Saw it tonight.
It was OK, but nothing special. I’m disappointed. I think they could have made a better movie out of the basic story. They turned in a pretty average movie. I wasn’t all that invested in the story or characters.
A solid “meh” from me.
I read the book and I thought it was breezy fun. Not life changing or deep but just a really cool concept that dragged in some parts.
I found the movie to be almost completely different from the book but I think that was a good thing. It didn’t drag!
I enjoyed the movie a lot. I didn’t catch as many references as my friend did - he’s a video game guy and an anime guy and I am neither so I missed everything but Battletoads. I’m here to testify that you can enjoy the movie without knowing all the references.
I really like this plain sci fi behind it. I mean in a sense that VR is a real thing and I can see this whole OASIS situation happening in real life. Cline added his own take to “Snowcrash” and sort of dumbed it down and I think it made a great Spielberg movie. I actually hope it becomes some kind of classic.
I like the cinematic concepts too. The avatar people watching video of the real people. The video game settings and inventory screens. The people IRL being all plugged in. I liked how the in-game world could be as crazy and cartoony as you can imagine and it doesn’t take away from the real-life feeling of the movie.
Listened to the audiobook… found it fun but lacking substance.
Saw the movie last night, and suddenly the book feels like War and Peace. The few moments of real emotion were stripped out, replaced with a thin layer of schmaltz. The bad guys were even more cartoonish than in the book (I’m talking behavior outside the Oasis, not their looks inside.) The plot became nonsensical (people playing VR in the streets? Characters showing up out of nowhere. the “idents” forced labor is… building levels for the game? Continuity mistakes, sudden character changes, the unexplained “revolution”, including random face-tattoo dude, Daito waiting forever to get into the final battle…) It failed in a lot of basic film-making ways that you’d expect Spielberg to avoid by now. He clearly focused on the action pieces and phoned the rest in.
And even the nostalgia buttons were hit clumsily. As mentioned upthread, you use the holy hand grenade without counting to 3? The Iron Giant dies a noble sacrifice without saying “Superman!”? C’mon, those are easy wins.
I’ll grant that Halliday was perfectly cast and acted (perhaps the only such in the cast, though. Art3mis was particularly cringey), and some of the action bits were fun. I don’t have any problem with the specifics of the challenges being changed, and Art3mis being the one on the inside of IOI instead of Wade was a change for the better, I think, though I wish she had broken herself out as Wade did in the book, rather than needing help.
All in all, a thoroughly mediocre adaptation. I’m already starting to forget it.
I enjoyed it but I agree with some of the criticisms brought up here. In particular it is rather lame that the main characters live in the same city. It would have been more interesting if they were spread around the corners of the world and then made their way to the main city. Also I was a bit baffled by the climax where a crowd gathers to protect the van and then when the villain raises a gun they just completely give up and it’s the police that has to save the day. In the kind of dystopic world that is depicted, you would imagine that the police would have little power over such a powerful corporation. It also undermines what I though was the point of the film that people needed to take more control of their lives and stand up for their rights in both the real and virtual worlds.
Having ready the book first, I was really disappointed in how they handled Art3mis. Her first interaction with Parzival at the first gate was awesome. I know it’d be hard to pull that off without all the backstory that would make the movie drag on - but I wish they could have tried.
It established how good Art3mis is at knowing Halliday’s history. It also shows how competitive and independent she is. She’s not quite to Parzival’s level at playing video games - but when she finds out he won at joust on his first try, that was a great scene in the book.
Parzival was supposed to be all cocky and dismissive when he met sorrento - instead he was awestruck and fawning.
Not having the moment between Shoto and Parzival after Daito’s death? And then using the Ultraman to finish off Sorrento to avenge Daito? That realistically could have been added to the movie and really should have been.
And I agree that Aech’s discrepancy between her and her avatar should have been address at least somewhat.
The movie was fun - just not really anything like the book.
This is my favorite scene in the book, as it’s hilarious and relate-able. Being the first person to find the gate after years, only to be unable to get the key because you can’t play an old video game well enough, and failing to beat that level for over a month? Anyone that’s played a video game before knows that had to suck.
The way it played in the movie was anti-climactic.