Some Thoughts On Ready Player One (2018)

I finally watched Ready Player One. Before that, I read the book—my review—and was surprised by how much I liked it. And based off the trailers and feedback from my sister—who saw the movie before I did—I was expecting to like it. I don’t know why I was so worried, because I did enjoy the movie. And now I have a confession to make: I liked the movie more than the book. Usually, the book and movie are on equal footing, but in this case, I’m leaning more toward the latter. It was due to the changes. There were a lot of noticeable changes between the book and the movie adaptation, particularly the challenges and how the keys were found. However, I liked those changes. It had more of an emotional impact later on, because it put the some of the characters together sooner than the events in the book allowed. Even so, the 2018 movie adaptation remains true to the basic premise of the book.

The visual effects were on point. It was one of the aspects I liked best about Ready Player One as demonstrated by the transition from a more real-world setting to the virtual one, and one of the first major scenes to take place in the OASIS. There was no background track except for the noise to match what was happening on-screen. It was pure, fast-paced, chaotic adrenaline. And I loved it. There was a lot of action and a heaping dose of pop culture references with everything from the Iron Giant, Overwatch, Halo, and even a Batmobile just to name a few. For a movie of its kind—one that basically takes place in a virtual reality, video game-esque world—the references from other media franchises just sort of worked.

So, there was a lot I liked about Ready Player One movie. It managed to balance the story with narrative changes, good acting, and spectacular visual effects. It made for an enjoyable movie. And while the end is pretty complete—just like the book—I would be open to a Ready Player One 2 book or movie. Or should I say Ready Player Two?

Have you read Ready Player One or seen the movie? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Title: Ready Player One
Series: N/A
Author: Ernest Cline
Source/Format: Blogging for Books; Paperback
More Details: Science Fiction
Publisher/Publication Date: Broadway Books; August 16, 2011

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

In the year 2044, 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. But 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...

For the longest time, I’ve been hearing about Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. This author isn’t completely new to me. I read Armada and liked it, so, I didn’t go into Ready Player One totally in the dark about Cline’s writing. However, my expectations were very high. I expected to be wowed. And, I wasn’t disappointed. I liked Ready Player One

The OASIS was described as a “vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days”, which is the only accurate way to describe it. There were more than a dozen different worlds within the game, made up of original places or franchises licensed for use in OASIS. It was open platform and the majority of the setting (where the story played out) was within OASIS. It wasn’t just a recreational pastime, but also a place to learn and make purchases using real money. It was also a place to form friendships and even romantic relationships.

The plot focused on the contest, or “the Hunt”, left behind by James Halliday (the creator of the OASIS). So, Ready Player One is a Willy Wonka-esque story with a heavy emphasis on virtual reality, peppered—almost on every page—with references to pop culture primarily from the 80s. There were mentions of Star Wars, Back to the Future, and many others; as well as video games and consoles, for example the Atari 2600. But, this was a book that also had something else to say: an underlying message mixed in with the action and the Hunt, kind of about escapism via virtual reality told through the experiences of past and present characters.

And that brings me to the characters. I thought Wade Watts was a relatively interesting protagonist. He was down on his luck and had horrible relatives. His situation wasn’t the best and the OASIS was his escape from his life in the stacks. He was also like a walking dictionary for 80s pop culture. But then again, so were a lot of the “gunters” involved in the Hunt.

So, I thoroughly enjoyed Ready Player One and will definitely read future books by this author.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by Blogging for Books for this review...

About the author...

Ernest Cline is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games...

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The Friday 56 (126) & Book Beginnings: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

In the year 2044, 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. But 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...

Beginning: "Everyone my age remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest."

56: "Ogden Morrow was a brilliant programmer in his own right, but his true talent was his knack for business."

Comments: Earlier in the week, I received Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for review and liked the story more than I originally thought I would. There were as many 80s references as I expected, and overall I found the story to be interesting. What are you reading this week?