Nerve (2016)

I went to see this film because it had a great trailer. Upon seeing "Nerve", I couldn't find any fault that completely overshadowed the film's good points. I could tell that it was made for teens and it should appeal to them quite nicely. The film had an unpredictable plot, suspense and some good acting. The themes of the movie were also noteworthy. However, while the plot kept you guessing, it could have done a better job at telling the story at certain points. The movie is based on a book so I will do my best to avoid critiquing the story and focus on the aspects that are exclusively cinematic.

The film was tense to watch at certain scenes but the filmmakers could have upped-the-ante by having the online game run but an actual character or characters. To have the game run by Watchers takes away some of the threat level. I can overlook this though because perhaps the filmmakers were sticking to the original source material. The enjoyed the opening scenes because some of the characters were established pretty well but others were not. I wish Ian's back-story were better portrayed because he is the second protagonist after Vee. The most uninteresting character in the film was Tommy because he seemed too young and average to be a hacker. In other words, his appearance and demeanor did not match that of a typical computer expert. On another subject, I didn't quite accept how fast Vee and Sydney made up after their fight. From the beginning of the show, I felt Sydney was quite a bad friend to Vee and that their argument was warranted. The best aspect of “Nerve” is its themes. A lot of people can learn a few things from this story such as it's all fun and games until you realize there are always consequences to your actions (even as just a Watcher). "Nerve" for me is symbolic of any social media site or even the Internet itself because it can be either a tool or a weapon. Other themes explore peer pressure and how the opinion of the majority is not always the right choice. I admire that the filmmakers stuck to a PG-13 rating so that young teens could see the movie and learn from it. They cut a few risqué scenes for that reason.

The only actor I recognize is Dave Franco from the "Now You See Me" franchise. The best acting in "Nerve" came from Emily Meade as Sydney because I believed her performance completely. The movie as a whole was entertaining thanks to its captivating story and themes but the execution of the plot was a little flawed. The movie could have been even better if it had targeted moviegoers of all ages instead of just teenagers.

3.5 Stars