On January 19, the series ‘Major Grom: Playing by the Wrong Rules’ premiered on Kinopoisk. We tell you what the new (or old?) project based on Bubble studio comics turned out to be.

Well, once again the world of Russian cinema has been hit by a wave of Grom. New Year, new Grom. Perhaps this will become a tradition, but let's see what the Bubble team managed to surprise us with in the project ‘Major Grom: Playing by the Wrong Rules’.

New or Old Grom?

‘Major Grom: Playing by the Wrong Rules’ is a 6-episode project that expands the Bubble Comics franchise with new scenes and additions to the 2024 film ‘Major Grom: The Game’.

The project turned out to be not just a reimagining of the ‘Game’ arc from the comics, but also a general look at all five years of cinematic history. So viewers can expect both completely new scenes and familiar shots from the films ‘Major Grom: Plague Doctor’ and ‘Grom: A Difficult Childhood’.

There won't be many words about the plot, meanings, and character development here. We'll save that for after the premiere of the film ‘The Game’. The series is not a re-edit or extended version of the film, but 6 episodes of 42 minutes each with new locations that were filmed in the newly built Moskino complex. Each episode is dedicated to one character (Grom, Dubin, Pchyolkina, Volkov, van der Holt, Razumovsky), revealing their motives and feelings.

Evgenia Smykova

Fallen Angel of the City: Review of the Film ‘Major Grom: The Game’

The film ‘Major Grom: The Game’ has launched in cinemas, a Russian premiere that loyal fans of the adventures of the Russian superhero (and not only) have been waiting for several years. Did it meet their expectations?

Open material

But why does this project exist? It can be called a work on mistakes. Some scenes have been reworked, the final battle has become more spectacular, resulting in a more accurate and complete picture. There are fewer questions, and as a fan of the cinematic universe, you get more enjoyment.

In the first episodes, there are virtually no radical changes, but from the middle onwards, a real boom begins—the story of Sergei and Oleg reveals details of their childhood, then we delve deeper into Holt's story, and he ceases to be as funny and pompous as he was in the film. If after the premiere of ‘The Game’ you always wanted to say, ‘Oh, there wasn't enough time,’ now there's plenty of it. Trust me, as someone who attended the premiere of one of the scenes at Comic Con Igromir—this is what the fandom needed.

And indeed, this is the main feature of the project—the audience spoke, the creators listened. They promised us a chess game between Razumovsky and Grom, and they delivered. They added many subtle references to some fandom jokes and stories. For example, in the very first episode, the owner of a shawarma shop says that after Grom's interview, he has no shortage of customers. The same happened in real life after Tikhon Zhiznevsky mentioned his favorite place to buy this St. Petersburg delicacy. All of this is present, and most importantly, it doesn't interfere with the viewing experience for those who are not deeply immersed in the world of Grom.

If someone asks me where to start getting acquainted with the Grom universe, I would recommend this series, which has become a six-hour guide where Dr. Rubinstein has put everything in its place. In the end, it can be said that Bubble has clearly found their format for showing—a series. Although I wouldn't want our superheroics to leave the big screen, that's another story. Let's see if they can maintain this standard in ‘Red Fury’, because if in the case of Grom many already know the films by heart and immediately notice new things, this time we'll be starting from scratch.