MOVIE REVIEW | Nerve

Nerve was such a thrilling movie and I had so much fun watching it! I did have some faults here and there, but the pros definitely outweighed the cons. If you don't know, Nerve is based off of the YA novel of the same name written by Jeanne Ryan. The plot centers around Venus, or Vee. She is a shy upcoming college freshman who is anything but outgoing. Vee decides to become a player in a Nerve, a game like truth or dare without the truth. The watchers give out dares to players, and the more dangerous they are, the more money the players receive. The movie was released on July 27th, and I saw it on the 31st. I'm going to review the movie in three parts, one for each act.

Act 1

The movie opens up with a shot of Vee, played by Emma Roberts, on her computer looking at her email, facebook, and video chatting with her best friend Sydney, played by Emily Meade, all at the same time. The opening scene shows how much technology and social media play a huge part in Vee's life, and it is a good setting stone for the game. Time passes, and basically all the important characters sans Ian are introduced. There's Tommy (Miles Heizer), who is one of Vee's friends and is in love with her, and Vee's overprotective mother, Nancy (Juiette Lewis). Immediately I was able to connect to Vee. She's smart and loyal, but feels overshadowed by her eccentric best friend. Time passes, and Vee eventually signs up as a player in Nerve after being goaded by her friends. This is when things start picking up. I loved watching Vee break out of her shell and take dares. It wasn't like she was becoming a completely different person, but it seemed as if she was shedding some of her insecurities. My favorite scene by far in the first act was Vee's first dare, when she has to kiss a stranger. She kisses Ian, who is also a player in Nerve, and there starts the adventure. The whole entire scene was this question of "will she or won't she?" and it is easy to put yourself in her shoes. I was smiling ear to ear watching it! 

Act 2

The second act kicks off with Vee continuing on with the game and partnering up with Ian. This isn't a spoiler, as it is revealed in the trailer. The second act is actually my favorite; it is the most light-hearted out of all of them. The movie continues to follow Vee, Ian, Sydney, and another player called Ty and their crazy dares. Some of the dares are fun, while others have severe repercussions. Ty, for instance, lays on railroad tracks as a train passes over in order to advance into the finals, narrowly avoiding death. What I loved most about this second act was how fun and hooking it is. It makes you think, "Would I do that?" Vee and Ian are likable enough that you like to watch them, but I like how self aware the movie is.

Nerve doesn't necessarily force you to like Ian or Vee, they're just characters that are fun to watch and follow along. They're not one dimensional by any means, but their characters aren't too complex to take away from the liveliness of the movie. By far my favorite scene of the second act is when Ian and Vee are in an couture clothing store trying on clothes. They're actual clothes get stolen, and they have no choice but to run out of the store only in their underwear. It makes for an easygoing scene that made my sister and I laugh out loud. Emma Roberts and Dave Franco's chemistry make it really stand out; it was when I started actually caring about the characters.

 Act 3

Last is the third act. While entertaining, this is when I had the most trouble suspending my disbelief. While Nerve does seem far-fetched, it was fun to think about how it would be implemented in our world. However, the game takes on a more sinister turn here, and it just lacked believability. While the movie was still entertaining, it wasn't as convincing. One thing I did really love about the third act though is that I didn't figure out the twist until a minute or two before it was revealed. I was kept on my toes, and I loved that I didn't guess it too early on. The last ten minutes or so also stood out. It ties everything together quite nicely, and it left me content and happy.
 

Extra Thoughts

My other favorite scene that I didn't mention was the fight between Syndey and Vee. The movie was building up towards it since the beginning, and the payoff was great. I think it was one of the strongest scenes in the movie, and Roberts and Meade acted greatly in it. Their dialogue was hard-hitting and raw, but didn't go too over the top. I think anyone in my generation (I'm 17) would be able to easily relate to the fight, since we are all at the high school/college era where a lot of change is happening. However, I don't think an older demographic would connect with the scene, or even the movie for that matter. 

While I did have my complaints about Nerve, I thought it was an entertaining movie that didn't make you think too hard. Yes, it could make you think about the role of technology and the self obsession that comes with it, but it doesn't make you think unless you want to.  It's a great movie to watch with a group of people and just have fun. Nerve doesn't have too much substance and isn't that hard-hitting, but it does do what movies do best: entertain.

With that, I give this book to movie adaption
4 out of 5 Stars! 
 

Have you read or watched Nerve yet? Hopefully I'll pick up the book soon and compare and contrast the two!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!