Jameson Filston, Campus Carrier Arts & Living Editor
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES |
| Wade Watts stands among futuristic gaming equipment while accessing the Oasis in “Ready Player One.” The movie contrasted the pristine condition of the virtual world with the disrepair of the real world. |
I have been waiting for the movie adaptation of Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” for years, but I was still nervous when I finally when to the theater to see it. I couldn’t help but think back to many times before, when I was disappointed with how a movie portrayed a story that I had loved in written form.
This was not the case with “Ready Player One.” The movie is about Wade Watts, a teenager in the near future, and his adventures in the Oasis, which is a virtual utopia with free access. Watts seeks to win fame and fortune while rescuing the Oasis from a greedy and ruthless company.
First of all, the graphics blew me away. Since it was a movie based on a futuristic video game, I had high expectations for the CGI and special affects in this movie. The movie exceeded my expectations in the graphics department, and even raised the bar on movies such as the Marvel franchise.
However, the action did get a little overwhelming in some places. There were times when the action was so chaotic that it was hard to tell what was going on.
The best thing this movie did was that it did not follow the book. I was disappointed at first by the skipped plot points and changes to the story, but I quickly began to appreciate the changes and how they affected the story. The writers took parts out and changed parts to make it a different story, one more fit for the screen. They managed to change the movie while retaining the soul of the story, which made the movie a successful adaptation.
The movie was done well, and it was also very relevant. The movie’s plot revolves around the role of technology in our lives, and the benefits and problems it presents. In the movie, most of the world has retreated into the technology driven Oasis and left the world in disrepair. The movie addresses the issue of finding a balance between technology and reality, an issue we have to deal with more and more as it becomes easier to access and be drawn into the digital world.
Another issue addressed in this movie was how free the internet should be. The Oasis is free access, and the corporation IOI is portrayed as evil for trying to take that free access away. This is a strong stance in support of net neutrality, which recently made headlines when it was repealed by the FCC. This issue was addressed similarly in the book, but I am pleased that they kept that message in the forefront. The movie has a lot of good points on why corporations should not control the way we access the web.
The movie also presents dystopic ways that technology such as alternate reality could be used to harm and enslave others in the future. While many of these situations are unlikely, they still give viewers a lot to think regarding the dark side of new technology when used with malicious intent.
The main flaw in the movie came in the adaptation of book to movie. The movie included many terms and ideas from the book that were not explained. I could guess that many viewers didn’t get some of the points because it relied on situations that were explained in the book and only hinted at in the movie. The movie did not address how the events of the book addressed society in detail. This is one of the most interesting parts of the book. Since it was largely left out of the movie except at the very end, the movie lost some of the “lived in” feeling that the book had.
Despite my reservations, the movie lived up to the hype I had built up around it. It is entertaining and somewhat educational, and I would recommend a watch.