Finally saw Ready Player One (why do all my media threads start like this?)

[Avilan the Grey]

Short version: YES.
Long version: HECK YES. (not good enough for a HELL yes, but I don't think any movie other than Wonder Woman has deserved that the last 5 years).

Two things up front:
1. I have NOT read the book, and quite frankly I am not tempted to. On the other hand I have not read any Jurassica Park book either.
2. If you have a problem with Iron Giant not being a pacifist, you have failed to grasp what goes on in the movie.

Now... Yes, it is a popcorn flick. But it's a good one. It's a Spielberg one, not a Michael Bay one. It is no way worse than the first Jurassic Park, or the Back To The Future movies.

On top of this, of course, is the nostalgia. I am, admittedly, the exact core audience that was targeted by the book (that again, I have not read). I was born 1972. This means I was seven 1980, and 17 in 1990. I was just too young to see Star Wars in the theater. My "Star Wars" experience was actually two movies. Ghostbusters, and later the first Jurassic Park. The first game I ever played was pong. The original. With two turn thingies that controlled the white bars and the bouncing square. I played Tetris, Pac Man, Asteroids, Mario, Ghosts'n Goblins, Dragon's Lair and all the others when they were new.
So yes, my heart is already half melted when starting to watch this.



Anway,
As I said I liked it a lot. Whatever changes they made from the book works. And that includes the changes to the characters themselves. There are a few things that I would have liked, but they are very minor things: I would have loved a longer visit to the nightclub. There are a LOT of cameos you only see very briefly, like Deathstroke and Harley, Gandalf, and just the fact that you have to look to see that there's same sex couples dancing in the sky. Basically I want my Cantina intro, where you see all the strange wonders for a longer time. I would also have loved it if it was better explained how Ar3mis can be both a minor celebrity AND be unknown. My headcanon is that she changes avatars quite often (due to IOI).

[Some Android]

Long version: HECK YES. (not good enough for a HELL yes, but I don't think any movie other than Wonder Woman has deserved that the last 5 years).

You make Logan and the Merc with the Mouth cry with your hurtful comments.

[2D8HP]

Short version: YES.
Long version: HECK YES.....

...On top of this, of course, is the nostalgia. I am, admittedly, the exact core audience that was targeted by the book (that again, I have not read). I was born 1972. This means I was seven 1980, and 17 in 1990. I was just too young to see Star Wars in the theater....

I did see Star Wars in the theatre (born '68), do you think I'd like Ready Player One?

Or would I miss too many references (most anime and video game references made at this Forum go post my head)?

[Some Android]

Or would I miss too many references (most anime and video game references made at this Forum go post my head)?

I'd make a Madoka Magica reference (specifically the most iconic scene in episode 3) but I'm not that smart.

Anyone want do it for me? Spoiler of course.

[Avilan the Grey]

I did see Star Wars in the theatre (born '68), do you think I'd like Ready Player One?

Or would I miss too many references (most anime and video game references made at this Forum go post my head)?

I think you'll like it if you:
Are into adventure movies in general
Are into Spielberg anything
Are into not-too-hardcore sci-fi

As for references: There are about twentysix billion of them. You'd be more than fine

You make Logan and the Merc with the Mouth cry with your hurtful comments.

Logan... never saw. Never been a huge Wolverine Fan. Also didn't really like the specific comic, either.
Deadpool is also a "Heck Yes" movie.

[Douglas]

I did see Star Wars in the theatre (born '68), do you think I'd like Ready Player One?

Or would I miss too many references (most anime and video game references made at this Forum go post my head)?

In my opinion, the references (and there are a LOT of them) are a nice extra, not the core of what's good about the movie. It is, as already mentioned, a fun popcorn flick. A nerdy guy and his friends go on a crazy quest in a virtual world with an excuse for it having high real world stakes, competing against a designated villain for the ultimate prize. If that sounds like fun to you, then I'd expect you to like the movie even if you don't get a single reference.

For Star Wars specifically, I've read that the book has a scene with an X-Wing in it but they had to cut that part for the movie because Disney refused to deal.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Yeah, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Had a little bit of complaining regarding the fact that Artemis got pushed to the side despite being a highly competent and ambitious character, but I really enjoyed what were apparently significant reworks to the Egg Hunt tests. There were gorgeous visuals, too: the dance floor scene was incredible.

The "real world" reveal moments of the main crew were really fun, too, with the exception of Artemis, the conventionally-attractive girl whose big reveal is that she has a birthmark. Kinda undercut the theme there.

Spoiler

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I found the ending weird. Like, you have this major corporation who has its fingers in everything, to the point of unethically conscripting citizens into slave labor, and somehow the police are able to step in and dismantle their authority? I don't buy it. You'd think that IOI would have invested in scores of corrupt government officials with their bankrolling.

[DataNinja]

Spoiler

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I found the ending weird. Like, you have this major corporation who has its fingers in everything, to the point of unethically conscripting citizens into slave labor, and somehow the police are able to step in and dismantle their authority? I don't buy it. You'd think that IOI would have invested in scores of corrupt government officials with their bankrolling.

Spoiler

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I think the point was up until then it had all been technically legal - and the non-legal stuff (like blowing up Wade's house) couldn't be proven. The Sixers were "working off" debts, even if they'd probably never manage to get out. Stuff like that.

[Douglas]

Spoiler

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I found the ending weird. Like, you have this major corporation who has its fingers in everything, to the point of unethically conscripting citizens into slave labor, and somehow the police are able to step in and dismantle their authority? I don't buy it. You'd think that IOI would have invested in scores of corrupt government officials with their bankrolling.

Spoiler

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The police involvement was, as I understand it, limited to arresting Sorrento for the attempted murder of Wade Watts. It's plausible that IOI might normally have had enough influence to stop that, but this was too high profile a case. Wade had just become pretty much the most famous person in the world, with enormous world wide popular support, quashing investigation into a murder attempt against him would have been impossible to do quietly.

For the rest, it wasn't the police, it was Wade and his new authority over the game. He blacklisted the IOI slave labor centers from OASIS, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

[Some Android]

Logan... never saw. Never been a huge Wolverine Fan. Also didn't really like the specific comic, either.

Dude, it's awesome. It may quite literally be the greatest superhero film of all time. Do yourself a favor and check it out. It's just like Deadpool, only everything is taken seriously.

Deadpool is also a "Heck Yes" movie.

You and I have the quite the different definition of "Heck Yes."

[Avilan the Grey]

Yeah, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Had a little bit of complaining regarding the fact that Artemis got pushed to the side despite being a highly competent and ambitious character, but I really enjoyed what were apparently significant reworks to the Egg Hunt tests. There were gorgeous visuals, too: the dance floor scene was incredible.

The "real world" reveal moments of the main crew were really fun, too, with the exception of Artemis, the conventionally-attractive girl whose big reveal is that she has a birthmark. Kinda undercut the theme there.

Spoiler

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I found the ending weird. Like, you have this major corporation who has its fingers in everything, to the point of unethically conscripting citizens into slave labor, and somehow the police are able to step in and dismantle their authority? I don't buy it. You'd think that IOI would have invested in scores of corrupt government officials with their bankrolling.

I never read the book, so I don't know...
BUT I must say that the movie was very much from his perspective, which means that no matter how badass she is (and she IS. She is ALWAYS heroic, ALWAYS fights, ALWAYS helps others) she is by far the biggest supporting character to the point that if the focused any more on her, at all, they would have to rewrite a lot of dialogue since it would be a two-protagomist movie.

As for her looks... I hear this a lot, and maybe her birthmark could have been bigger, but it is BIG, and big enough for a young person to feel very insecure about it. I don't see this as a cop-out in any way; it's not like she's just wearing Clark Kent glasses and when removed she's super-model-ultra-hot. I absolutely believe she considers herself unatractive with a birthmark that only covers a third of her right side of her face instead of all of it like in the book(?).

Spoiler: As for your spoiler

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I was surprised at first but:
1. I realized that the IOI's uniforms and vehicle choices made them SEEM like the authorties. Which is the point, they are working as bill-collectors (with legal backing) and want to look like part of the government beause of it. That's why I subconciously kept thinking of them as basically OCP, which they are not.
2. Nowhere in the movie is it actually hinted on widespread corruption. Only that the world is crap, because of other reasons (unemployment, debt, overpopulation and pollution). There's no resource shortage either to speak of.

Dude, it's awesome. It may quite literally be the greatest superhero film of all time. Do yourself a favor and check it out. It's just like Deadpool, only everything is taken seriously.

You just talked me out of it.
Seriously, remember when I grew up? I do consider the nineties to be the worst decade in superhero comics within my lifespan (1972 - ?). Deadpool but Serious is just Youngblood.

