Nerve review: A refreshing, hugely enjoyable break-neck thriller that dares you to enjoy – and largely succeeds.
Nerve review by Paul Heath, August 2016.
From the people that brought you the likes of Catfish and the third and fourth instalments of the Paranormal Activity franchise comes this neat, teen-friendly action thriller that stars faves Emma Roberts and Dave Franco. Nerve is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Jeanne Ryan, and is a young adult thriller that was first published in 2012.
The story follows teenager Vee, a high-schooler literally about to make the big transition to college. Doubting her chosen path and battling a seemingly futile crush on a fellow class-mate, Vee is lured into the world of Nerve, an interactive social game where one can sign up as either a watcher or a player; watchers watch, comment and tip, while players are dared by them to carry out challenges – the more dangerous, the more money they can earn. After a life-altering incident in a local cafe, Vee signs up as a player, much to the bemusement of her friend Sydney (Emily Meade), one of the game’s most prolific players. On her first dare, Vee encounters fellow Nerve player Ian (Dave Franco) and the two are almost immediately paired to conduct various dares together. As their social standing starts to rise on the online platform, the stakes are raised and the dares become more and more dangerous… Who will win, and who will survive…?
Now that The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent have pretty much run their course, it’s obvious that Lionsgate are looking for the next big teen franchise as their big money-spinner. Obviously comparable to those aforementioned properties due to its conception as a popular young adult novel, Nerve is actually a pretty decent watch and shows a lot of promise, particularly during its first two-thirds. Roberts is excellent in the strong female lead role as Vee, though Franco also delights in an almost scene stealing role as the rather good looking, chiselled, slightly older bad bay who may have more that one hidden agenda as he navigates the potentially dangerous world of Nerve. The two shine in almost every scene with oodles of on-screen chemistry and are backed by a wonderful young cast as their teen peers.
Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman employ tons of computer aided trickery in bringing Jessica Shazer’s version of Ryan’s book to the screen with frequent emojis, screen grabs and GoPro mobile footage lighting up our screen throughout. While constant, it’s never a strain on the senses, the pace of the film also balancing the ferocious action sequences alongside the needed character development of our two lead actors. Shazer’s script is actually pretty tight, only let down by its slightly overblown climax when the scale of the film is magnified significantly. Nerve is best at its most basic, which is definitely during its first two thirds. The ending also attempts to throw things wide-open for a follow-up, which I’m sure will come if the film does well, but the story probably has just about enough legs for this one-off stand alone, which, as it stands, still remains to be a really rather enjoyable watch.
Nerve is a visual feast, stylishly crafted. Pokemon Go meets The Running Man for the social networking generation with tons of morality questions and metaphors about the dangers of today’s mobile, attention seeking social networking generation. Some scenes will have you wincing, some shaking with anger, but the film always grips and holds you until the final frames. We rather liked it.
Nerve review by Paul Heath, August 2016.
Nerve is released in UK cinemas on Thursday August 12th.
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