Nerve

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 just be a watcher, or be 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 as Vee realizes that there's no getting out of this game.

Nerve, the film adaptation of Jeanne Ryan's successful novel The Game Is Over When We Say It Is, 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 nevertheless the makers succeed in the end to bring this still to the complete buckling.

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

Without wanting to give too much away, it should be said that the finale has been so softened to yes lead to a politically correct happy ending that it almost seems unintentionally funny. 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 try to row back a little bit in the last shot doesn't help anymore.

A lot of good potential has been wasted here 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

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp