Ready Player One (2018)

spronk · Apr 2, 2018

daly said:
Usually not a fan of 3D, but half way in I realized this one probably should have gone that route.

Enjoyed it. Like previously said I think it'd be hard for you to not like this movie if you come to this site.

I saw it for 2nd time in 3D IMAX today and imo the 2D version (at least Dolby ATMOS/Regal RPX/etc) is more enjoyable. Its post production 3D, and I think all the CGI is also post since nothing really popped out ala cartoons. The colors were more muted too, it wasn't my imagination either since I walked out a few mins early and saw the Dolby ATMOS version and the colors were drop dead gorgeous compared to what felt a bit more muted in the 3D IMAX. Of course there are like half a dozen 3D formats now and I think some are better than others (real 3d?) so its probably gonna be very YMMV on your theaters and how well they have their systems calibrated.

Movie is definitely not as enjoyable on 2nd watching, I thought I'd spot a lot more easter eggs or something but really most of the easter eggs all occur at once in big battle scenes so by the time you spot 2 or 3 its gone by. The IRL scenes just drag badly and the dialogue gets pretty cringey.

Den of Geek enumerated 180 easter eggs in the movie they have, I missed most of it
Ready Player One: Complete Easter Egg and Reference Guide

Agraza · Apr 2, 2018

It is a fun watch, but the books are better. The parallel love stories were nauseating. The clues and hunt for the key in the book was far more difficult. I liked the period of decadence Wade went into between keys.

Phazael · Apr 2, 2018

Half in the Bag review is pretty spot on, for the most part. I personally, did not care about the abundance of CGI. My main issue was that the real world was not bad enough to justify all of humanity checking out on RL for the oasis, let alone the hellscape the book presented. Well, that and the fucked ending sequence. I get that changes need to be made to make a book work as a movie, but this was a massive left turn from the core of what the book was about. I think that some of the initial departures from the book, while good for the movie translation, painted them in a corner that made the ending really fall apart. I am not sure what happened, because 175m seems like enough money to make a movie like this (especially when Amblin owns half the IP rights to the pop culture referenced), but there were clearly a lot of rewrites that seemed to be centered on either saving money or keeping Spielberg from ever having to leave his office.

Vandyn · Apr 3, 2018

I'll agree that the book as a whole was better, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the movie though. One part I forgot about that was in the book is when Wade is on planet Zork which would of been great if they were able to put that in the movie.

Siliconemelons · Apr 3, 2018

The half in the bag review summs up my feelings to even "wanting" to watch or read this... the "story" is not really, "enough" to get me to do it, pay for it, or spend time reading it... its just a fiber thread to string cool old school references together into a "something" - I think the author wanted to do more references and things in the book, but couldent- so when the time came to adapt for screen he just got to do them there instead.

Nostalgia references for reference sake.

TJT · Apr 3, 2018

Movie was okay. I liked the D&D module in the school world from the book the most. So I really wished that that had been in there.

Dacianprick King In The North · Apr 3, 2018

Had no expectations walking into this.
Loved it.

bigmark268 · Apr 3, 2018

12 mins in and fucking garbage.

Amzin · Apr 4, 2018

My main problem with the book was how absurdly mastabatory it was. They completely removed that tone from the movie, but they also removed basically everything else I liked about the book (and particularly the things I thought it did well) while keeping only part of the setting and concept. The book really sold the shitty real world, the time between keys was important. I liked Wade's insane end-game workaround plan, and the importance the puzzles and challenges had. The movie made everything incredibly generic and took away all the weight behind everything.

I think I'd love a middle ground, legitimately love. A Netflix one shot series or something that actually has the development and darker tone the books had without the 100 pages of wanking to 80s concepts interspersed in - a lot of it could be just visual instead.

As it is, I really can't imagine a reason to ever watch the movie again. There was so little there beyond the scenery and I'd rather watch Advent Children if I want pretty, awesome CGI fights.

Vandyn · Apr 4, 2018

Amzin said:
My main problem with the book was how absurdly mastabatory it was. They completely removed that tone from the movie, but they also removed basically everything else I liked about the book (and particularly the things I thought it did well) while keeping only part of the setting and concept. The book really sold the shitty real world, the time between keys was important. I liked Wade's insane end-game workaround plan, and the importance the puzzles and challenges had. The movie made everything incredibly generic and took away all the weight behind everything.

I think I'd love a middle ground, legitimately love. A Netflix one shot series or something that actually has the development and darker tone the books had without the 100 pages of wanking to 80s concepts interspersed in - a lot of it could be just visual instead.

