Ready Player One (Review)
Ready Player One is Big on Nostalgia, Not so Much on Story.
Ready Player One marks Steven Spielberg’s returns to making jaw-dropping blockbuster films. Not that there’s anything with him taking time to make passion projects like The Post or Bridge of Spies, but when it comes down to it I prefer the popcorn Steven Spielberg, because you can always guarantee he’s going to bring some Stars (quality, not actors) to whatever project he’s working on. Besides, who better to bring Ernest Cline’s nostalgia-fueled tale to the big screen than the man responsible for a great deal of nostalgia himself?
For the first time in a long time, I actually took the time to read the book Ready Player One, before seeing the movie. So, I figured it would be good to address that aspect of this adaptation. Essentially the bare bones of the tale remain in place, but Spielberg takes a lot of liberties when it comes to the challenges and the finer points of the story. The really isn’t something I can blame him for because while a lot of Cline’s story makes for a great read, it would have made for a very boring movie to watch. I mean, one of the first challenges is playing a classic arcade game against a Lich King, and just trying to imagine that on a big screen is pretty lame. As with tons of other adaptations, Spielberg has to pick and choose the scenes and elements he carries over carefully, and while I found myself shaking my head “no” at a lot of parts, I have to say he really did manage to capture the overall spirit of the novel.
Now that we’ve successfully kicked that elephant out of the room, let’s talk about the movie itself. Ready Player One is eye candy in the best possible way. So much so, that I strongly encourage seeing it in 3D if possible. The vast majority of the movie takes place in a virtual world called ‘The Oasis’ where people escape from the incredibly depressing real world in order to live a life of excitement and be something more than they ever could outside of VR. This means that people in The Oasis create avatars to use and Spielberg stuffs the film with so many references to movies, video games, comics, and pretty much anything else one can “geek out over.” In a lot of ways, Ready Player One is a movie all about easter eggs, which is appropriate given that the competition at the heart of the story is about finding the creator of The Oasis’ easter egg. Look carefully and you’ll see characters from classic video games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Overwatch, Duke Nukem, StarCraft, and more than I could ever hope to take in on just one screening of the film. So, be prepared to get your geek on for this one.
The film overall does feel a bit rushed at times, which cheapens the adventure aspect of it. The breakneck speed in which it rushes through the three challenges makes it feel almost a little too easy at times. In fact, it’s kind of hard to believe it took anyone five years to solve the challenge since our hero (Played by Tye Sheridan) pretty much figures it out in a week with the help of his friends. But that’s what happens when you try to fit 385 pages into a 2 ½ hour run time. Still, I do like a few of the changes that Spielberg and writer Zak Penn made to the film. One of which was fleshing out a character with very little significance in the book into a full-on villain in the film (voiced by T.J. Miller). Miller brings some serious comic relief, as he does with most of his roles, while still remaining a menacing sight to behold. On the flipside of that though, the main villain, corporate attack dog Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) is practically neutered from the get-go. He goes from being a worthy adversary to a fumbling idiot who seems to always be shaking his fists and cursing the moxy of the heroes of Ready Player One.
Ready Player One is definitely not one of Spielberg’s greatest films, but it is an incredible adventure to behold. Stop and think too much about any aspect of it and that fancy sheen will start to dull, but if you sit back and enjoy the ride, then I don’t think anyone is going to be disappointed with what they see. Afterall, the book was all about nostalgia and, in a way, toxic geek culture. The toxic aspect is removed from the film though and while that certainly removes a bit of the hero’s “elite” status, it makes them a bit more likable overall since he isn’t an insufferable prick calling people “posers” for not knowing as much as he does. However, this movie gives us everything that we want from a virtual reality movie. It’s vision of what we all hope is one day possible will fill any geek’s heart with joy.
In my opinion, reading the book before seeing the movie is a detriment in the case of this film. While it offers a lot of understanding to the background of a lot of the elements of the movie, the changes that are made for the big screen will only distract from the movie overall. Keep that in mind if you’re a huge fan of Cline’s original work. Though I still believe that most of you who have read the book will enjoy the movie, don’t be that person who walks around saying “the book was better.” It’s always going to be better in one way or another. For those of you who haven’t read Ready Player One, get ready for a wide sweeping adventure with everything your geeky heart could desire. There are references to great works of science fiction, movies from your childhood and beyond, characters you’ve fallen in love with over the years, and even a little D&D for you tabletop geeks. This is a movie that was made for fanboys and girls and in that regard, it is an incredible success.
