A Successful Action Movie Does Not A Good Adaptation Make
- Starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance
- Rated PG-13
- Action, Sci-Fi
- Run time: 2 hr, 20 min
- Directed by Steven Spielberg
- In theaters March 29, 2018
The novel version of Ready Player One became something of a cult classic. For a while, it was the pop culture-filled obsession that fantasy/sci-fi readers couldn't get enough of. Then, the trailer dropped and there was a slight murmur of concern. A lot of snippets didn't quite seem to line up and there were only a handful of scenes that made sense based on the novel's plot. Turns out, that was a valid concern.
Spielberg's film is the epitome of a good sci-fi action film. There's just enough character development that you care a decent amount about the main few, the quest aspect follows along with the novel's plot and there are pop culture Easter eggs around every turn. However, there are quite a few sections that are so different from the book that they is almost no resemblance. So while it stands out as a solid adventure movie, it doesn't work so well as an adaptation.
The movie is based around the idea of a challenge: a deceased VR guru (Mark Rylance) created an entire new world known as the Oasis, and when he passed, he left his ownership of the Oasis to whomever could win a contest. Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is determined to beat those challenges, and the film follows his adventures (with the other VR heroes he meets/befriends/etc. along the way) as he fights to complete every level.
Visually, Ready Player One is pretty stunning. The VR world is as vivid as the real life one is bleak and it's completely understandable why said new world was created. Ben Mendelsohn once again proves that he is magnificent at portraying the villain and - unlike a lot of action movies out there - you don't leave unfulfilled, having to wait for the sequel to finish out the story. Book lovers may not be the biggest fan of this one, but if you're just going in for a good escapist adventure, virtually live it up.