As it is, I really can't imagine a reason to ever watch the movie again. There was so little there beyond the scenery and I'd rather watch Advent Children if I want pretty, awesome CGI fights.

I also had the thought that you could make the book into an 8 episode Netflix series where it really slows the pace between the keys. I would imagine something like that would be pretty expensive to make though, especially once you factor in all the licenses that are needed.

Xevy · Apr 4, 2018

Saw it. Decent movie, 7.5/8 out of 10. Didn't read the book. Seemed like a huge nostalgia grab (though I get that's what it's about, so it's not exploitation really). Some of the writing outside of the Oasis was fucking awful. Like dude's only family dies and less than 12 hours later, his first 3 sentences in he's talking about how nice it is outside and he suddenly gets super huge balls and goes deep in on the girl he was fanboying over two days before.

Also they really made Halliday seem like the saddest person in the world. Fucking asocial, never kissed a girl, obsessed with video games, wanting to live in the past, and dressed in outdated clothes? A little too much of a caricature.

Think it could make a really good animated series probably. No way it could be live action with the sheer amount of CGI in this thing.

Sithro · Apr 5, 2018

Well, that was a fun romp. Story could have been told better but I had fun.

I will say that it did one thing REALLY right. Most film adaptations of popular culture things try to reinvent the wheel. Power Rangers movie made the suits look stupid as fuck, as well as the zords. In the Transformers movies, the Transformers look like scrap metal thrown into a blender, shaped into something humanoid, and painted. This movie has a fucking Gundam, and it wasn't a reimagining, it was the Gundam AS IT WAS IN THE ANIME. The Iron Giant wasn't reimagined, it was just a non-cartoon version of what was in the animated film. God I wish Hollywood would catch a fucking clue and stop reimagining everything. Power Rangers movie would have been pretty good if they didn't ruin the fucking suits and zords.

lost · Apr 5, 2018

so how much did blizzard pay for tracer to be in there? lol. loved the movie tho!

Amzin · Apr 5, 2018

Sithro said:
I will say that it did one thing REALLY right. Most film adaptations of popular culture things try to reinvent the wheel. Power Rangers movie made the suits look stupid as fuck, as well as the zords. In the Transformers movies, the Transformers look like scrap metal thrown into a blender, shaped into something humanoid, and painted. This movie has a fucking Gundam, and it wasn't a reimagining, it was the Gundam AS IT WAS IN THE ANIME. The Iron Giant wasn't reimagined, it was just a non-cartoon version of what was in the animated film. God I wish Hollywood would catch a fucking clue and stop reimagining everything. Power Rangers movie would have been pretty good if they didn't ruin the fucking suits and zords.

I mean, that was literally 75% of the point of the book / movie, was nostalgia boning. They may have omitted most of the actual depth from the book in the movie, but reimagining anything would have COMPLETELY missed the point, and Eric Cline (the author) was involved with the movie to some degree or other.

Sithro · Apr 5, 2018

Amzin said:
I mean, that was literally 75% of the point of the book / movie, was nostalgia boning. They may have omitted most of the actual depth from the book in the movie, but reimagining anything would have COMPLETELY missed the point, and Eric Cline (the author) was involved with the movie to some degree or other.

I do have to wonder why the redesigned MechaGodzilla. That MechaGodzilla was neither the 1974 one, 1993 one, or Kiryu.

Big Phoenix · Apr 8, 2018

That opening narration, how dumb do they think people are?

Chanur · Apr 8, 2018

Someone was saying they ran out of money on this film and had to rush it unfinished. That could be why the pacing was off.

I have not watched it yet though.

Brahma · Apr 8, 2018

Wanted to love this flick...Thought it was OK. Give it a 6 outta 10.

Zweischneid · Apr 8, 2018

lost said:
so how much did blizzard pay for tracer to be in there? lol. loved the movie tho!

Pretty sure Warner Brothers have a price list for product placement. Probably less than Mercedes or Gillette paid for Justice League or Budweiser paid for actors to drink Bud from 2017 bottles in the supposedly 70s in Kong Skull Island, as Ready Player One needed "pop culture references the kids could get" and was likely shopping around for them.

sike · Apr 8, 2018

Enjoyed the film, not read the books.

Only thing I felt was missing was an Irok IRL reveal - either a neckbeard or 13 year old girl. Missed comic opportunity!

Ready Player One (2018)

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