[Cormac Mac Art]

Great flick, really enjoyed it!

[GloatingSwine]

Logan... never saw. Never been a huge Wolverine Fan. Also didn't really like the specific comic, either.

The only thing Logan has to do with Old Man Logan is that one of the words in the title is the same.

[Avilan the Grey]

The only thing Logan has to do with Old Man Logan is that one of the words in the title is the same.

Good to know. Thank you.

[Eldan]

Coincidentally, I was watching it with a few other guys this friday. Mostly, we were snarking at how we thought a lot of it just doesn't work.

First of all, the rules of the virtual reality just don't work. There's no rhyme or reason on when a movement in the real world is also the same movement in the virtual world. Sometimes, a bumpy car stops them from inserting a key, sometimes they do crazy antigrav martial arts without moving a muscle in reality, then we see people running down the street while also running in the simulation, but no one runs into a wall and .... it's just stupid.

Plus, we were all so sick and tired of movies being resolved with speeches. I thought American movies were getting better about this, and then we're getting a speech and a Rohan moment again.

And yeah. THe corrupt supercorp could do so much more stuff to stop these guys. Like... cut off their internet? Bribe the police? Conveniently cause a blackout in the entire district?

Of course, that went the other way around too. Artemis could just log out, walk over to whoever was trying to solve the arcade game and knee them in the balls. THat would solve everything too.

And then the ending... switch off the Oasis two days a week? So all the unemployed Cyberpunk dystopia people can sit in their shipping containment trailer parks, stare at the corrugated metal walls, eat their soylent and do nothing, because the Real World rocks? Suicide and violence rates would spike like crazy.

Edit: oh yeah, and the room of conventionally attractive well-styled nerds working for the evil megacorp. I want that job. I remember every single puzzle in the first three Myst games and I'm anal about Elder Scrolls trivia. Hire me.

[BWR]

So I watched it this morning. It was OK. A clichéd, predictable story which was passably done, some credulity-stretching conveniences plot holes, and entirely uninteresting characters, all of which served as nothing more than to be a vehicle for as many references and cameos and Easter eggs as could possibly be stuffed in. It was competently made and mostly kept my attention throughout. It seemed like it was written by and for people my age who are way too fond of things in a 'remember X? wasn't that awesome?!' kind of way

[Avilan the Grey]

Coincidentally, I was watching it with a few other guys this friday. Mostly, we were snarking at how we thought a lot of it just doesn't work.

First of all, the rules of the virtual reality just don't work. There's no rhyme or reason on when a movement in the real world is also the same movement in the virtual world. Sometimes, a bumpy car stops them from inserting a key, sometimes they do crazy antigrav martial arts without moving a muscle in reality, then we see people running down the street while also running in the simulation, but no one runs into a wall and .... it's just stupid.

IF the movement is initiated in the real world, it happens in the virtual world.
Also, they took a risk when running on the sidewalk, yes. But it is in no way in conflict with the rules set up by the story.

As for the rest... different strokes. I absolutely adore this movie.

[Eldan]

Eh, we still had a moderate amount of fun, it was okay. We were just heckling the entire movie, calling out references, pointing out inconsistencies, making fun of badly executed tropes and so on. I think overall, it just wasn't entertaining enough to keep us amused on its own,

[Darth Ultron]

I thought it was a good enough movie for an adventure plot quest.

And I'm exactly of the right age or so to love all the nostalgia. Of the 300+ references, I got at least 200 of them. Though I missed the more cartoon anime and video game ones. Though I'm enough of a geek that I have a Valley Forge model and Madballs, two things that shocked me were in the movie.

Though the nostalgia is a bit odd. As a person who grew up in the 80/90 it is targeted right at me...but only as a grew up in that time frame. But the movie is set in 2045, so that has everyone all excited about things like 50-75 years old? 50 years is a long time. As a kid in the 80's I did not like all the movies from the '20's or '30's. Even the Classic Doctor Who I watched on PBS in the late 80's was only like 10 years old at the time.

And along the same lines, anyone that grew up in the 90's or after 2000 does not have the same 'attachment' to the older stuff. Ask most kids about most of the things in the movie and they might know where it was from, but that is it: to them it's just ''stuff from that old movie''.

Also, I guess the whole Legal Thing kept the movie from really using everything. Like they could not have used X, without paying some money.

