I've noticed quite a few reviews here from book fans complaining that the movie wasn't true to the novel. As a fan of the book, let me just say that's true but it's fine. The overarching story is the same. The fact of the matter is with a nearly 400 page novel packed full of pop culture references, some things would have to be cut to make it onto the big screen. Partially it's an issue of length. Partially it's just the reality that the planets were never going to fully align to allow use of many of the properties from the novel. Yes, I loved the 2112, WarGames, D&D, Joust, et al references from the novel as much as the next person, but still I felt that Spielberg captured the wonder and fun and the story of the novel accurately, even if he did so using different references. The are actually some things I even think were an improvement from the book, especially the way they re-imagined I-R0k. The bottom line is, if you're a book reader, just take this movie for what it is, an alternate version of the story, written by the same person who wrote the novel.
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MnemonicDevice16 April 2018
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mattgosling198720 March 2018Pretty good movie visually and even though the changes from the book are obvious but they don't spoil it. They are changes that have to be made so it translates well on to screen.
The comedy in the film is charming and not over the top. It fits in well with the film.
The visuals are awesome. There are so many Easter eggs and references from pop culture it's unbelievable that they managed to add so many. It'll take a long time to spot them all.
Overall I'd say this film is definitely worth a watch. -
DanielRobertRoss21 March 2018Spielberg remains to this day one of the most misunderstood film-makers of his generation. He has been labeled both a peddler of popcorn and a saccharine manipulator (Those who say the latter have clearly forgotten Alex Kitner erupting in a geyser of blood in Jaws, exploding Nazi heads, the horrors of the Holocaust in Schindler and the river of corpses in War of the Worlds).
There are two Spielbergs. There's the man who makes somber, academy award winning dramas (Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, War Horse, Lincoln etc). Then's there's the 10 year old playing in the sand box (The Indy films, Hook, Jurassic Park, Tintin etc). What I enjoy most about the 'Berg, is how he can zigzag between disparate genres. But after a stretch of SF films (A.I, Minority Report and War of the Worlds), I was looking forward to a return to the free wheeling fun with Crystal Skull. It turned out to be an uncharacteristic dud that despite the boffo box office, proved to be deeply unpopular with fans of the series.
This made me cautious about Ready Player One. Had Spielberg lost his touch? I was wrong. This may be one of the most visually amazing and effortlessly fun films I've seen in a long time. I have not read Ernest Cline's novel, so fans of the popular novel may have issues, but I rarely read the books before seeing the film.
The cast are great. Tye Sheridan are Olivia Cooke are the standouts. Mark Rylance and Simon Pegg are fun in supporting roles. Alan Silvestri's robust score is one of his most memorable. I miss John Williams, but it's still a great score. Longtime 'Berg collaborator Janusz Kaminski's cinematography is beautiful. And it's the only film where you'll see a DeLorean chasing a T-Rex on the big screen. That image alone is worth the ticket price. He never went away, but it's nice to see him back playing in the sand box. -
Platypuschow5 September 2018There seem to be two camps as far as Ready Player One is concerned, those who have read the books (Who tend to dislike the movie) and those who haven't (Who tend to like the movie). I'm in the latter group and am very thankful for this.
When the trailer came out I was unimpressed and didn't get onboard with the hype at all, yes I was impressed with all the pop culture references and characters but I figured it would be all flash and no substance.
Thankfully I couldn't have been anymore wrong, Read Player One has plenty of substance, emotion and charm and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
Set in a near dystopian world where people use a virtual reality world called the Oasis to escape their lives it tells the story of one player and his efforts participating in a competition that with decide the fate of the entire universe (Oasis).
The plot if fantastic and very well handled, the movie looks like a billion dollars, the cast did a decent enough job and the pop culture references though thick and fast didn't overwhelm the movie like I feared they would.
From Overwatchs Tracer, Streetfighters Chun-Li & Ryu, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Iron Giant, Chucky, Freddy Kreuger, Mortal Kombats Goro, Gundam, Mech-Godzilla, King Kong, and countless more I being a big ol'nerd really appreciated this. Combined with the incredible mostly 80's soundtrack it's a sight to behold.
The movie wrapped up nicely and went in directions I didn't expect, I'm suitably impressed and would love to see more.
If it's very different than the book I understand peoples anger, for me however this was fantastic.
The Good:
Looks amazing
Solid plot and delivery
Pop culture references are charming
The Bad:
Honestly nothing springs to mind
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
I'm still not impressed with Gundam
People CAN swear in Spielberg movies
Old Simon Pegg looks like a tall hobbit
Artemis is the offspring of an elf and a porcupine -
TxMike22 September 2018My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library and found it thoroughly enjoyable, even though we are grandparents and far removed from the virtual reality, gaming crowd.
This is a Spielberg movie, and even though this story is unique it has many of the movie-making elements he used in such movies as "E.T.", "Raiders", "Jurassic Park", "A.I." and more recently "The BFG". Imaginative cinematography, interesting action, and a really killer of a sound track. That alone makes it a worthwhile viewing.
There is also a good story going on. It is Columbus, Ohio in 2045, it is somewhat dystopian and many have turned to a virtual reality existence in something called Oasis. It is a form of escape, it allows one to avoid dealing with real world issues.
Upon the death of the creator and owner of Oasis it is announced that the winner of a contest, finding obscure clues in Oasis, would be given Oasis and complete control of it. So the story becomes a contest between a few dedicated gamers and a big corporation using its resources to win the contest.
