Nerve is an adventure thriller film which comes from directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who some may know for their work on Catfish (2010). The film stars Emma Roberts and Dave Franco who play two adventurous teens, they become enticed with the game known as “Nerve”. It’s a dangerous game where people complete dares sent to them on their mobile for money by people who are watching them complete the dares on their phones. But could it all go wrong? Is the film worth seeing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i950RnQuqP8
Before going in to see this film, I wasn’t entirely sure it was going to be any good. Sure the concept isn’t something I have really seen before, but the trailer didn’t really sell me on the experience for some reason. But I’m glad I did go to see Nerve, it’s a fun, fresh film and one that I think many will find very entertaining should they choose to see it at their nearest cinema this weekend.
Nerve is one of these light popcorn films you can go and see one night, have a bit of fun with and then maybe forget about it after a couple of months. But on the night watching it, it’s not a bad watch and you might even rewatch it a few times if you really love it.
As a teenage genre film it comes with a lot of hidden themes in there, such as following the crowd, doing things under peer pressure and also some ethical dilemmas which are there should someone really want to go into them in their spare time. It’s something that I do enjoy because I do like a film with a bit of meaning to it and Nerve doesn’t really push its core meaning right into your face, it’s sort of subtle and I love that about it.
Surprisingly the acting is quite good from Dave Franco in this film and I have to say that this was probably the most enjoyable Dave Franco performance I have seen and also in my view, his best film so far. I would enjoy seeing more of this pleasant Dave Franco on screen, instead of the maniac that I’ve become accustomed to. Emma Roberts put in a solid and believable performance for her character Vee. Both actors had characters that were good enough that I did come to care about what happened to them in the end and both actors got had great roles to play, with great on screen chemistry too. I would be very happy to see more from these two in the future.
Nerve isn’t all perfect though, other characters in the film that are not the main two are kind of uninteresting. There’s occasional silly dialogue and strange moments that could possibly make some cinema goers squirm in their seats. But as the film isn’t one that I’d say should be taken so seriously, I’m happy to overlook this a bit.
Another thing worth mentioning is that Nerve is also a bit short, its run time is 96 minutes. While it was enough to take the story from beginning to end without pushing it too far, with the fast pacing that the film has, it does feel a little quick at the end.
Overall I was quite impressed with Nerve. It had an interesting new story that I hadn’t really seen before and it’s also a very fun adventure thriller to watch. Dave Franco was a joy to watch in this film and I do believe it’s his best film so far and Emma Roberts was also very impressive as well. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman did well to keep the film engaging, fun and interesting. The film has a fairly light tone and is a fun teen movie experience with some hidden themes and meanings subtly added in. Its an enjoyable and interesting experience and one I hope others have fun with too.
