

I enjoyed your review of the film. I admire your perspective because you've shown what it's like to do good storytelling through your videos that keep viewers engaged. I was more critical of the movie because I could not overlook some of the exaggerations such as the Russian embassy threatening Henk's Family. Also, I did not really feel a lot of tension in the business meeting scenes. But that was because I had read Dan Ackerman's book on the History of Tetris. The book went more into depth on the meetings. Which might be difficult to portray in the movie without it being boring.

One of the 80's TV shows I spent my childhood watching was Dallas. That show involved the Ewings getting a lot of things sorted out in a place called Southfork Ranch while going back and forth as bitter rivalries. I find that a little similar to the Tetris movie because these people had so many things to sort out in order to get the Tetris rights of Russia's grasp and into its rightful owner.

Great input as always, Scout! I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.

Every video on this channel is always top notch!

10:30 - you misspoke saying that Stein comes across better than in the "internet historian" video - might wanna add a subtitle correction to "gaming historian"

How chill kevin maxwell was about his portrayal made me like him lol

You know, even with the small details and hollywoodisms, I still really enjoyed this movie. I think it captured the heart of the story behind tetris, and did a good job at doing that while not making too many compromises on truth.

awesome stuff, this is my favorite tetris movie review so far

Fun(?) Fact that the movie didn't touch on, two of the bidders for Tetris that Henk Rogers beat to the punch, including Maxwell, were active CIA assets at the time.