The key gamer is Texas native Tye Sheridan as 18-yr-old Wade, who in virtual reality goes by Parzival. He is helped by British actress Olivia Cooke as Samantha who goes by Art3mis. His intention are honorable, he realizes that people need to get back to reality, to connect with each other rather than gravitate towards virtual reality.
The movie is really well made, and even though it is long at 2+ hours it never wore out its welcome. -
ArchStanton186220 March 2018I honestly didn't think that Spielberg had another crowd-pleasing actioner left in him. For the last decade or so his focus has been on more realistic period dramas and character pieces. His attempts at grand action spectacle (the underrated Tintin aside) were underwhelming. But who knew he had this left in him?
This film is an absolute blast. It seamlessly combines reality and animation into one big, exciting adventure. I'm still not completely sure how it pulled it off. I was absolutely amazed at how seamlessly the film merged animation with reality (I'd say only perhaps 1/3 of the film takes place in the "real" world) and gave the obviously digital environments emotional and kinetic weight. That's a very hard balance to pull off and this movie doesn't even raise a sweat. In fact, some of the best scenes revolve around the absurd mix of online and real existence. Pretty much every scene in Sorrento's soulless corporate HQ is a riot because of the seriousness with which they take their involvement in this silly online world, made even more ridiculous by the motions they all make in their VR suits as they react to unseen perils like well-dressed mimes.
I have no doubt that this film will receive a lot of flak for its reliance on pop culture artifacts. And there's some truth to the criticism. The best scene in the movie is when one of the characters waits in an almost meditative trance during the fight scene until he cries out "form of a gundam" in Japanese and awesomeness ensues. Would this scene work as well if it hadn't been a recognizable brand? No question it wouldn't. And that goes for an infinite array of references, from the Iron Giant to the Delorean to an absolutely perfect Overlook Hotel to Chucky ("Oh God, it's f*%@ing Chucky" has got to be the second greatest line in the movie).
But to say that this is nothing but leaching off others' success is unfair. The references are there for a reason. This is a Geek movie, and for geeks this sort of referencing is how they approach the universe. It'd seem odd if there were no open pop culture references in a free-for-all online world. More to the point, the film has a lot to say about online culture and the isolating effect it has on people. The film isn't all pretty colors and film references, it deals with issues like how real the connections we form online actually are, the ever-decreasing distance between fantasy and reality, the importance of community involvement, and all sorts of identity issues that arise when we can hide behind avatars. Not that I'd call the film overly deep or anything, but it's certainly more than just a collection of pop culture references thrown together with minimal plot.
The characters are all good fun. Parzival and his mate Aech are just like a lot of friends I know online, although Parzival's shallowness gives him a good obstacle to overcome. Art3mis is a bit more driven and has goals that take her further than just being the best at a video game. Parzival has a major cyber-crush on her, which is something of a problem. Daito and Shoto are somewhat more distant online rivals. All of them have great moments, but most come after their true selves get revealed around 2/3 of the way through the film. Some of them are very surprising (don't look at the cast list) and they are all funny together. Krennic's director Sorrento is a great villain. He's so full of himself and contemptuous that his appearance in-game as a muscular brute in a business suit dealing with mystical things he cares nothing about is a blast. And when he's cornered he can be hilariously practical. His online minion i-R0k is also priceless, the sort of super badass dude living in his mom's basement that you can only find in video games. Mark Rylance steals every scene he's in as the vaguely Wozniakian creator of the game. He's a rather sad figure, one who could never handle reality with such aplomb as he does the world he designed. I was surprsed to see Simon Pegg as his co-founder, a somewhat wasted role but nicel different from his more usual fare.
And I really really didn't think Spielberg could pull this off. It's hard to write a love letter to your favorite films when you're the creator rather than consumer. I'd have been more comfortable with some younger director who grew up on these films. I mean, his works aside I can't recall Spielberg ever displaying much interest in video games or Japanese pop culture (post-Kurosawa at least). Yet this film depends on its immense love of such elements. Perhaps a lot of it comes from the screenplay by the novel's author and Kal Penn, two people eminently qualified to pull this off. But it could never have succeeded without the passion of the maestro himself, and succeed it does. I went in with low expectations and had an absolute blast. But more importantly: I understood that reference. -
TheLittleSongbird30 April 2018Watched 'Ready Player One' as someone who got a lot of pleasure out of the book and who loves a lot of Steven Spielberg's previous work. Despite it getting a fair share of criticism from fans of the book, that there were also enough good things said about it from critics and that many of my friends said it was worthwhile persuaded me enough to see it.
'Ready Player One' left me with a mixed view (or just slightly above). As a book adaptation 'Ready Player One' is severely wanting, having lost what made the book so special. As a film on its own, which is how it will be judged by me being a much fairer way to judge, 'Ready Player One' is quite decent though with faults. It is nowhere near being one of Spielberg's best, a distinction he has not hit for a while (though for me he has not sold out), at the same time it is not one of his misfires either. To me 'Ready Player One' is a middling effort.
Starting with its good merits, 'Ready Player One' looks incredible. One of those films where one is truly immersed in a world filled with a non-stop sense of wonder. The Oasis depiction is rich in wonder, adventure, vibrancy and imagination, the cool factor is also high. The special effects are pretty spectacular. Alan Silvestri provides the best score in a Spielberg film since 'War Horse' (and one of the best in the past fifteen years or so), providing a lot of energy and thrills.
Nostalgia is rife with inspired cameos of numerous significant cultural characters, like the 'Jurassic Park' dinosaur and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even more numerous cultural references, highlights being the 'Back to the Future' Delorean and the Overlook Hotel from 'The Shining'. There is enough wit and intrigue in the writing and the story has many instances where it is fun and laden in thrills, the chase scenes especially. Particularly standing out is the one switching between real world and the Oasis. Spielberg delivers on the spectacle, the world building and the visual style.
