Tetris movie trailer has spies, pixels, and an Apple TV Plus release date

Apple’s first trailer has been released for its film “The Movie”. Tetris, which tells the extraordinary true story of the struggle between Western publishers, Nintendo, and the Soviet Union itself for the rights to Alexey Pajitnov’s classic puzzle game.

Taron Egerton portrays Henk Rogers as the game entrepreneur who helped discover it. Tetris and securing the console gaming rights, thus enabling its release on Nintendo’s then-revolutionary Game Boy handheld. He had to deal directly with Soviet officials, as Communist law required that Pajitnov, not the Soviet Union’s people, own the game. It was the beginning of all sorts of Cold War skulduggery.

It’s an incredible tale that forms the centerpiece of David Sheff’s classic book Play Over, which chronicles Nintendo’s early rise. The film, directed by Jon S. Baird, seems to take a pretty broad approach to the material, drenching it in ’80s pop needle drops, car chases (for some reason), retro game effects reminiscent of the dreadful Adam Sandler vehicle Pixels, and Egerton tearing up as he describes “the perfect game.” Still, it’s fun to see legendary figures of the early video game business portrayed on screen, such as odious British media tycoon Robert Maxwell (Roger Allam), smooth Nintendo of America boss Howard Lincoln (Ben Miles, who gets to do a wonderfully silly and dramatic Game Boy reveal), and terrifying Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi (Togo Igawa).

Tetris Apple TV Plus streaming will begin on March 31.