Ready Player One Movie 

This review is about the movie adaptation of Ready Player One. To see the book review click here: Ready Player One Review.

Movie Description: 
From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

Review: 
As expected the movie didn’t stick to the book. What I didn’t expect was the competition to be completely changed. The competition was the main concept of the book and it was completely altered in the film. As I watched the film I took note of some of the things that had changed and stood out to me. So this review is spoiler ridden but I’ll let you know when that part is coming. First I want to discuss the film as its own thing. 

I found the movie to be alright, I would say maybe 2 or 3 star rating as it’s hard to seperate it from the book and not let that side interfere with the rating. I know for sure that it’s not the type of film that I would choose to watch again. One issue I had with the film was the heavy use of CGI. The way I pictured the OASIS when reading the book was for it to not feel like a game, as in the scenery but to look realistic. So I pictured their players to look like humans, to be played by actors in this case. This made the movie more disappointing since the scenes with the characters was completely CGI. 

However despite saying that I did find the characters personalities spot on to the book. They seemed to have captured their attitude and I think that’s one of things that helped me stick in and watch the film. That and the excuse to eat snacks. So although their in-game appearances were lacking, they at least showed their personality. Their human appearance was also spot on, except for Wade not being fat to begin with and Shoto being an 11 year old boy and Daito not being fat. 

Another thing I liked about the film version was seeing people using the OASIS in reality. They were just punching the air and running into things. This was something the book didn’t capture that I appreciated in the movie and was just a continuous funny side joke in the background of the storyline.

Considering I didn’t fully love the book, I wasn’t surprised to see parts of the movie that I preferred to the book. This included the removing of re-enactment of films when the players went through the gates. That was something I didn’t like in the books so I was glad was gone in the movie. I also think the opening scene race to find the first key was a more fun way to solve the egg than the original being going through a dungeon and playing a game of Joust. However this too wasn’t perfect as the way that Wade found out the clue to go backwards on the race track was very forced and not a good hidden clue like it was in the book. In fact none of the riddles in the movie were as good as the ones in the book.

Overall I felt like the movie was something that was just referencing the book rather than being the book and that's how it didn’t too well for me. It look away the main storyline and made it into something it’s not.

*SPOILERS*

Now it’s time to talk about points of the film.

So when the movie begins, it’s Wade heading to his hideout to play on the OASIS. Which is pretty accurate, he bumps into Mrs Gilmore and then proceeds to the hideout. Problem is his set up and the fact he isn’t going to school. He starts with a multi-directional treadmill instantly. There’s no way he could afford that and this stage. However what annoys me more is that school doesn’t happen at all. The first key is found in his school planet, instead in the movie it’s found by going backwards in a race. By taking away the school it really messes up the whole flow of the movie such as finding out his identity etc. 

All of the characters appearance were wrong, the one that was most upsetting was Aech. Aech was displayed as some weird monster guy with a missing torso. The whole thing about Aech’s character was that he was meant to be mistaken as a man rather than as Helen. So it was far too obvious that Aech real identity was going to be nothing like the character and ruined the reveal. 

Another change was to make the Almanac to be a museum of the sorts where you could go see everything about Halliday. I quite liked this change as its more visual than him reading a book but what I didn’t like was the introduction of a robot man called the Curator. He was an unnecessary added character. It turned out it was Og, who is meant to have a much bigger role and is known in the books for existence in the public eye. The Curator also ruined the way Wade gets his extra life coin. He’s meant to play pacman not win a simple bet. It made him an even bigger Mary Sue than he was in the books.

Another unnecessary extra character was i-R0k. He was the wizard that basically controlled the Orb. Except he ended up having a bigger role now by being a spy and assassin for Sorrento. There was just no need, they already had a team of people he could use for Wade.

A scene they kept that was only slightly altered was the dancing scene between Wade and Art3mis. This was well done and even included the breakup. Just the breakup aftermath didn’t come and didn’t last long at all. Then again wasn’t necessary since Wade was already skinny.

A scene that was improved was the deal making scene between Wade and Sorrento. Sorrento blows up Wade’s trailer and in the book it wasn’t emotional didn’t seem to care. In the movie he tries to warn his aunty so it was slightly more emotional which I appreciated. 

I think the thing that annoyed me the most was the fact we met all of the real people far too early. Wade met Art3mis in person really quick rather than right at the very end. This also happened with the other characters. Wade also teamed up with the High Five straight away and didn’t try very hard to be a soloist. The build up to team work was a very strong theme in the book that was took away in the movie. Also the true identities was meant to be a big reveal and it just was a let down. 