Although not complex or subtle, the characters are engaging enough. Olivia Cooke is very appealing and shares charming chemistry with Tye Sheridan. Simon Pegg is great fun, while Ben Mendelssohn has a whale of a time as the villain and Mark Rylance beautifully and terrifically provides the emotion and soul that is not quite there elsewhere.
However, the story does tend to be lacking. There is just too little structurally in a very long, too long even, running time, no matter how many cultural references there are. With trying to take on a lot, character depth and development are sacrificed in favour of spectacle and nostalgia. Luckily those are done well, but one does wish that the characters were more interesting with the lead character in particular not having much growth.
This does affect somewhat Tye Sheridan's performance, shining in the chemistry with Cooke but elsewhere it's somewhat bland and cold. The script does have wit and intrigue but it can also be exposition heavy, and it is here where the writing feels rambling, unnatural and clumsy. There are aspects of Spielberg's directing that comes over well.
Unfortunately, what doesn't is the complete command of the material and giving the film enough soul and emotion (Rylance cannot bring those qualities out all on his own, no matter how well he did them). Some of the messaging is heavy-handed and the finale is far too overly-sentimental and where the sketchiness of the character development and overall depth is most betrayed.
Overall, diverting and entertaining enough but was expecting more. 6/10 Bethany Cox -
Of all the Spielberg films of recent years - and possibly with the exception of "The BFG" - this was the film whose trailer disconcerted me the most. It really looked dire: CGI over heart; gimmicks over substance. I was right about 'The BFG", one of my least favourite Spielberg flicks. I was definitely wrong about "Ready Player One": it's a blast.
The film is fun in continually throwing surprises at you, including those actors not included in the trailer and only on small print on the poster. So I won't spoil that here for you (you can of course look them up on imdb if you want to: but I suggest you try to see this one 'cold').
It's 2044, and the majority of the population have taken the next logical step of video gaming and virtual reality and retreated into their own headsets, living out their lives primarily as avatars within the fanciful landscapes of "The Oasis". You can "be" anyone and (subject to gaining the necessary credits) "do" anything there.
The Oasis was the brainchild of a (Steve Wozniak-like) genius called James Halliday (played in enormous style by "Actor R") and supported by his (Steve Jobs-like) business partner Ogden Morrow ("Actor P"). The two had a big falling out leaving Halliday in total control of the Oasis. But he died, and his dying "game" was to devise a devious competition that left a trail of three virtual keys in the Oasis leading to an 'easter egg': which if found would provide the finder with total ownership of the Oasis and the trillions of dollars that it is worth.
But the game is not only played by amateur "gunters" (egg-hunters) like our hero Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan, "X-Men: Apocalypse") and his in-Oasis flirting partner Samantha (Olivia Cooke, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"); there are big corporate game-hunters involved like IoI (that's eye-oh-eye, not one-oh-one as I assumed from the trailer) who fill warehouses with combinations of nerd-consultants and professional game players to try to find the keys before anyone else. Which hardly seems fair does it? Ruthless boss Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn, "Rogue One") and his tough-as-nails hench-woman F'Nale Zandor (Hannah John-Kamen, "Tomb Raider") really couldn't give a toss!
What follows is two-hours of high-octane game-play and eye-popping 3D (it is good in 3D by the way) that melds a baseline of "Avatar" with soupçons of "Tron", "Minority Report" and Dan Brown novels. But its a blend that works.
I was afraid as I said that CGI would squash flat any hope of character development and story, and - yes - to be sure this is 'suppressed' a bit. You never get to really know many of the 'pack' members to any great level other than Wade and Samantha. And exactly what drives the corporate protagonists, other than "corporate greed", is not particularly clear. What gives the film heart though are the performances of "Actor P" and (particularly) "Actor R", who again steals every scene he is in. For their limited screen time together, the pair bounce off each other in a delightful way.
I have to make a confession at this point that I spent the whole film thinking "Miles Teller is way too old for the part of Wade"! Tye Sheridan (who I think *does* bear a likeness!) is actually much more age appropriate, and is fine in the role. But the star performance for me, out of the youngsters at least, was Oldham's-own Olivia Cooke, who has a genuinely magnetic screen presence. She is most definitely a name to watch for the future.
Almost unrecognizable in the role is the woman of the hour Letitia Wright ("Black Panther", "Thor: Ragnarok") as Wade's inventor friend Reb.
The story, although simple and quite one-dimensional, in the main intrigues: there is nothing like a Mario-style chase for keys to entertain when it is done well (I am so old and crusty that in my day it was "Manic Miner" on a ZX-Spectrum!).
And there's not just one "Easter Egg" in this film: the film is rammed to the rafters with throwbacks to classic pop-culture icons of past decades, and particularly the 80's.... the film could have been subtitled "I Heart 80's". Some of these are subliminal (Mayor Goldie Wilson anyone?), and others are more prominent but very clever: "The Zemekis cube" and "The Holy Hand Grenade" being prime examples. This is a film that deserves buying on Blu-ray and then slo-mo-ing through! The nostalgia extends to the music by Alan Silvestri, with occasional motifs from his most famous soundtrack!
For me though, the highspot of the film though is a journey into a recreation of a classic '80's film which - while a scary sequence, earning for sure its 12A UK rating - is done with verve and chutzpah.
Although a little overlong (2 hours 20 mins) and getting rather over-blown and LOTR-esque in the finale, the ending is very satisfying - roll on Tuesdays and Thursdays!
