Nerve (2016)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Living in Staten Island, Vee (Emma Roberts) wants to take a risk and step outside of her comfort zone, so she decides to join Nerve, an online game where players take their chances with dangerous challenges to win money. Vee quickly outshines her best friend, Sydney (Emily Meade) as one of Nerve’s popular players, while her friend Tommy (Miles Heizer) and Vee’s mother, Nancy (Juliette Lewis) worry about her safety.

Another player named Ian (Dave Franco) forms a duo with Vee, as the dares become more dangerous. Nerve’s watchers throw their support behind Ian and Vee as the flavor of the night. But the it team will have to deal with Ty (Machine Gun Kelly), Nerve’s most dedicated and fearless player, if they want win and escape the game. 

My Thoughts- Vee is a simple and relatable character. She’s young, she’s scared about going out into the world on her own, and Vee doesn’t want to leave her single mother alone after her brother’s death. Vee is at that stage in her life, where it’s time to take that big leap into the real world. Emma Roberts delivers a believable performance, as a nerdy kid, who’s still stuck in her shell, going through the growing pains of transitioning into adulthood.

The friendship and dynamic between Vee and Sydney is one of the bigger storylines in Nerve. Vee is frustrated with being Sydney’s sidekick. Sydney is noticeably jealous, as Vee’s popularity continues to rise. Sydney resents Vee, because Sydney craves attention and validation. Vee is stealing her spotlight, but Vee doesn’t see it that way. She’s just trying to have fun, breaking away from her usual safe and predictable lifestyle. 

Of course, you know at some point there’s going to be a big argument between Vee and Sydney. They’ll angrily hurl deeply personal insults at each other, and that’s exactly what happens at the party. It’s a predictable step by step process, leading up to the moment where Vee and Sydney decide to bury the hatchet.

Emily Meade really nailed Sydney’s outbursts at the party. You can buy into the anger and heartbreak, as she’s tearing into Vee, because she’s upset her best friend vented to someone else (Ian), who’s basically a complete stranger. Solid execution for playing out the drama between Sydney and Vee, but as soon as Vee decides to join Nerve, and you see Sydney’s reaction to it, it’s easy to see where everything is going. 

Dave Franco delivers a solid performance as Ian. He’s charming and ambitious, and Ian is someone Vee can trust. Franco and Roberts share good chemistry as a duo, with Ian being the guy, who helps bring Vee out of her comfort zone. 

Tommy having a crush on Vee is hinted at and teased, but ultimately Vee and Ian fall for each other. Roberts and Franco did a good job of playing off of each other, with their opposite personalities. Their relationship easily had more of a spark. Going the route of putting Vee and Tommy together would’ve been the more cliched and boring choice, because Vee and Ian were a more entertaining impromptu duo/couple.

My biggest problem with Nerve is, I never believed the main characters were in any real danger. Nerve is supposed to be this extremely dangerous game, where ANYTHING can happen. Sure, some of the dares are nail-biters. The ladder dare, and Ian needing to hit 60 mph on his bike blindfolded, while Vee guides him are a few good examples. Yeah, they showed a highlight reel of failed dares, and the one tragedy, where a player fell to his death during one of Ian’s old games. But Nerve leaned too heavily on the side of teasing that something bad could happen, instead of actually showing a truly disastrous outcome in the current storyline.

The final challenge? Ty shooting and “killing” Vee just wasn’t believable. Vee faking her death as a ruse to help shutdown Nerve for good was way too obvious. I get the idea behind Vee wanting to sacrifice herself to put a stop to Nerve, and scaring all the watchers into believing they’re accessories to murder. They tried to throw in another curveball, with Vee leaving Ian in the dark about her plans to make her death feel more realistic. I could’ve actually bought into Franco’s devastated reaction, if Nerve was more convincing about death being a serious possibility throughout the movie. 

Nerve was released in 2016, but the social commentary is still relevant today. I’d go as far as saying it’s more relevant today than it was eight years ago. Whether it’s TikTok, Twitter/X, or any other social media platform, the urge to go viral is something that continues to escalate. 

There’s definitely a lot of realism with people feeling the need to record themselves doing absolutely stupid things, hoping they’ll possibly turn their fifteen minutes of fame into a career. Add in the fact that Nerve players receive a bigger payout for bolder and more riskier dares, and you can easily see the connections to modern social media influencers or content creators.

Ty and Sydney are two perfect examples for real people that you would expect to play Nerve. Before she acknowledges her mistakes, Sydney is obsessed with the little bit of fame that comes from Nerve. She was willing to get suspended from school for flashing her butt, but Sydney didn’t care that much, because she gained more followers. Ty? He has the openly narcissistic and cocky personality that you’d expect from someone, who lives for the thrill of being watched and showing off.

There’s a happy ending all around, with Tommy and his hacker friend, Kween (Samira Wiley) working together to shutdown Nerve. Vee decides to go art school with her mother’s blessings, and Ian and Vee are officially together. 

New York was the right setting for Nerve. The bright lights, and the idea of the city that never sleeps, fits perfectly with Nerve’s non-stop and lively characteristics. There’s also a connection to Wu-Tang. Vee is a big fan of the legendary group. There’s a scene, where Vee raps along to C.R.E.A.M. as a distraction to help her get through the tattoo challenge, easily the perfect choice for a Wu-Tang song. 

Nerve is a vibrant and fun thriller, that moves at a fast pace. Roberts and Franco are two likable lead characters, and taking an interactive POV approach throughout the movie was a nice touch. It fits with Nerve’s theme to give you the impression that you’re apart of the game, or you’re at least watching everything unfold in real time. Some decent laughs every now and then, and there’s a handful of unanswered questions, but Nerve has a definitive ending, without any cheap cliffhangers.

Rating- 6/10