At some point, taking risks is something that we all need to do. Yeah, it’s both fun and scary, but it’s also needed for survival. As seen in Nerve, taking chances can be dangerous, but there are sometimes opportunities for growth and change. Whether that change is good almost completely depends on the type of risks being taken and the individuals who are taking them.
Here, the person who is in the early stages of learning the importance of risk taking is Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts), a young woman about to graduate from high school. Throughout her young life, she’s been known as a person adverse to taking chances, but a little peer pressure and some embarrassing moments start to change that. These events awaken something inside of her and serve as a catalyst for her joining in on an adrenaline-fueled competition filled with danger that’s all the rage with kids across the country.
Nerve is the kind of movie where you really don’t mind that the actors aren’t the greatest that Hollywood has to offer. Instead of relying on fantastic acting skills, this depends more on the adventure that’s taking place all around the characters. I mean, throwing an innocent type of character directly into the middle of it as its primary protagonist certainly helps in creating that sense of adventure, but the actors themselves isn’t what carry the movie.
These thrilling aspects of the film also aid in turning this from the usual flick geared toward teenage girls and into more of an energetic, cohesive ride that’s fit for various members of the viewing public. Through much of it, there’s an honest chance for viewers of all kinds to get immersed in all that’s being offered. Many other movies attempt and fail to do this, but here, it’s done quite well and effectively.
For some, this may be something that can be felt again and again if they watch this multiple times, but for others, that may not be the case. That’s largely because of the direction that the film takes. For all of its excitement, Nerve ends up playing it far too safe far too often. By doing this, you remove some of the tension that you encounter through a large chunk of it. For someone such as myself who likes the movie because of that, it would be difficult to be as into it a second time around.
Much of what’s seen in Nerve are things I could see happening in real life. With technology and social media being what it is, I can imagine a bunch of teenagers and young adults actively participating in something like this. Of course, I’m sure it would get far more out of hand than it does in the movie, but something like this could definitely happen. Let’s just hope that if it does, there are enough sensible youngsters out there not willing to be that dumb.
Anyway, Nerve is a good movie that provides thrills as long as you’re like me and had no idea what was about to happen. It would also help if you’re the kind of person who is fine with it being as safe as it is. If you fit into either one of those categories, this is certainly worth a watch at least one time in theaters. You may like it or love it, but I think you’ll have a hard time hating it.
For them to go the safest route every single time does make the journey less rewarding. However, it doesn’t make the movie less credible as a piece of entertainment. In the end, I think that’s what’s most important to people simply wanting to watch a solid picture. If I’m correct, then you won’t regret giving Nerve a chance. After that, it depends on what you’re taste is.
Rating: PG-13
Directors:
Henry Joost
Ariel Schulman
Cast:
Emma Roberts
Dave Franco
Emily Meade
Miles Heizer
Colson Baker
Kimiko Glenn
Marc John Jefferies
Brian Marc
Samira Wiley
Juliette Lewis
Feature Length: 96 minutes
Release Date: July 27, 2016
Distributor: Lionsgate