The second key was also drastically changed, they had to go through The Shining and find the girl Halliday loved. It was a funnier version but I just don’t understand why they changed the main part of the book. The challenges should have stayed roughly the same. Also by changing it, it meant they didn’t get their robots. Yet they still made an appearance to an extent. Aech built the Iron Giant and Sorrento still had MechaGodzilla and still fought but it wasn’t the same epic battle it could have been. 

A very frustrating change was the arrest of Art3mis. Wade should have been purposely arrested to steal data and to stop the shield over the final challenge. Instead Art3mis gets accidentally arrested and does the same thing. Why change the person who gets arrested. There was just no need. It added intensity that wasn’t needed.

The movie took out the killing of Daito. This was a great part of the book and he didn’t do much when they kept him alive so why keep him alive. Daito’s death added dramaticness and also gave the government the excuse they needed to arrest Sorrento for his murder. Sorrento still got arrested but only for the explosion. 

I just find it annoying that people who create movies change the good parts and leave out interesting parts. I don’t expect 100% accuracy but I at least expect it to resemble the book.

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5 

Accuracy Rating: 2 runes out of 5 

Check out the book review: Ready Player One

written by Lauren

Ready Player One Movie 

This review is about the movie adaptation of Ready Player One. To see the book review click here: Ready Player One Review.

Movie Description: 
From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

Review: 
As expected the movie didn’t stick to the book. What I didn’t expect was the competition to be completely changed. The competition was the main concept of the book and it was completely altered in the film. As I watched the film I took note of some of the things that had changed and stood out to me. So this review is spoiler ridden but I’ll let you know when that part is coming. First I want to discuss the film as its own thing. 

I found the movie to be alright, I would say maybe 2 or 3 star rating as it’s hard to seperate it from the book and not let that side interfere with the rating. I know for sure that it’s not the type of film that I would choose to watch again. One issue I had with the film was the heavy use of CGI. The way I pictured the OASIS when reading the book was for it to not feel like a game, as in the scenery but to look realistic. So I pictured their players to look like humans, to be played by actors in this case. This made the movie more disappointing since the scenes with the characters was completely CGI. 

However despite saying that I did find the characters personalities spot on to the book. They seemed to have captured their attitude and I think that’s one of things that helped me stick in and watch the film. That and the excuse to eat snacks. So although their in-game appearances were lacking, they at least showed their personality. Their human appearance was also spot on, except for Wade not being fat to begin with and Shoto being an 11 year old boy and Daito not being fat. 

Another thing I liked about the film version was seeing people using the OASIS in reality. They were just punching the air and running into things. This was something the book didn’t capture that I appreciated in the movie and was just a continuous funny side joke in the background of the storyline.

Considering I didn’t fully love the book, I wasn’t surprised to see parts of the movie that I preferred to the book. This included the removing of re-enactment of films when the players went through the gates. That was something I didn’t like in the books so I was glad was gone in the movie. I also think the opening scene race to find the first key was a more fun way to solve the egg than the original being going through a dungeon and playing a game of Joust. However this too wasn’t perfect as the way that Wade found out the clue to go backwards on the race track was very forced and not a good hidden clue like it was in the book. In fact none of the riddles in the movie were as good as the ones in the book.

Overall I felt like the movie was something that was just referencing the book rather than being the book and that's how it didn’t too well for me. It look away the main storyline and made it into something it’s not.

*SPOILERS*

Now it’s time to talk about points of the film.

So when the movie begins, it’s Wade heading to his hideout to play on the OASIS. Which is pretty accurate, he bumps into Mrs Gilmore and then proceeds to the hideout. Problem is his set up and the fact he isn’t going to school. He starts with a multi-directional treadmill instantly. There’s no way he could afford that and this stage. However what annoys me more is that school doesn’t happen at all. The first key is found in his school planet, instead in the movie it’s found by going backwards in a race. By taking away the school it really messes up the whole flow of the movie such as finding out his identity etc. 

All of the characters appearance were wrong, the one that was most upsetting was Aech. Aech was displayed as some weird monster guy with a missing torso. The whole thing about Aech’s character was that he was meant to be mistaken as a man rather than as Helen. So it was far too obvious that Aech real identity was going to be nothing like the character and ruined the reveal. 

