Ready Player One Review
Its no secret how much I love movies. But they are not
the only thing I am highly passionate about. I don’t know if any other “critics”
have ever had this problem, but it can be kind of tricky to review something
based on something else you love. Yes, I have a long list of favorite books,
favorite TV shows, favorite video games…other pieces of my personality that
gives me happiness. I think lots of people who have other passions have heightened
awareness of their fandom when these things get turned into movies. Like I
said, it can be tricky to review, because how do you leave your bias and baggage
at the door? When changes are made in movies, its because the filmmakers are
trying to make something that’s accessible to everyone, including general movie
goers. I know many people who hate superhero movies because their origins aren’t
exactly how they happen in the comics. The Tolkien family wants nothing to do
with Peter Jackson and his Middle-Earth movies. Their gripes and plights have
nothing to do with character development or theme, but superficial things, like
what costume Wolverine wears in an “X-Men” movie.
I read “Ready Player One” prior to its release. The
story was still fresh in my head as I went to see the movie. The book and the
movie are two very different things though, and I was a huge fan of the book.
So how do I go about seeing this movie? Did knowing the book hurt my experience
with the movie? These are some fair questions, because I’ll tell you right now,
there are some big changes from book to film. If you read the book, and if you
are a dear fan to the book, then you may not like some of the liberties Steven
Spielberg took with adapting the book to the screen. If major changes bother
you, then you might want to skip this. I liked the book, and I think Spielberg
did some great work in the movie. I can say that “Ready Player One” wasn’t a
perfect book, its not a perfect movie. But you may enjoy yourself if you go
looking.
I am sure even if you haven’t read the book, you’ve
surely seen previews for it. You are probably thinking that it’s a nostalgia
overload. Yes, that’s kind of true. I collected action figures as a little kid,
and when I invited friends over to my house, we would divide my action figures
into the good team and the bad team then had them fight with vehicles and weapons
we found. Copyright infringement never entered our minds. Ernest Cline wrote
the ultimate fantasy of seeing all your favorite characters together onscreen.
But that’s not the whole story, not nearly the whole story. There are pitfalls
though of having a movie that’s full of pop culture icons, and yes, the movie
is overloaded with them. If you don’t like an overabundance of pop culture
references in movies, then skip this.
“Ready Player One” takes place in 2045. The world is
going through a social collapse, global warming is real to everyone, even the
conservatives. But with all these bad things going on, nobody seems to care.
Because not too many people live in the real world. Not since James Halliday
(Mark Rylance) created the OASIS, a massive, open-world, virtual reality where
someone can essentially be anybody, go anywhere and do anything, the sky is the
limit. Some people may get exhausted by all the pop culture references in this
movie, but it kind of makes sense. Look at internet forums, look at your friends
X-box names, look at Twitter handles, heck looks at your old AIM screennames.
If this type of virtual reality was real today, would you create a personal
avatar that was you, or would you dress yourself up as Batman? I have a feeling
that it would be the latter, because that’s the world we live in right now.
James Halliday died with no heir and no family. So, he
creates a contest, to find an Easter Egg hidden inside the OASIS. The first
person to find this Easter Egg gets possession of the OASIS, and a half-trillion-dollar
fortune. Its nearly impossible though, and for the first five years, nobody can
find it. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is one of these people who loves everything
that is the OASIS and he is a huge admirer of Halliday himself, and he’d love
to get his hands on that Easter Egg. But of course, he’s not the only one
looking and of course there is an evil corporation bent on bending the rules to
get the Egg for themselves.
I have loved the output of Steven Spielberg over the
years, and there aren’t many artists out there that have a filmography as
impressive as his. One of his films I am not-so-crazy about is “A.I.” precisely
because there is so much narration that it kills any emotion you might feel
towards the characters and their story. For at least twenty or so minutes at
the beginning of “Ready Player One,” I had a feeling we were going to get “A.I.”
again. Simply put, there is lots of exposition dropped in the opening moments
of the movie, so much is explained that you feel you might get a tour of the
OASIS instead of an actual movie. I worried that Spielberg didn’t take a fair
chance at truly adapting this book, and perhaps it was unadaptable.
Once the first contest for a clue to the Easter Egg
begins, all of that begins to disappear. Spielberg proved how he has been known
as a connoisseur of adventure, because there are moments in the movie that are
just exhilarating. The racing scene maybe a complete reinvention from the book,
but Spielberg has fun playing in this world and making the concept unforgettable.
The script, which was written by the original author and Zak Penn, reinvent
many things, but there is still plenty of fun to be had here. There is a moment
in the middle of the movie, when Spielberg pays homage to one of his biggest
influences, and I honestly believe its going to be one of the most talked about
moments he’s ever put on camera. It’s certainly a moment I’ll be thinking about
lots the coming weeks, and I can’t believe I saw it.
Unfortunately, the script doesn’t fix some of the
books problems. Watts falls for Artem3s (Olivia Cooke), buts much like it was
in the book, it’s not a genuine romance that builds over time based on
attraction and personalities. Artem3s says herself that Watts doesn’t love her,
but the idea of her and its that idea that plagues their relationship in the
whole movie. Watts falls for her because she’s the cool girl who knows
everything about every movie and song lyric, and Watts knows that stuff too. So
that means their meant to be, right? The movie even turns Artem3s into a damsel
in distress instead of a genuine character like in the book. It may not be as an
offensive when a guy abruptly grabs a girl’s ass at the bar. But its still a
form of objectification and its distracting here. A friend of Watts says in the
movie that Artem3s could be a man in his forties named Chuck, the movie would
have been a little interesting if Arem3s turned out to be just that, and I kind
of wished they went there.
Performances are good all around. Ben Mendelsohn has
become the new go-to guy for villains and he’s getting really good at it,
playing the leader of that shady organization. Tye Sheridan is a bit of a blank
at times in this, but I think that’s appropriate. He’s one of those introverted,
John Hughes-style heroes and he does that well. Mark Rylance continues to build
a magnificent filmography and he does some truly unique work as Halliday here.
The OASIS itself is pretty spectacular to behold. I
know many people have complained about the CGI in the movie, that it wasn’t
realistic enough. But I honestly think that’s by design. Video games, no matter
what counsel you have, doesn’t have hyper-realistic features, I think its purposely
unrealistic to make it feel like virtual reality. I liked it fine. But even
though people come to the OASIS in droves, some begin to realize that too much
of something isn’t good for you and the movie begs us to drop our digital
selves and not forget to go outside. I actually couldn’t believe how the much
the ending hit home. In a world where we are glued to our cell phones and
children would rather play on a tablet then play outside with you. It’s a
pretty powerful observation made by a guy who made a career getting people to
watch movies.
It was that sensibility that ultimately won me over,
and I was actually kind of surprised that such an endearing, important message
showed up in this endless ocean of references and nostalgia. The thing is, audiences
may have to really dig in order to get there.
FINAL GRADE: B+
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