Spielberg's recent films have been largely solid and well-constructed watches ("The Post" and "Bridge of Spies" for example) but they have been more niche than mainstream box office draws. I firmly predict that "Ready Player One" will change that: here Spielberg has a sure-fire hit on his hands and word of mouth (rather than the ho-hum trailer) should assure that.
(For the graphical review, please visit bob-the-movie-man.com or One Mann's Movies on Facebook. Thanks). -
Ernest Cline's fast-moving novel was a treasure trove for pop-culture junkies, but the endless references work better on the screen.
The year is 2045; the place is Columbus, Ohio. Our hero, Wade Watts, fills in the details while climbing past his grungy homes of his town, "the stacks," where trailer parks are piled on top of each other sky-high. Things are so miserable in Wade's world, everyone escapes to play in an immersive virtual reality game known as the Oasis. Its founder, James Halliday is worshipped like a god until his death some years before. However, before he left the mortal world, the creator left behind a series of games that would reward the winner with the prize of the keys to his virtual kingdom.
The book was a fast paced adventure that took its time to geek out on all of the 80's pop culture references but the film doesn't do that. . Spielberg doesn't have Wade (the titular character) talk audiences through it, and he doesn't spell out the references, he just quickly stamps down the Delorean in the middle of a action sequence and then continues onward. Fans can pause it frame by frame and analyse it thoroughly looking for the flux capacitor on the dashboard, checking the plates, and scanning for extra bonus material. Even to people who've never seen the Back to the Future movies and aren't vibing on the connection, the car doesn't need explaining. It's just a sleek piece of visual energy, one breathless element among dozens of others. That's why the movie works better than the books in terms of visual style and nostalgia.
The thin plot and the not so well done shallow characters make the film to be just a pop culture reference filled visual treat. Several plot holes( If movement is required to move an avatar in the game, how do people play in the Oasis while standing in their living rooms?) and a non-existent character arc makes it a fun, but a tangible watch. They're all already heroes, the big bad is evil from start to finish.
The story's breakneck speed, it's never ending references, make it a fun, exciting watch. -
bradhubert2 April 2018Its hard for me to believe all of the one and two star reviews for this film on here from people who are obsessed with the book. In fact, I even heard similar comments from people in the theater after the movie ended. One girl was actually complaining that she disliked it for the same reason she can't watch Game of Thrones, because it's not faithful to the source material.
Well I'm sorry that your trip out of your parent's basement wasn't as satisfying as you hoped, but for the rest of us who haven't read the book and are not obsessive video game or pop culture fans it was a great movie. There's enough references for everyone to enjoy the story, but not enough to confuse the majority of the audience.
The visual effects are stunning and while the story may be wrapped up a little too neatly, its still a stunning tour de force from the best director in the business.
This was a great film with an excellent warning about the overuse video games and virtual reality. Definitely one to see and if you want more, than go read the book. -
The book is better. It always will be. I think everyone knows that you cannot take a 15 hour book and condense it to a 130 minute movie without losing a lot of what made it special.
Firstly there is no after-credit scene. So dont bother waiting.
The opening title was just white text on a black screen, which is rather disapointing given the clever 'maze' logo all the marketing had.
The film gets rid of the gates, most of the real world stuff, all the school stuff, and all character development. Our heroes just have all the weapons, cars, robots that they had to earn in the book. Even before finding the first key. Wade already owns the Delorian and Aech just happens to have Iron Giant in his garage.
They make a number of dramatic changes to the main plot, some for visual storytelling (such as adding a car chase) and others to expand the role other characters worth in the plot, such as Art3mis going to IOI instead of Parzival.
My main issue was the lack of character arcs. They all strated off strong, and ended the exact same way. The heart of the book was how this normal person rose from being one of us, to the savior of the universe. The film is missing that. Wade no-longer talks to the sweet old lady at the bottom of the stacks. He no-longer fixes people's old oasis machines, instead he steals there gloves? Those real world connections are lost and he just seems like a rich spoilt kid from the start. His reasons for not joining IOI are never explained. We as audinence members have no idea why he would not have taken the money. But on that, IOI are also made out to be idiots. They dont solve any puzzles or collect any of the keys. In the book they were far more competent.
Then there is the whole rebellion side story which was not in book, hardly touched upon, was not explained, had unexplained henchmen, and ended abruptly. But the sheer fact that they had an army to fall back on in the real world weakened our connection to them for us as an audience. They were no longer the small guy going after the big corporation, now they were a small army going after what seemed to be just one man (Nolan) who was afraid of guns, and a mercenary woman who was beaten up by an eleven year old kid. The bad guys became a joke. Not to mention so stupid in that they keep there passwords written down for the world to see.
The film captures the adventure and spectacle of the book thats for sure, but is missing its heart. And they shoehorned several side characters (Rick) into the movie which really could have been left out and there screen time devoted to more puzzle solving or building the relationship.
They could have left i-Rok, Daito and Shoto out the story and it would not have changed anything. In fact, giving Nolan all of i-R0ks jobs would have helped his character.
There is almost zero world building for the real world. They show pizza delivery drones that can fly around the city and place bombs on buildings, but somehow are unable to follow a giant delivery truck featuring the worlds most wanted down the road. Ignoring speed cameras and satellite tracking as well. Again, another example of incompetency the villains demonstrate.
Perhaps I love the book so much, that its hard for me to separate the source material for this movie adaptation. But the book was not just about 80s nostalgia, it was about growth of characters as they went on this adventure together. It was about making sacrifices when needed and learning to work as a team to open the last gate. None of which was required for this movie.
