Ready Player One Review

 

        In 2011, Ernest Cline published Ready Player One. It became a New York Times’ Best Seller, it was the first book to have a celebration of all things geeky and pop culture. Later, it was optioned for a film adaptation and Steven Spielberg was helmed the keys to direct the adaptation. Ready Player One the film is the 21st book to film adaptation that Spielberg has done, including others such as: Jaws, The Color Purple, and Jurassic Park to name a few. The recent adaptation is an okay version of the book and not one of Spielberg’s strongest film, which is saying a lot since, he’s Steven Spielberg. SPOILERS will appear in the review. 

1. Story

        Since the movie is a loose adaptation of the book, the overall plot is the same, slightly. In 2042, the whole world is plugged into playing a virtual reality game called the OASIS. We follow the main character Wade Watts/Parzival played by Tye Sheridan. He and a few players called Gunthers, are attempting to find the creator’s Easter Egg. The creator James Halliday played by Mark Rylance creates the avatar Anorak, who composes three keys that will unlock and give the player the Easter Egg and control of the game. 

        Along with Wade is his friend Aech. The duo meet other players such as Art3mis/Samantha played by Olivia Cooke and Zhou/Sho and Toshiro/Daito played by Philip Zhao and Win Morisaki respectively. Meanwhile, the malevolent IOI CEO Nolan Sorrento played by proven antagonist stand in Ben Mendolsohn. He wants to get the egg to spam the OASIS with ads. Alongside the player i-Rok played by Tim Miller, they and the IOI workers called the sixers plan to stop Wade and his friends from getting the prize. 

        As far as adaptations go, it’s just okay. Some of the stuff that is missing is mostly just how the challenges are presented for the quest to get the keys. For instance, Wade gets the first key by beating a guardian in the arcade game Joust. And him traveling across the country to rescue Art3mis and working for IOI. I feel that it’s necessary to trim and change certain aspects of the book since, for readers who did indulge themselves with the book, they don’t want to see what happened in the big screen as it happened in the book. 

2. OASIS

        What sold me on the book was the entire world. Dubbed the OASIS, it’s an entire realm where schools and anything fun or informative merge. Watching the film, we see only glimpses of the world such as a whole world dedicated to the video game Minecraft. It would’ve been interesting to see the characters interact in other realms, even it’s just a few minutes. What we do see is the racetrack to the first key. It was exciting in the teaser trailer. Seeing it play out, it’s too cluttered and busy. The cars are crashing and it’s hard to track just what’s happening. 

        The other world we see takes place in the film The Shining. It looks impressive that the whole set, digital mind you, looks like an interactive screenshot of Stanley Kubrick’s film. The level was exciting since the elevator blood and the decomposing woman corpse turned into obstacles to get the second key. I felt that is when it was a real challenge since just two characters had no clue if the movie was a horror film. 

        Overall, most of the OASIS is just an okay concept. It’s populated by mostly original characters and IP characters that Warner Bros. owns like the DC Super Heroes and an assortment of video game characters like Halo and Overwatch to name a few. I feel that with the characters they had, they could’ve made there appearances more individual since we see just how the characters are portrayed. Like, there’s a group of Halo players that have the same color scheme, they could’ve have different colors or different look to differentiate themselves. 

3. Wade Watts: Or how to NOT make an interesting character

        The biggest downside of the film and is the most important aspect for a film, is lack of interesting characters. No character goes through an arc. Especially Wade Watts since he’s the hero in the film. The one thing I will give him is that he’s different in the real world and OASIS. He tries to impress Art3mis and is a pro with the creator’s background. In the actual world, he’s a very too himself person, when he is arguing his aunt’s boyfriend, he can’t defend himself. 

        The others suffer the same thing, there just stand ins for Wade. Like, none of them have any stake to help Wade or have ambitions with what they would do if they get the reward. They just help him since it’s the right thing to do. Wade’s the only one to have ambition with what he wants to do but its mostly materialistic. 

        I feel that Nolan’s character could’ve been more in depth than what we’re led on. I feel that he should have his own reasons to get the Easter Egg. Possibly, want to destroy it and focus on the big issues that’s plaguing the planet. Or get rid of it because he’s petty since he worked for James Halliday. Anything would’ve worked but we’re hampered with him being a stand in for corporate scum instead of seeing the character be more dynamic in terms of motive.  

4. Missed Opportunities

        Additionally, the biggest missed opportunity is the overall messaging of the film. There’s an underlying message of seeing someone for who they are. The OASIS acts like a cover of someone. We see this play out when Aech tells Wade that Art3mis can be a dude and Wade doesn’t really know her. The whole thing doesn’t go anywhere since it’s wrapped up quick when Wade sees Samantha and being okay about her looks. 

        The Curator played by Simon Pegg could’ve been way more than just a sassy curator. We later learn that him and Halliday’s co-founder Ogden Morrow are the same person. It’s a dead giveaway since anyone who knows film knows Simon Pegg and the illusion is gone since we can infer that the Curator is Ogden when Wade points something out in the archive footage of Morrow and Halliday and the Curator getting mad. I feel that he should’ve just told Wade who he was and just got personal. 

        Like I mentioned earlier, the characters could’ve have more depth than just supporters for Wade. There are not enough character moments for Wade to really contemplate or just to have him by himself. I-Rok could’ve have been just a stereotypical basement dweller who prides himself with having the most armor earned in the OASIS. Like when he gets eliminated, it would’ve been funny to have him be a teenager having to do chores or a worker getting fired on the spot. 

5. Overall

        As far as Spielberg films go, it’s just okay. There are moments where the director shines. Most of the CG is good and it’s a good ride. I feel that I was overhyped to see the movie that I thought it was going to be a gamechanger. On its own its just okay, but a if you like the book its good but if you’re just a casual audience it’s just fine. There is a sequel for the book that is coming out later this year, maybe the eventual film will be better but I feel that the characterization and the message has to be stronger than the first. 

        Ready Player One gets a 3 out of 5.