Another change was to make the Almanac to be a museum of the sorts where you could go see everything about Halliday. I quite liked this change as its more visual than him reading a book but what I didn’t like was the introduction of a robot man called the Curator. He was an unnecessary added character. It turned out it was Og, who is meant to have a much bigger role and is known in the books for existence in the public eye. The Curator also ruined the way Wade gets his extra life coin. He’s meant to play pacman not win a simple bet. It made him an even bigger Mary Sue than he was in the books.

Another unnecessary extra character was i-R0k. He was the wizard that basically controlled the Orb. Except he ended up having a bigger role now by being a spy and assassin for Sorrento. There was just no need, they already had a team of people he could use for Wade.

A scene they kept that was only slightly altered was the dancing scene between Wade and Art3mis. This was well done and even included the breakup. Just the breakup aftermath didn’t come and didn’t last long at all. Then again wasn’t necessary since Wade was already skinny.

A scene that was improved was the deal making scene between Wade and Sorrento. Sorrento blows up Wade’s trailer and in the book it wasn’t emotional didn’t seem to care. In the movie he tries to warn his aunty so it was slightly more emotional which I appreciated. 

I think the thing that annoyed me the most was the fact we met all of the real people far too early. Wade met Art3mis in person really quick rather than right at the very end. This also happened with the other characters. Wade also teamed up with the High Five straight away and didn’t try very hard to be a soloist. The build up to team work was a very strong theme in the book that was took away in the movie. Also the true identities was meant to be a big reveal and it just was a let down. 

The second key was also drastically changed, they had to go through The Shining and find the girl Halliday loved. It was a funnier version but I just don’t understand why they changed the main part of the book. The challenges should have stayed roughly the same. Also by changing it, it meant they didn’t get their robots. Yet they still made an appearance to an extent. Aech built the Iron Giant and Sorrento still had MechaGodzilla and still fought but it wasn’t the same epic battle it could have been. 

A very frustrating change was the arrest of Art3mis. Wade should have been purposely arrested to steal data and to stop the shield over the final challenge. Instead Art3mis gets accidentally arrested and does the same thing. Why change the person who gets arrested. There was just no need. It added intensity that wasn’t needed.

The movie took out the killing of Daito. This was a great part of the book and he didn’t do much when they kept him alive so why keep him alive. Daito’s death added dramaticness and also gave the government the excuse they needed to arrest Sorrento for his murder. Sorrento still got arrested but only for the explosion. 

I just find it annoying that people who create movies change the good parts and leave out interesting parts. I don’t expect 100% accuracy but I at least expect it to resemble the book.

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5 

Accuracy Rating: 2 runes out of 5 

Check out the book review: Ready Player One

written by Lauren

Ready Player One 

By Ernest Cline 

Blurb: 
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Review: 
The layout of the book is quite interesting. It’s split into levels, 3 to be exact. It’s basically the equivalent of splitting the book in parts. The levels are also roughly each gate, which is a nice split. It’s understandable why it’s split into levels to help stick with the gaming theme.

When I first started reading the book I realised it was very descriptive which I liked. It make a vast use of funny similes which I really appreciated. However there was moments when it was too detailed especially when it came to Halliday trivia. It was often that the book would go on unnecessary rants about Halliday’s likes and it make the book a bit boring at times. Then there was moments where things weren’t described enough, such as the 80’s pop-culture references. Very few references I understood and sometimes they were explained and other times I just had to know them to understand especially when it came to talking about movies.

One of the things I enjoyed about the book was the natural/realistic behaviour and speech of the characters. It felt like real teenage perspectives of life and I really appreciated it. When the characters were speaking to each other it generally felt like a real conversation. Ernest Cline did a great job at becoming a teenage mind.

This book does contain swearing and although in real life I don’t mind it. I don’t tend to be a fan of it when it’s used in books as normally it seems quite forced, unnecessary and unimaginative of the writer. With saying that however, I thought this book used bad language quite well. It was very fitting for the main character and it helped with his humour.

The plot of this book was there is a VR system known as the OASIS which everyone in the world uses for all sorts such as work and school. One of the creators of the OASIS dies and leaves a challenge for someone to win all his fortunes. The challenge consists of working out riddles to find a key then using that key to go through a gate which is a mini challenge. To win you need to be the first to finish the third gate.

I like the idea of the plot its unique and full of suspense as you await for the puzzle to be solved. However the way this plot has been ruined is with the vast amount of 80’s pop culture references. This book was released in 2011 so there was no need for it to be 80’s themed only that the author enjoyed the 80’s a bit too much. I think the book would have been better if the riddles were less obscure and that the gate tasks were harder and something we’d all understand.

