Written by: Kevin Berge
Yep, that's The Iron Giant and a RX-78-2 Gundam in the background. Yes, those are just about the coolest references in this film. (Image Courtesy of: readyplayeronemovie.com)
Quick Take: Ready Player One improves on its source material while still falling into the same issues that plague the novel. This is a nerd paradise fantasy adventure that is enjoyable to a fault, not quite diving as deep as it should but certainly reveling in its ability to mash together so many pop culture icons.
***This review will not contain plot spoilers beyond the basic set-up but will reveal some of the pop culture influences that may only show up later in the story. If you have not seen the movie and plan to do so, read ahead at your own risk.***
Ernest Cline's Ready Player One is a fascinating success story, utilizing a breadth of cultural references to echo older fantasy adventures. The story is almost more video game than book in construction and relies on the reader to have a heavy knowledge and love for what is being referenced.
Personally, I enjoyed the book well enough, but I was hoping it would dive deeper. All the characters are superficially developed at best, and there's not much Cline had to say about the world he had created. It is an escapist fantasy that fully embraces the escapism.
The story of both the novel and movie is simple. It's the year 2045, and, as the world is falling apart, most people have escaped into the Oasis, an intensely realized virtual world where you can be anything you want to be. Its creator, James Halliday (Mark Rylance), has died, and he creates an Easter egg hunt to crown his successor.
Those who seek out the "egg" are called Gunters. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) just might be the best Gunter, understanding Halliday better than anyone, and he alongside his best friend Aech (Lena Waithe), famous Oasis celebrity Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), and cousins Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Phillip Zhao) seek to solve the mysteries before the evil corporation IOI led by Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn).
Adapting this story was always going to be tough because this is a world where anything is possible. You needed someone who get the rights to top pop culture franchises and make a blockbuster that was more complex and engaging than the novel. Luckily, Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park) was interested.
Of the many names who defined the era of culture the story loves, few men stand out more than Spielberg. No one could recreate that old school adventure style with the same spark as this legendary director, and he does just that throughout the film.
However, he can only do so much. He creates some amazing CGI scenes especially the finale that are just breathtaking to behold, but he cannot avoid what is a noticeably flawed script. There are moments in this film that I genuinely wondered how Spielberg let certain lines be read.
Ernest Cline's Ready Player One is a fascinating success story, utilizing a breadth of cultural references to echo older fantasy adventures. The story is almost more video game than book in construction and relies on the reader to have a heavy knowledge and love for what is being referenced.
Personally, I enjoyed the book well enough, but I was hoping it would dive deeper. All the characters are superficially developed at best, and there's not much Cline had to say about the world he had created. It is an escapist fantasy that fully embraces the escapism.
The story of both the novel and movie is simple. It's the year 2045, and, as the world is falling apart, most people have escaped into the Oasis, an intensely realized virtual world where you can be anything you want to be. Its creator, James Halliday (Mark Rylance), has died, and he creates an Easter egg hunt to crown his successor.
Those who seek out the "egg" are called Gunters. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) just might be the best Gunter, understanding Halliday better than anyone, and he alongside his best friend Aech (Lena Waithe), famous Oasis celebrity Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), and cousins Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Phillip Zhao) seek to solve the mysteries before the evil corporation IOI led by Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn).
Adapting this story was always going to be tough because this is a world where anything is possible. You needed someone who get the rights to top pop culture franchises and make a blockbuster that was more complex and engaging than the novel. Luckily, Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park) was interested.
Of the many names who defined the era of culture the story loves, few men stand out more than Spielberg. No one could recreate that old school adventure style with the same spark as this legendary director, and he does just that throughout the film.
However, he can only do so much. He creates some amazing CGI scenes especially the finale that are just breathtaking to behold, but he cannot avoid what is a noticeably flawed script. There are moments in this film that I genuinely wondered how Spielberg let certain lines be read.
Nice of the film to be realistic that, even 30 years in the future, avatars will still be fully realized depictions of the uncanny valley. (Image Courtesy of: ew.com)
The screenplay by Cline and Zak Penn (The Avengers) is often awkward. The lines just do not come off as natural, and it bogs down character development. At times, it would have been better just to scrap certain lines altogether and let the movie's visuals speak for themselves.
The story does make some improvements. Art3mis gains a more active role in the story, better avoiding the awkward wish fulfillment role of the book. There are significant changes to what is referenced, leading to surprising and exciting moments, especially the amazing second act The Shining scene.
The actors try their best even though some seem more up to the task than others. Tye Sheridan (X-Men Apocalypse) never seems quite charismatic enough for his role while Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) comes off as the more interesting and capable lead when not saddled with terrible dialogue.
The real standout is Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) who brings out the best in the film with his take on Halliday's autism. On the other side of the casting choices, T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) is far and away the most obvious miscasting in the film in a role as I-R0k that should be way more interesting than it is.
The real question of Spielberg's adaptation though is just how much it brings to the table. It feels like the writers and director are trying to say more about a world that is a completely unrealistic depiction of the future, where the world has turned to the virtual to escape a harsh reality.
However, the movie still never dives too deep into anything. Everyone feels fairly generic beyond Halliday and his partner Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg) whose dynamic probably should have been explored even more than it was. At best, this is a story about one man coming to understand that both virtual and real connections are what matter most.
I enjoyed Ready Player One just as I liked the book, perhaps even a bit more so, but I still cannot shake the feeling that there is somewhere trapped in this concept something great left unexplored. A better script and a more committed focus on more than just the spectacular references could have made this a modern adventure classic.
The story does make some improvements. Art3mis gains a more active role in the story, better avoiding the awkward wish fulfillment role of the book. There are significant changes to what is referenced, leading to surprising and exciting moments, especially the amazing second act The Shining scene.
The actors try their best even though some seem more up to the task than others. Tye Sheridan (X-Men Apocalypse) never seems quite charismatic enough for his role while Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) comes off as the more interesting and capable lead when not saddled with terrible dialogue.
The real standout is Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) who brings out the best in the film with his take on Halliday's autism. On the other side of the casting choices, T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) is far and away the most obvious miscasting in the film in a role as I-R0k that should be way more interesting than it is.
The real question of Spielberg's adaptation though is just how much it brings to the table. It feels like the writers and director are trying to say more about a world that is a completely unrealistic depiction of the future, where the world has turned to the virtual to escape a harsh reality.
However, the movie still never dives too deep into anything. Everyone feels fairly generic beyond Halliday and his partner Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg) whose dynamic probably should have been explored even more than it was. At best, this is a story about one man coming to understand that both virtual and real connections are what matter most.
I enjoyed Ready Player One just as I liked the book, perhaps even a bit more so, but I still cannot shake the feeling that there is somewhere trapped in this concept something great left unexplored. A better script and a more committed focus on more than just the spectacular references could have made this a modern adventure classic.