I also want to mention the lack of nostalgia music. The trailers had some great songs, with Pure imagination being outstanding. None of them however are played in the movie. With the exception of jump at the start, that felt out of place as it was too fast paced for someone just walking.
Still watch it in the cinema as its an experience you have to see. But read the book, or listen to the great Will Wheaton audiobook as well, as its a very different story with more depth and love than the film portrays.
I rate it 6.5 out of 10. -
3xHCCH24 March 2018"Ready Player One" was first a sci-fi novel written by Ernest Cline, published in 2011. Warner Bros. saw so much potential in this novel, they bought the rights for its film version a full year before it was even published. Cline adapted his own book into a script, with the assistance of veteran screenwriter Zak Penn. With Steven Spielberg signing on to direct in 2015, this film had all the ingredients for a blockbuster film.
It is 2045. Wade Watt was an orphaned young man who lived in the "Stacks," a dystopian slum neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Like everyone else at that time, Wade spent his days going inside the OASIS, a virtual world where people can do anything they desire. As his avatar Parzival, Wade wanted to win the game challenge left by the late OASIS inventor James Halliday -- where anyone who can win three keys leading to an Easter Egg hidden somewhere in the OASIS will inherit full ownership of the Halliday's invention.
I first saw lead actor Tye Sheridan in 2015 in two thematically diverse films like "Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" (MY REVIEW) and "Dark Places" (MY REVIEW). He then made a strong impression as the young Cyclops in "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016). His role here as Wade Watts is bound to launch this young 21-year old actor into super-stardom. Although half of the time, we see him as his avatar Parzival, Sheridan ably carried the whole film on his shoulders in both the action and drama components of his role.
His group of friends in the OASIS were a diverse bunch of very skilled video game geeks. Lena Waithe played Helen Harris, whose OASIS identity Aech was a musclebound male techie and Wade's best friend. Win Morisaki and Philip Zhao play Japanese gamers Toshiro and Akihide whose avatars were samurai Daito and ninja Shoto respectively. Olivia Cooke played Samantha Cook, a rebel activist in real life and Wade's cyber crush Art3mis virtually. Although the book does not have a follow-up, it does not seem impossible if we see this group again in a future sequel for further adventures of The High Five.
Mark Rylance was not easily recognized in his unkempt long-haired geek make-up as the eccentric James Halliday, the timid genius who developed a virtual world to escape the loneliness of the real world. Simon Pegg played Halliday's only friend and business partner Ogden Morrow, who later became estranged due to their divergent philosophies.
Veteran character actor Ben Mendehlson played the main antagonist character Nolan Sorrento, CEO of the Innovative Online Industries or IOI, manufacturers of virtual reality hardware. He hired an entire army of virtual warriors in order to win Halliday's Easter Egg in order for IOI to gain control of the whole OASIS. There was so much subtle tongue-in-cheek humor in his portrayal of a ruthless character. T.J. Miller stole scenes as virtual mercenary i-R0k whom Sorrento hired to do his virtual mayhem.
This film was so much fun to watch with all the pop culture references that abound in it. You'd need repeated watching of this film to catch all those little juicy details hidden in the scenes and the dialogue. You will see King Kong, Mecha-Godzilla, Gundam, the Iron Giant in all their glory, and catch glimpses of the Batmobile, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tony Manero's disco moves and many more.
The musical soundtrack was steeped in 1980s pop songs, beginning with Van Halen's "Jump" from the opening scene, and citations of a-ha and Duran Duran. There were rich references to 1980s movies with mentions of names like John Hughes, Ferris Bueller and Buckaroo Banzai. Parzival's car is a DeLorean from "Back to the Future." There was entire elaborate segment dedicated to a tribute to the horror classic "The Shining" (Stanley Kubrick, 1980), in what is probably the most fun part of the whole film.
Watching a film like this in 3D IMAX is very much worth the additional ticket expense. The computer-generated world of OASIS really came alive three-dimensionally for the audience as they are drawn in and immersed into what is practically what the characters were virtually seeing and experiencing in their heads.
From the 1970s all the way to the 1990s, Steven Spielberg had given us some of the most engaging adventure films of all time both by young film fans and old -- "Jaws" (1974), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), "Jurassic Park" (1993). It is only now that Spielberg had again handled material that showed that he still had that magic touch when it comes to directing these types of films, making them connect with audiences of all generations. 10/10. -
If you are just looking for a fun movie with expertly directed action sequences, wow moments, and beautiful effects, this is the movie for you. If you are the type of person who cannot help but analyze every movie you see, Ready Player One will cause you some problems.
Spielberg is a master of wow moments. He knows how to capture characters in moments of awe, and he knows how to make the audiences respond with dropped jaws and bewildered expressions. That's why the guy is one of the most financially successful filmmakers of all time. Watching this particular film of his makes it easy to see, even if you weren't already aware of his reputation, that Spielberg works the camera like few others can.
That said, this movie is not perfect.
The premise, at least on its surface, seems wonderful. A teenage boy (Tye Sheridan), named Wade Watts (because it sounds like a superhero's alter ego) in the near future plays an ultra-version of a virtual reality game to escape his grim real-world existence. Everyone in his world does. And we can see why. The VR world (The Oasis) is awesome.
Wade spends his time obsessing over a contest in The Oasis left behind by its now deceased creator. The winner of the contest claims a kajillion dollars (or something like that) and control over The Oasis. With a prize like that, Wade is obviously not the only person trying to win.