I also enjoyed the creative and imagination put into the book by Cline. He created a world that every child dreams about. Cline made things up in the book that I never even thought about such as trailers being stacked on top of each other to solve overpopulation. I can respect that he put a lot of effort in the book.

I've also reviewed the movie, so check that out: Ready Player One Movie

*SPOILERS*
This book was generally quite funny at times. One of the funniest/weirdest/disturbing scenes was when Wade was describing how he spent his money. After having his trailer blown up, Wade moves away and buys a boat load of equipment to make his OASIS experience more realistic. One of this new equipment was a sex simulator. Basically it was a fancy sex doll and while in the OASIS he could pretend to be having sex with a prostitute. I found this scene disturbingly funny and found it to be very expected of a teenage boy that was going through a breakup. 

To an extent though I did enjoy the story and it did have suspense which made it hard to put down at times especially when he solved the riddles. However I was constantly in a battle with the main character on whether he was a ‘Mary Sue’ or not. A ‘Mary Sue’ is when a character is pretty much perfect. For the collection of the first key he wasn’t totally a ‘Mary Sue’ as he didn’t find the location first and also took 2 tries of the game. The second key was also beat for it’s collection but then after that he went full ‘Mary Sue’ mode. He was able to be first for the final key and instantly knew that it would take 3 people to open the final gate. He got himself imprisoned and escaped with no problems. Wade also just happen to find the pacman coin making him the only character to remain alive, in order to go through the final gate first. It was obvious before starting the book that he would win but it could have been more challenging for him. Also he lost lose of weight fast and came muscly of course, to look like a real hero. 

The book lacked surprises and twists in my opinion. I feel like a lot of things were predictable such as Wade winning the egg. I also predicted when the names of the first 5 people to gain the first key was announced that they would eventually have to reluctantly team up because of how much the characters talked about being soloists. Therefore I wasn’t surprised they teamed up to take on the final gate and also wasn’t surprised that he still ended up going through the gate alone. Wade was always meant to win.

Don’t get me wrong though there was some twists. One of my favourites was the revealing of the characters true identities. It was expected that at least one of the characters wouldn’t be their true gender. Which luckily for Wade, Art3mis was but Aech turned out not to be. Aech turned out to be a black fat lesbian woman rather than a teenage boy. I appreciated this twist as it wasn’t Art3mis that was the wrong gender. It was also revealed that Shoto and Daito weren’t really brothers and hadn’t actually met in person before. Then finally Art3mis made a big deal about her appearance not being the same when in reality all she left out of her character was the huge birthmark on her face. These were twists that were needed.

A bigger twist that I had a problem with was the blowing up of Wade’s home trailer. This caused the death of his Aunt, neighbours including his friend Mrs Gilmore. Wade showed slight emotion/guilt for it but overall I felt like he should have been a lot more emotional, it was disappointing that he didn’t seem to care. This should have been better written.

In the end of the book as stated before Wade gained the prize and as expected had no problem gaining the girl. The ending was good but like I keep saying just don’t think there was enough struggle in the book. With the obscure 80 references and plot I decided that I enjoyed the book but it could have been done better. So it just makes a 3 star rating, as it was very well written and humorous but it lacked in the overall plot.

Quote: 

'No giant two-headed hermaphrodite demon unicorn avatars were allowed. Not on school grounds, anyway.'

- Wade Watts, Ready Player One

Rating: 3 runes out of 5 

Check out the movie review: Ready Player One

written by Lauren

Ready Player One 

By Ernest Cline 

Blurb: 
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Review: 
The layout of the book is quite interesting. It’s split into levels, 3 to be exact. It’s basically the equivalent of splitting the book in parts. The levels are also roughly each gate, which is a nice split. It’s understandable why it’s split into levels to help stick with the gaming theme.

When I first started reading the book I realised it was very descriptive which I liked. It make a vast use of funny similes which I really appreciated. However there was moments when it was too detailed especially when it came to Halliday trivia. It was often that the book would go on unnecessary rants about Halliday’s likes and it make the book a bit boring at times. Then there was moments where things weren’t described enough, such as the 80’s pop-culture references. Very few references I understood and sometimes they were explained and other times I just had to know them to understand especially when it came to talking about movies.

One of the things I enjoyed about the book was the natural/realistic behaviour and speech of the characters. It felt like real teenage perspectives of life and I really appreciated it. When the characters were speaking to each other it generally felt like a real conversation. Ernest Cline did a great job at becoming a teenage mind.

