Movie Review: Ready Player One

[Sunstroke]

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find out that a movie I was really looking forward to, Spielberg's "Ready Player One," was opening early at our local theater.

It was nothing short of epic...

For those of you who haven't seen previews or understand the basic plot, the movie takes place in a dystopian future, where life in general sucks so much that everybody spends most of their time in an "anything goes" AI playground called The Oasis. In The Oasis, a visual marvel containing virtually every relevant pop culture you can imagine, you can be pretty much anything you want to be...as long as you can afford the upgrades, and as long as you don't get "zeroed out" and lose all of your coin. Want to go on a Freddy Kruger killing spree? Go for it. Want to drive the Back to the Future Delorean? Stand on that pedal until you hit 88 mph.

In Ready Player One, the goal is to find 3 keys that have been hidden or protected by insane challenges that nobody can get through, and the first person to find them basically gets control of the software company that owns The Oasis.

The action, both animated and live, is non-stop from start to finish. Visually, it was nothing short of stunning, and the humor is sincerely "laugh out loud" quality. What makes this movie though, is seeing all of our favorite pop icons in a completely different setting, Power Rangers rubbing elbows with arcade game characters, movie monsters chumming it with urban legends.

Moral lessons/warnings abound, from acceptance of others to detaching occasionally from the online world to the perils of avatar anonymity.

I'm 100% certain that I missed at least half of the pop references, which is why I think this movie is also going to have (to steal a term from the gaming world) incredible replayability.

A truly outstanding movie. If it had been showing again immediately after the first showing ended, I'd have watched it a second time for sure.

[fyo]

I read and liked the book, but I've been turned off by the reviews I've read. Some of the reviews trash the movie completely, but even the good reviews highlight a bunch of stuff I'd likely find annoying. Due to licensing rights, basically all the references have changed and now refer almost exclusively to Warner IP. Perhaps as a result of this, many of the references appear to be to 90s (e.g. Power Rangers), in contrast to the 80s emphasis of the book. As someone who was a kid in the 80s, those references really worked for me in a way the 90s references just don't.

[Sunstroke]

I read and liked the book, but I've been turned off by the reviews I've read. Some of the reviews trash the movie completely, but even the good reviews highlight a bunch of stuff I'd likely find annoying. Due to licensing rights, basically all the references have changed and now refer almost exclusively to Warner IP. Perhaps as a result of this, many of the references appear to be to 90s (e.g. Power Rangers), in contrast to the 80s emphasis of the book. As someone who was a kid in the 80s, those references really worked for me in a way the 90s references just don't.

I was a kid in the 70's...and the 90's references seemed fine to me. That said, I usually try to ignore reviews before I see a movie though. If there are nits to pick, I don't need some other dude telling me what to look for, I'd rather just catch them myself.  ;-)

[Phishfan]

I've been strangely curious about this movie since I saw the preview. I don't know that I will go to the theater but I plan to watch it.

[Dave Gray]

I read this book.  I think it was fun and very nostalgic, but I didn't love the story.  I am looking forward to the movie, because I think the things I found lacking about the story will be improved in Spielberg's hands.

[CF DolFan]

I haven't heard of it but it sounds really cool. Great rite up Stroke. I'm definitely going to check it out.

[Kerron]

I read about the best nootropics here and liked the book, but I've been turned off by the reviews I've read. Some of the reviews trash the movie completely, but even the good reviews highlight a bunch of stuff I'd likely find annoying. Due to licensing rights, basically all the references have changed and now refer almost exclusively to Warner IP. Perhaps as a result of this, many of the references appear to be to 90s (e.g. Power Rangers), in contrast to the 80s emphasis of the book. As someone who was a kid in the 80s, those references really worked for me in a way the 90s references just don't.

Don't let the critics influence you, bro. I'm bummed out a bit over the licensing thing, but that's reality. I'm just hoping it's better than the new Pacific Rim lol.

[Spider-Dan]

This movie always seemed like too much of a lazy nostalgia grab to me.
Basically, "Hey, do you like [various '80s media properties]?  Welll, they're in this movie for a few seconds each!"

[Dave Gray]

Ready Player One (2018)

Premise: In a dystopian future, a virtual world called The Oasis will be handed over to the first one that passes pop-culture-themed tests of its creator, and an evil corporation will stop at nothing to make sure that they gain control.

Rating: Really fun, but hollow.

I need to preface this review by saying that I read the book.  I’m pretty good about not holding movies to book standards and I’m not someone who is opposed to creative changes to aid in that adaptation.  That said, about half of the changes add to the visual medium and enhance the story because of it, while some things being annexed harm world-building and stakes.

On the surface, this movie is enjoyable to watch.  The movie is packed with pop-culture references.  They are everywhere, in every scene, and they range from obvious things like the Batmobile and King Kong to super obscure stuff that you WILL miss.  The movie depends on you enjoying this.  The story alone is not enough to float the weight of the film.  At the very least, let go and just be content with “hey, I recognize and remember that thing…cool.”  If you can’t do that, you will be incapable of enjoying this film.  I think that’s why the reviews have been so divisive.

The movie adaptation of the characters’ quest is better than in the book.  The discoveries are more logical, are more interesting, and definitely look better on screen than would have otherwise been.  And with any book adaptation, shortcuts are taken to get your characters where you need to get without bogging you down.  In general, I’m fine with this, but I do think that some integral ideas were dropped, that leave the film lacking.

The Oasis is a virtual reality platform.  It’s how everyone goes to school, where people shop, go to work, visit museums, travel, date, hang out, etc.  This is important to understanding what’s at stake.  The main character, Wade Watts, is poor.  That matters.  The Oasis helps him level the playing field and gives him an escape.  If this hugely important resource is in the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic.  In the film, while this is mentioned in one throwaway line, they only focus on the Oasis as a gaming platform, so the idea of a single company controlling what is essentially World of Warcraft, is much less dangerous, as opposed to viewing the Oasis as the world’s most important economic and cultural resource.  All of the subtext about poverty and big business is lost, once you cut that.
Wade Watts starts poor, but once he starts to make a name for himself, he gets a taste of the good life.  It serves a bit as wish fulfillment, but also matters to Wade’s character.  It makes the possibility of selling out to become a corporate shill understandable and believable.  Wade could snap his fingers and make his own problems go away – the decision not to illustrates the bigger picture and his selflessness hurts the character.

The stakes are supposed to operate on two-levels.  You have dangers in the virtual world and you have simultaneous dangers hunting you in the real world.  The best plotting of the book comes in an elaborate break-into-prison-style scheme that puts Wade in the baddie headquarters.  They swap Wade with his love-interest in this case, which again…is fine…but the plan is non-existent and devolves into her sneaking around and hiding behind couches in the bad guy’s office.
There is room for this to be a great movie, but the script is pretty weak and Spielberg directs this movie like a sledgehammer, with very few subtle choices.  But it is undeniably fun, regardless.  Go have fun with it.