So, one day he meets a girl who uses the player name Art3mis (a charming Olivia Cooke) and joins her group. Together they try to win the contest before the evil company does and puts ads in The Oasis (which doesn't seem that bad). Then blah, blah, blah. You can imagine how this all turns out. If not, great, you'll be surprised.
This all seems fine and fun until you dissect the movie even a little bit. The message the movie sends is that this is all about friendship, which is total BS. Friendship is important, sure, but in this world, there is more at stake. Wade and much of the country live in terrible poverty, and a couple mega-businesses control the state of everything. It's a miserable reality with problems that we see today, except amplified by 100.
It's irresponsible and insulting that the movie pretends that this future world will be okay as long as The Oasis doesn't have ads. People still live in poverty. The world is still in shambles.
What I'm saying is, the movie has a problem with stakes. The stakes of this future world are enormous and dire, but the movie chooses to ignore them. That doesn't sit right with me.
One other issue, and this one is minor, is that this movie seems like it's made for kids, but it makes a bunch of 80s nostalgia references. Does that make sense? I don't think today's 14-year-olds care about Duran-Duran.
Even looking past the social blinders this movie chooses to wear and the confusing nostalgia choices, the third act drags horribly. I spaced out for a good ten minutes and didn't miss a thing.
In spite of all that, this movie has moments of ecstasy. If you are going to see, and I'm not sure if you should, see it in a theater. If you can avoid analyzing the movie and simply enjoy it from a pure entertainment standpoint, you may love it. -
ThomasDrufke13 April 2018Ready Player One is quite possibly the biggest "nerd's nerd film". What I mean by that is that sure the film can be appreciated by the general public, but there's no question that the large part of the population that goes to see it won't be able to truly appreciate the ins and outs of this Easter egg filled movie. Dozens and probably even closer to hundreds of hidden gems fill this Sci-fi feature helmed by one of the all-time greatest directors, Steven Spielberg. If there's ever a film you wish you could pause, zoom-in, and rewind while in the theater, it's Ready Player One.
There is of course, the disappointing element of the film you have to get over, which is that a good chunk of the film (maybe 75%) is in CGI. Once you get passed the fact that the characters you're supposed to grapple onto, and the environments they inhabit, are entirely fake, then there's not much stopping you from having a blast. I thought the performances by Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn were all very good, and in Cooke's case, great. The effects and cinematography were about as good as you're going to get without going over budget. And the script was above average.
However, the real journey you go to the theater for is the mystery, easter eggs, and the surprises. Boy were there a ton of them here. There's one particular scene, which was somehow not spoiled by any marketing or journalist, that is one of the coolest film sequences I have seen in quite some time. And Spielberg really does a nice job of appealing to the older generations as well as the newer generations. What a ride this film was.
8.8/10 -
lukyboy130 August 2018This movie surprised me. Wasn't expecting much other than the animation. For those who compare it to the book, it's a movie. If you are disappointed stick to reading. From start to finish the story was entertaining and kept you engaged. If you want to see something different with your family I highly recommend. Bring out the popcorn.
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paul_haakonsen3 July 2018I had very little expectations for this movie, especially since the ones I know who watched it said that it wasn't all that spectacular. Well, I got the chance to sit down and watch "Ready Player One", had the time to spare, so why not?
I must say that I was surprised with the result of this movie, because it was actually rather entertaining. Sure, it had a predictable and generic storyline, but it was still entertaining enough for what it was.
What really blew me away was the special effects and CGI. This was definitely spectacular, and there were so many details. I love the overwhelming amount of familiar characters that there were to be seen throughout the entire movie. There were so many pop culture characters and obscure characters that only true nerds of movies, gaming, comics, etc. would recognize. It was especially awesome to see Jason Voorhees and Spawn make appearances as avatars in the movie as well.
There was a good flow to the movie and it kept its upbeat pace all the way to the very end, and that made for some entertaining stuff.
I will say that the movie is worth watching again, not for the story or the special effects, but for picking out familiar characters used as Oasis avatars in the movie, that would be quite a task.
All in all, "Ready Player One" is definitely worth taking the time to sit down and watch. And it had a lovely morale as well, and that being that people need to live their lives in the real life and not in an online illusion of a world. -
macaco-124445 July 2018As a person who has not read the book, I find RPO a very entertaining movie. The CGI, comedy and pop-culture references are well designed for normal audiences.
I don't understand where those 1 and 2 stars come from. Those condescending and raging comments are useless except showing you are a nerd. Get a life please. -
"Ready Player One" brings back the fun Steven Spielberg with an old-fashioned, effects-laden adventure where the world is often more important than its characters. Still, this world is guaranteed to entertain fans of nostalgia both young and old, even if the older crowd will find the basic plot formulaic and predictable.
The film is sort of like how "Tron" was back in 1982 if you replaced the made-up characters and environments with those of actual pop cultural icons. The future setting of the film is so displeasing that the majority of the population has chosen to enjoy their time inside the OASIS, a virtual reality video game where you can basically do anything or be anything. The socially awkward creator of this game James Halliday, now deceased, has left a three-step challenge that if completed, will grant the victor access to control the OASIS. The story follows Wade Watts and his friends on a quest to complete the challenge before an evil corporation that is bent on seizing control of the OASIS through the completion of the challenges and turning it into what would essentially be a pop-up ad heaven (or hell, depending on your perspective).