This book does contain swearing and although in real life I don’t mind it. I don’t tend to be a fan of it when it’s used in books as normally it seems quite forced, unnecessary and unimaginative of the writer. With saying that however, I thought this book used bad language quite well. It was very fitting for the main character and it helped with his humour.

The plot of this book was there is a VR system known as the OASIS which everyone in the world uses for all sorts such as work and school. One of the creators of the OASIS dies and leaves a challenge for someone to win all his fortunes. The challenge consists of working out riddles to find a key then using that key to go through a gate which is a mini challenge. To win you need to be the first to finish the third gate.

I like the idea of the plot its unique and full of suspense as you await for the puzzle to be solved. However the way this plot has been ruined is with the vast amount of 80’s pop culture references. This book was released in 2011 so there was no need for it to be 80’s themed only that the author enjoyed the 80’s a bit too much. I think the book would have been better if the riddles were less obscure and that the gate tasks were harder and something we’d all understand.

I also enjoyed the creative and imagination put into the book by Cline. He created a world that every child dreams about. Cline made things up in the book that I never even thought about such as trailers being stacked on top of each other to solve overpopulation. I can respect that he put a lot of effort in the book.

I've also reviewed the movie, so check that out: Ready Player One Movie

*SPOILERS*
This book was generally quite funny at times. One of the funniest/weirdest/disturbing scenes was when Wade was describing how he spent his money. After having his trailer blown up, Wade moves away and buys a boat load of equipment to make his OASIS experience more realistic. One of this new equipment was a sex simulator. Basically it was a fancy sex doll and while in the OASIS he could pretend to be having sex with a prostitute. I found this scene disturbingly funny and found it to be very expected of a teenage boy that was going through a breakup. 

To an extent though I did enjoy the story and it did have suspense which made it hard to put down at times especially when he solved the riddles. However I was constantly in a battle with the main character on whether he was a ‘Mary Sue’ or not. A ‘Mary Sue’ is when a character is pretty much perfect. For the collection of the first key he wasn’t totally a ‘Mary Sue’ as he didn’t find the location first and also took 2 tries of the game. The second key was also beat for it’s collection but then after that he went full ‘Mary Sue’ mode. He was able to be first for the final key and instantly knew that it would take 3 people to open the final gate. He got himself imprisoned and escaped with no problems. Wade also just happen to find the pacman coin making him the only character to remain alive, in order to go through the final gate first. It was obvious before starting the book that he would win but it could have been more challenging for him. Also he lost lose of weight fast and came muscly of course, to look like a real hero. 

The book lacked surprises and twists in my opinion. I feel like a lot of things were predictable such as Wade winning the egg. I also predicted when the names of the first 5 people to gain the first key was announced that they would eventually have to reluctantly team up because of how much the characters talked about being soloists. Therefore I wasn’t surprised they teamed up to take on the final gate and also wasn’t surprised that he still ended up going through the gate alone. Wade was always meant to win.

Don’t get me wrong though there was some twists. One of my favourites was the revealing of the characters true identities. It was expected that at least one of the characters wouldn’t be their true gender. Which luckily for Wade, Art3mis was but Aech turned out not to be. Aech turned out to be a black fat lesbian woman rather than a teenage boy. I appreciated this twist as it wasn’t Art3mis that was the wrong gender. It was also revealed that Shoto and Daito weren’t really brothers and hadn’t actually met in person before. Then finally Art3mis made a big deal about her appearance not being the same when in reality all she left out of her character was the huge birthmark on her face. These were twists that were needed.

A bigger twist that I had a problem with was the blowing up of Wade’s home trailer. This caused the death of his Aunt, neighbours including his friend Mrs Gilmore. Wade showed slight emotion/guilt for it but overall I felt like he should have been a lot more emotional, it was disappointing that he didn’t seem to care. This should have been better written.

In the end of the book as stated before Wade gained the prize and as expected had no problem gaining the girl. The ending was good but like I keep saying just don’t think there was enough struggle in the book. With the obscure 80 references and plot I decided that I enjoyed the book but it could have been done better. So it just makes a 3 star rating, as it was very well written and humorous but it lacked in the overall plot.

Quote: 

'No giant two-headed hermaphrodite demon unicorn avatars were allowed. Not on school grounds, anyway.'

- Wade Watts, Ready Player One

Rating: 3 runes out of 5 

Check out the movie review: Ready Player One

written by Lauren