Nerve
/"Are you a watcher or a player?"
Filmology Rating: 2.38 out of 4
Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts) is a high school senior that lacks confidence. She has always been in the background and has been afraid to speak up and say what she wants. When this new game called Nerve comes to New York, an online game that challenges people to do dares for money, she decides that it’s time for a change and live a little. In this online game, you either choose to be a watcher or a player and she decides to be a player. Her first dare is to kiss a stranger for 5 seconds and this strangers name is Ian (Dave Franco) who is also a player. Their lives and their dares soon become intertwined and they start to gain popularity. As the game progresses, so do the rewards and also the danger.
Nerve really surprised me and I mean that in a good way! When I first watched the trailer months ago, I thought that it was a really unique idea but nothing more. I was really surprised because I was really wrong about this film! I really enjoyed the uniqueness of Nerve and thought that it was a very interesting story that has a lot to offer.
I want to get my issue with Nerve out of the way first. During the film, the premise is that Police and Authorities aren’t aware of this game and what's going on. This to me is ridiculous because everyone is live streaming this game and hundreds of thousands of people are watching online. There is no way that they wouldn’t be aware of what is going on and then wouldn’t shut down the game. However, if you just role with it and don't let this get to you, then this movie will be a ton of fun. On to the good stuff now!
I really liked the plot of this movie. In a day and age of Hollywood where there are so many movies that are all the same, it’s great when something unique comes around. We live in a world filled with technology so this game, while taken to extremes towards the end, I could see actually being a thing. Millions of people each day watch other people stream video games or listen to video logs of these people. I could really see a phone app like this being a real thing someday. I really like movies with an “unrealistic” or “far-fetched” plot that could one day actually be true. It’s always fun to see and image what it would be like if this was a reality someday.
Adding to uniqueness of the plot, Nerve was exciting! It was a very fast paced and nerve racking (You guys know that pun was intended…. ) to watch as each level of dares got more crazy and more dangerous. Some of these dares were extremely stressful to watch. They really put you in the moment where it made you feel like it was you doing the dare and your life was on the line. Adding to the suspense was some fantastic visuals to go with it. Everything is very colorful and full of the city lights and neon. Equally electrifying as the lights was the great soundtrack throughout. Some fantastic sounds from the composer Rob Simonson and some great songs by many various artists. So all of these factors added up to one very entertaining movie!
Now does Nerve does get a little preachy with its social commentary on wanting to be internet famous at all costs and the morality of the internet. I have read several reviews of people having fault with this but I really don't have any issue with it. I feel the need to be internet famous at all costs was portrayed realistically and it’s actually a real issue in today’s society. So I didn’t have any issues with these two topics but I can understand why some people would.
Overall, I really liked Nerve and it surpassed my expectations! It was a very suspenseful and exciting ride that a lot of people will enjoy.
Rating: See It
-Nick