"Ready Player One" is a great visual experience first and foremost. The use of nostalgia feels more as a means to be realistic rather than a means to capitalize on one's childhood. There are plenty of moments that are just there to be pointed out as Easter eggs, but it never distracts from the core story. The adventure inside the OASIS is fun and immersive in the classic Spielberg sense with the balance of seriousness and humor being on point. The film also does manage to throw in good messages and satire about society being obsessed with trying to escape the real world, often at the consequence of losing touch with the things of true value in the real world. The best example of this is the idea of teenagers developing a "relationship" online despite never seeing each other face to face. As one character quotes, "You only see and hear what I want you to." The message is also pushed via Halliday who chose to devote so much time to his own pop culture safe space, that he lost a close friend and a chance for love in the process. So in a sense, pop culture does serve an actual purpose. Still, purpose or not, it is very gitty to see so much on screen at once. I particularly jumped onto the fanboy train once the heroes entered the second stage of the challenge, which involves navigating a certain popular horror film which I shall not reveal.
This is definitely a film for kids, who will likely walk away with this ironically becoming a nostalgic part of their own childhoods. Adults will also have a lot of fun, but as an adult, I can't help but notice some things. For one, there really isn't much to the core plot. Outside the OASIS, things are pretty basic. The human characters are mostly just base level and, oddly enough, are overshadowed by the colorful avatar counterparts. The plot of an evil corporation, an underground resistance, and the inevitable revolution of little people vs elites has been done time and time before and sadly the film does nothing to mix up that narrative. The story goes pretty much where you expect outside of the visual package that is unique to "Ready Player One's" style. The characters aren't bad and all the actors are great, but only two really walk away with memorable depth: Watts's love interest Art3mis and OASIS creator James Halliday. Also, the exposition was very heavy at the beginning of the film. While some was necessary, there did come a point where I felt the voiceover narration from Watts was going overboard.
Most of this is just nitpicking as none of that ruins the overall fun factor of the picture. The world of the OASIS is worth price of admission and some good, timely messages do manage to speak through without feeling preachy or political. The fact that the nostalgia feels like it has an artistic purpose really impressed me, but I can't deny I will likely indulge into more viewings just to find all the pop culture Easter eggs I likely missed...for fanboy satisfaction.
Recommended. (No post credit scene) -
alex_with_a_P17 June 2022A pretty dull movie that has an un-engaging mystery at it's core, done by people who obviously never played a videogame in their life.
Everything here is window dressing beginning with the 10. 000 cameos of franchise characters, the half-baked love story, an ending that resembles E. T., or the useless references of movies like The Shining (which has nothing to do with videogames but who cares).
Another thing that really stood out is when the love interest says she's ugly in real life and of course they cast a beautiful actress in the role and give her an oversized mole. It's the typical milquetoast approach of Hollywood movies.
If there ever is a coloumn about "Spielberg's worst movies", this and Bridge of spies are definitely in it. -
NO SPOILERS - I promise.
BEST VIDEO GAME THEMED FILM OF ALL TIME & AN INSTANT CLASSIC FOREVER
Let me first off state that I have not read the book prior to seeing this film.
However, I enjoined the film sooo much that I am now interested in buying the book so that I can see the difference between it and the film adaption.
This movie is full of nostalgia! You feel like Marty Mcfly in Back to the Future - going back in time, only in this case - a journey filled with absolute nostalgia of pop culture from the 80s and possible some early 90s.
The entire time you can spot references or so called easter eggs throughout the entire film. You get that feeling of being a kid again and reliving your childhood (if you grew up in those times) on a roller coaster ride! The nostalgia is not just other things you see throughout the film but also from some of the lines the characters in the story use, their gestures, and even clothing apparel! Not to mention, the music!!! What a great choice and what better than using Van Halen's "Jump" in the trailer to let you know you're about to step back into 80s!
The film displays beautiful vivid colors of non stop special effects and the action is very consistent without long dwelling scenes of nonsense found in other films. You feel like you're enjoying an absolute retro filled vibe through the movie yet it doesn't feel outdated at all - it feels modern and current with the times! It's like Tron meets Wreck it Ralph w/ a small touch of maybe say The Wizard!
The film was an awesome refresher to all the recent most disappointing films in Hollywood, and that old school still has a great touch of simplicity but also powerful creativity that many film makers could learn from today, a message to film makers today - when you over complicate films or stories you tend to lose a lot of quality in the fun factor. The film is NOT overly cheesy and doesn't make you cringe or soo bad its good in examples of other films like "The Wizard", "Super Mario Bros", "Street Fighter", "Dead or Alive", "Pixels" or "Double Dragon" etc. No, this film got it right!
The only thing I will say is that it did feel like they could have elaborated on some essential things that are missing from the book that people have mentioned but hey, the film is only roughly 2 hours, its not enough time to cram all of that. I could name hundreds of other films that have come out recently over the last couple years - including this year, that are absolutely terrible with plot holes, long dragging needless scenes and didn't make the best usage of a film's time.
But this movie: READY PLAYER ONE did a great job in managing its time among scenes because they spent more time on the things that people wanted to see!!
Not to mention, the film has a great message that its trying to get across and that is explained at the end.
I enjoined the movie soo much that after seeing it the first time at a standard showing, I decided to watch it a second time in I-max! Yes it was worth paying more to see it again on the big screen!! I took my gf and she loved every bit of the film!
Hope you guys found this review to be helpful!
GO SEE IT!!! -
lesleyharris3012 July 2018Ready Player One is a terrific film with a very well written plot and an immensely talented cast. The film is truly like no other, establishing a very beautiful and unique spectacle from the get go, creating a virtual reality world that we get so entranced in that we often forget its fictional. The animation is truly beautiful and believable, the many references to pop culture were very entertaining, and the film's overall message is immensely heartwarming.
One thing I will say about this film that dropped from a potential nine to an eight for me was a major lack of character development. No one, even Wade, are given enough scope for us to truly care and be concerned for their well being. While I was in a complete trance at all the action sequences, that was more so because of how beautiful it looked rather than supporting the characters.
While they may be underdeveloped, the cast all still make a terrific show of their characters. Tye Sheridan is very effective as the lead, Olivia Cooke is a great love interest, Ben Mendelsohn steals every scene as a cliched video game villain, Lena Waithe is a hilarious best friend, Simon Pegg is completely transformed in to this role that is greatly different from who he is, and Mark Rylance annihilates as Halliday, a role he really immerses himself in to.
Immense fun from beginning to end. Action packed and heartwarming, Ready Player One is a solid adventure that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good Sci-Fi or family film.
A group of hardcore gamers search for clues to unlock the creator of their virtual reality world's fortune.
Best Performance: Mark Rylance -
andywheeler-1107221 March 2018Geeks rejoice. Spielberg is back to form!! I was privileged to see Ready Player One last night and I still can't stop smiling about it. It's very strange to feel this energised after a film and I've not felt like this since Avatar. I can honestly say with hand on heart that for me, that was the best cinematic experience I've had in years. Oh my God, it's a wonderful piece of filmmaking. Not only are there so many references to geek culture including films and TV shows we all love and hold dear but the overall story, pacing, character development, FX and score are simply perfect. Spielberg is in total command here and flexing his muscles. There's many imitators to his throne (remain nameless) but no one can touch him when he's doing what he does best. There's not one single scene in RP1 that felt flat or shouldn't be there and everything flows so perfectly the 2 hrs and 40 mins flies by. I'm still smiling over one scene that made me lose my mind. Lol. If you can find fault with RP1 you cannot be a film lover but please don't even try to find fault with it. Just go on and let this stunning and fun and loving piece of cinema wash over you. You'll be glad you did!!!!
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jan_higgs25 April 2018READY PLAYER ONE is the latest installment in visionary Steven Spielberg's ever-growing collection of stories. While not his best work, it is still worth at least one watch.
The movie itself is not terrible. For crying out loud, it's Spielberg we're talking about! He only makes good films and not-so-good films. That being said, this particular film had a balance of good elements and not-so-good elements. One of its weakest elements was that it did not offer enough surprises. This is especially odd because that has been Spielberg's job for more than 40 years. The good news is: it's not his fault. Rather, it was the writing that was more at fault.
Before getting into how basic the overall writing was, it is fair to say that the storyline was somewhat passable. Taking on a similar tale to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this story follows a worldwide competition to win ownership of the entire virtual reality world. One of the problems, however, was that it was only the VR world that seemed to be at stake. There was almost no connection to the circumstances of the real world, causing a lack of emotional depth to the story and making it difficult for the audience to relate to the conflict. Another problem was a lack of explanation as to how the world became such a desolate wasteland by the year 2045. This is a plot point that is barely explained in the beginning and should have been expanded more or somehow tied into the conflict that occurs in the video game.
On top of this, the screenplay consisted of far too much expository dialogue relating to the cultural references that appear every so often. It may be a good method for avoiding any confusion from any one without knowledge of video games, but does the audience really need a history lesson every ten minutes?
Keep in mind, this is all coming from someone who has never read the book. And it's certain there is a reason for the story being told the way it was. However, just as a wild thought, what would have worked better is if the story revolved around adult players and if it was more humorous without becoming raunchy. This would allow the adult video game community to relate to this film even more, since they already seem to enjoy the 80's references.
The cast in this film is a mixed variety in terms of talent. Some of the great performances came from Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg (as always), Mark Rylance, and Ben Mendelsohn; all actors who held such presence in the moment and breathed life into the motives of their characters. One of the actors who lacked those qualities was Tye Sheridan, who played the main protagonist. Unfortunately, he seemed to only pretended to take his role seriously by channeling feigned euphoria as part of his character, instead of carrying a down-to-earth charisma like Cooke did. As a result of this, his performance was not believable enough and, ultimately, did not carry enough weight throughout the film.
One strong element of this film was its production design. Calling back to Spielberg's work on The Adventures of Tintin, the visual effects offer a remarkable view of a world that has never been seen onscreen before. Beginning with a riveting vehicle race featuring King Kong himself, it makes one wonder why Spielberg has never directed a movie based on an actual video game.
In short, READY PLAYER ONE may not be the best film in ages, but there is a lot about this film that simply works. One will be able to find a good a time in being taken on a visual journey and may even get a kick out of some of the pop culture references. Or if one is curious to go through Steven Spielberg's extensive filmography, this is a worthy title of looking into. -
Yes yes, we all know the book is better. It definitely is, just like almost all movie adaptations. This is no exception. If you've read the book you won't be able to watch this movie with out thinking about the massive differences the entire time and wondering why they literally changed certain narratives to completely different ones that even served the same purpose in the story. You'll be puzzled. That being said, I tried to watch it with out a biased opinion because the book was so good that is stacked side by side, the movie has no shot. But if you haven't read the book, I can see how this would be a pretty entertaining movie with an interesting story line. If it wouldn't give away the ending, I'd tell someone to watch the movie first and enjoy it, and then read the book to really get the goods. I did the opposite which turned out to be a mistake. Prob about a 7 if you haven't read the book, about a 2 if you have.
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pxxly_21 July 2018Personally, I am a complete action freak and I do not even remember breathing while watching the movie. I also liked both animated and real life reflection, it explains well that today's young people are actually influenced like real life in games. 10/10 action love it.