Ready Player One Review

Last night, I went to the movie theater and watched Ready Player One.

I loved the book (written by Ernest Cline). So, I was very excited to see the movie. Overall, I have to say, I was very pleased. Get ready for a tale chock full of pop culture and 80s references!

*Cue Back to the Future theme*

The story follows Wade Watts (Parzival in game), a teenager who resides within a dystopian future set in 2045. In this time period, humanity escapes the real world into a virtual one called, the OASIS. If I had to give you a quick explanation of the story’s theme, I’d say it’s like the Matrix meets Willy Wonka. The creator of the OASIS passes away without an heir to his massive empire. Instead of passing along his assets to someone in the company, he creates an elaborate game where the participants must solve clues about his life in order to obtain three keys that will lead to the ultimate prize, all of his assets and complete ownership of the OASIS. In video games, hidden messages, instances, artwork, etc. are called easter eggs. Each of these keys are located within hidden parts of the OASIS.

So, our main protagonist sets out on a journey to find the final easter egg. Along the way he meets Art3mis, another hunter (a love interest). He is accompanied by his best friend, Aech, and friends he meets along the way, Daito and Sho. Together, they find clues to solve the various puzzles. No story would be complete without the villain. Enter Sorrento, the head of IOI, a large company looking to take control of the OASIS and enact their capitalist interests across the platform (such as spamming ads across the interface just to the threshold before a person is subject to seizures). Sorrento has an army of employees that work day and night trying to solve the puzzles and get to the prize first, this army is called the Sixers. We quickly find out that Sorrento is willing to cross boundaries from the game to the real world, and cause physical harm to those that oppose him. And with that, our adventure begins!

So, that’s my quick introduction. I loved the book. I read it during a camping trip, and kept getting in trouble with my camp mates. My time was meant for beer and relaxation, not reading, I was told. I would often “sleep in,” but really I would sit in my tent and read. I had a hard time putting the book down. Now, the book and the movie are very different. It’s easy to say, “The book was better,” but this time, I think they both have their merits.

There are a lot of scenes in the book that would have been really hard to recreate, such as complete movie scenes (80s movies) from the main protagonist’s point of view. The tasks involved in obtaining the keys were very different, but from a movie perspective, I understand the changes. I really respect that Ernest Cline, the book’s author, was included on the screen play team. I think this gave the movie a bit more of an authentic quality. That being said, there are some problems with the movie. Over all, the visuals were amazing and they packed in so many references to pop culture, however, I found the pacing to be a bit off. It was a 2 and a half hour movie, so things had to move quickly, but relationships moved a bit faster than expected and other relationships were not well developed. I felt the main character could have been fleshed out a bit better as well. I’d like to see a director’s cut released to video. I think there is a lot to play with and perhaps a better movie can be made outside of the theater. Even so, this is still one of the best Sci-Fi movies I’ve seen in a long time.

Alright, go see Ready Player One (or pre-order the movie)! Go read Ready Player One, or go listen to Ready Player One (narrated by Wil Wheaton)! All great options.
-Jorric