Nerve - Blu-ray

Film: A new game has made its way out of the darknet and onto the smartphones of thousands of users. The game is called Nerve, and it offers its users the chance to either be a Watcher only, or a Player for a chance at money and fame within the online community. For this, some increasingly risky tests of courage must be completed. Sounds pretty simple, actually. And so the shy Vee (Emma Roberts) is persuaded by her friend Sydney (Emily Meade) to register as a player for the illegal game. On her first dare, she meets Ian (Dave Franco), another player who is assigned to her as a game partner. Together, the two master test of courage after test of courage and become the new heroes of the game. But that night holds some unpleasant surprises in store when Vee realizes that there's no getting out of this game just like that.

Nerve, the film adaptation of Jeanne Ryan's successful novel The Game Is Over When We Say It, doesn't just start off extremely interesting in terms of content. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Paranormal Activity 3 + 4) have also come up with some interesting ways to transport smartphone content to the screen for the visuals of their thriller. The beginning feels fresh, engaging, and extremely entertaining. Then, when you consider the hype Pokemon Go has recently generated, the idea of such a game captivating more and more users and turning successful participants into regular stars doesn't seem so far-fetched. So the story soon has its feet firmly on the ground. And yet, towards the end, the creators still manage to make it buckle completely.

At some point, Vee realizes that Nerve is not pure fun, but a really dangerous game, whose makers she has completely exposed herself to through her completely careless use of social networks. In itself, another exciting part of what is, at its core, a really good story. But for all of this to work and perhaps lead to some kind of critical thinking among young viewers about the display of their own private lives on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and the like, it would have required a very consistent continuation of the story from this point on. But that's exactly what it doesn't come to.

Without giving too much away, let it be said that the finale has been so soft-pedaled to yes lead to a politically correct happy ending that it almost seems unintentionally comical. What still seems relatively believable at the beginning, degenerates into an absolutely nonsensical laughing stock by the end. Sure, you might wish that a little hack would be enough to give morality back to people who feel protected by the anonymity of the internet. But even if you assume that this would be the case, it certainly wouldn't happen the way it does in this more than disappointing finale. The fact that they then try to row back a little in the final shot doesn't help either, unfortunately.

Here a lot of good potential was given away, in order not to overwhelm the young target audience with something like a complex story that forces active thinking and critical reflection. This is not only a shame, but downright annoying. Because it's not only that a film that was good for long stretches completely falls off in terms of quality in the end. The film would have had what it takes to lead to discussions, which are nipped in the bud by the ending, which is all good in the end. And that's only good enough for one: Still worth seeing with some reservations!

Image + Sound: The visual realization of the film for the Blu-ray leaves an all-around positive impression. Colors are punchy, contrasts are cohesive, and image sharpness is at a good to very good level even in the many darker scenes. The sound is dominated by the powerful soundtrack, but also lets the dialogue well understandable and some sound effects sound dynamically from the boxes. With this, one can be more than satisfied as a viewer.

Extras: The bonus material is divided into two categories. Under Watcher you will find a documentary about the making of the film that is worth watching (approx. 25:09 min.), a German-language promo making of (approx. 4:03 min.), a few outtakes (approx. 2:46 min.), as well as a featurette from the New York music festival Governor`s Ball, where some of the visitors played the game Nerve (approx. 2:44 min.). Under the point Player there are two interactive features. The first one is a somewhat weakened version of the game. The second feature is a test if you are a watcher or a player. For the target audience, two really nice extras.

Conclusion: Nerve starts promisingly with a good story and a visually gripping implementation. Unfortunately, the potential built up here is (almost) completely wasted in the end, which leaves a bland aftertaste. Overall, however, the novel adaptation is an exciting and entertaining film for its youthful target audience. On Blu-ray, the film presents itself in good picture and sound quality and also has some good extras on board. This is enough, despite the disappointing ending, for a clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp