The Ready Player One movie was totally different from the book!
I expected to see the Ready Player One I read transformed into its movie adaptation and boiiii was I in for a shock.
I’ll be honest; because I’ve read the book, I found it challenging to be able to provide a review that isn’t somehow clouded with the looming presence of the book looking over my shoulder.I’ll try my hardest to remove myself from under the book’s shadow and remain objective. After all, this is just a movie like any other. That’s why I’ve decided to make NO MENTIONS of the book from this point onwards!
By which I mean after the next paragraph!
If you’ve read both the book and watched the movie you probably know what I’m talking about when I say I don’t want to compare the two. And in the interest of all the homeslices who haven’t read/watched either (or both), here’s a spoiler-free review of Ready Player One, the movie!
A Simple Plot Line
Ready Player One is set in the U.S. in the near future, where everyone has buried themselves in a super advanced VR experience called the OASIS. While this could have possibly been done realistically (like how I would have wanted a movie set in the future to be), verisimilitude was kind of lacking. In other words, it felt like an action flick that could only exist in fiction. It would’ve been nice for the Ready Player One setting to be possible in the foreseeable future. But I guess not…
The dialogue was a bit cliché, and made the film seem like it was a tad underdeveloped in my opinion… However, if originality and realism in a script doesn’t matter that much to you, you’ll still find this movie enjoyable!
With a plot like this, I would’ve expected the moral of the story to be less in your face. It was spelled out for main character Wade Watts word-for-word. I would’ve liked for there to be some character development! Where he would come up with a conclusion like that for himself, rather than to be told so and then suddenly changing his mind.
On the flip side, despite its issues, I did find this movie enjoyable! I wasn’t bored at any point during the movie! And it did still make me discuss and obsess about it after I stepped out of the cinema. Ready Player One isn’t going to come anywhere close to an Oscar (I don’t believe in the Oscars anyway), but it was fun and the story was noice! It touched on relevant topics, which while was done a tad in-your-face-ish, there’s something worth to be learnt from it.
But maybe I’m just a know nothing pleb who gets easily impressed. *shrugs*
The References!
One thing I did appreciate about the movie was the little “easter egg” references. (Mad props if you got that reference *wink wink*). I can’t deny that I let out the occasional non-verbal gasp when I recognised something from my limited pop culture encyclopaedia. It sort of became a game of how many references I could spot during the movie! For me, the music was dooope cause 80s power ballads are my jam since I first heard You’re The Voice by John Farnham when I was 13. If you’re interested in listening to the “80s Mixtape” playlist I created on Tidal in honour of this movie (well it was actually for the book) click here. But anyway! ‘Twas fun.
I’m sure people better versed in pop culture would be able to spot way more references than I did. And I encourage you to do so!
Visuals
The visuals in this movies were cool! The colours during the scenes while the characters were in the OASIS was so pretty with all these blues and purples like a sunset or something. It kind of reminds me of the Back to the Future movie posters actually. I’m sure it was intentional. And that is the extent of of my technical descriptive ability. I know nothing! About colour-grading! And other things! But if a pleb can appreciate or even notice some colourography (is this a word I don’t think so but whatevs), you know its well done bish!
The VFX was good, which is as much as I can say anything about VFX. Good or bad? Thus far that is the limit of my abilities. So yes, I notice when it’s good and I notice when it’s bad, and this time, it was good.
Forgive my plebe wording, I know no frou-frou words. I really do wonder sometimes why I even bother to critique visuals. But then I remember that there are some people out there who also don’t have a clue, and therefore can understand me and find this useful. FRIENDS!
Worth It?
Of course, I do not claim to have the knowledge nor skills of a qualified film critic or even the casual movie buff, so take my opinions with however much salt you like! (I like mine pretty salty!)
After everything I’ve said, I do think it’s worth the watch, especially if you haven’t read or have plans to read the book. Also, if you’re a fan of pop culture, you could enjoy spotting references in the movie!
So yes, maybe it is a bit…
WORTH IT.
Did I miss anything I should’ve pointed out in Ready Player One? Maybe you have suggestions for what movie I should watch and review next! Let me know in the comments! You can also check out some of my other TV/Film posts here. Don’t forget to subscribe so you know when I post my next super dope magnum opus content!