And just to answer the question from above: anyone could log into the Oasis with a pair of cyber glasses and have the avatar act. Some people had upgrades, where they can move and that translates into avatar movement. And we do see the full body 'touch' suit.

[tomandtish]

Spoiler

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I found the ending weird. Like, you have this major corporation who has its fingers in everything, to the point of unethically conscripting citizens into slave labor, and somehow the police are able to step in and dismantle their authority? I don't buy it. You'd think that IOI would have invested in scores of corrupt government officials with their bankrolling.

Spoiler

Show

I think the point was up until then it had all been technically legal - and the non-legal stuff (like blowing up Wade's house) couldn't be proven. The Sixers were "working off" debts, even if they'd probably never manage to get out. Stuff like that.

Spoiler

Show

The police involvement was, as I understand it, limited to arresting Sorrento for the attempted murder of Wade Watts. It's plausible that IOI might normally have had enough influence to stop that, but this was too high profile a case. Wade had just become pretty much the most famous person in the world, with enormous world wide popular support, quashing investigation into a murder attempt against him would have been impossible to do quietly.

For the rest, it wasn't the police, it was Wade and his new authority over the game. He blacklisted the IOI slave labor centers from OASIS, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Dark Shadow and Douglas have hit the nail on the head....

Spoiler: Contains a book spoiler as well

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It does appear that debt bondage has become legal again. Right now it's illegal in many places and by international law as well.But Sorrento was arrested for murder (Daito).

I thought it was a good enough movie for an adventure plot quest.

And I'm exactly of the right age or so to love all the nostalgia. Of the 300+ references, I got at least 200 of them. Though I missed the more cartoon anime and video game ones. Though I'm enough of a geek that I have a Valley Forge model and Madballs, two things that shocked me were in the movie.

Though the nostalgia is a bit odd. As a person who grew up in the 80/90 it is targeted right at me...but only as a grew up in that time frame. But the movie is set in 2045, so that has everyone all excited about things like 50-75 years old? 50 years is a long time. As a kid in the 80's I did not like all the movies from the '20's or '30's. Even the Classic Doctor Who I watched on PBS in the late 80's was only like 10 years old at the time.

And along the same lines, anyone that grew up in the 90's or after 2000 does not have the same 'attachment' to the older stuff. Ask most kids about most of the things in the movie and they might know where it was from, but that is it: to them it's just ''stuff from that old movie''.

Also, I guess the whole Legal Thing kept the movie from really using everything. Like they could not have used X, without paying some money.

And just to answer the question from above: anyone could log into the Oasis with a pair of cyber glasses and have the avatar act. Some people had upgrades, where they can move and that translates into avatar movement. And we do see the full body 'touch' suit.

There's a lot of disproportionate nostalgia for that period for two reasons... (I've only read the book so my comments are based from there. Movie may handle some things differently).

1) The creator of the system was a huge fan. Note that pretty much everything HE set up related to that period. While newer stuff has crept in, the basis is always going to be 80s.

2) The competition itself makes it a big deal. Case in point:

Spoiler: Text from book

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Just below the Scoreboard was an
icon that looked like a small leatherbound
book, which linked to a free
downloadable copy of Anorak’s
Almanac, a collection of hundreds of
Halliday’s undated journal entries. The
Almanac was over a thousand pages
long, but it contained few details about
Halliday’s personal life or his day-today
activities. Most of the entries were
his stream-of-consciousness
observations on various classic
videogames, science-fiction and
fantasy novels, movies, comic books,
and ’80s pop culture, mixed with
humorous diatribes denouncing
everything from organized religion to
diet soda.

The Hunt, as the contest came to be
known, quickly wove its way into
global culture. Like winning the lottery,
finding Halliday’s Easter egg became a
popular fantasy among adults and
children alike. It was a game anyone
could play, and at first, there seemed to
be no right or wrong way to play it.
The only thing Anorak’s Almanac
seemed to indicate was that a
familiarity with Halliday’s various
obsessions would be essential to
finding the egg. This led to a global
fascination with 1980s pop culture.

Fifty years after the decade had ended,
the movies, music, games, and fashions
of the 1980s were all the rage once
again. By 2041, spiked hair and acidwashed
jeans were back in style, and
covers of hit ’80s pop songs by
contemporary bands dominated the
music charts. People who had actually
been teenagers in the 1980s, all now
approaching old age, had the strange
experience of seeing the fads and
fashions of their youth embraced and
studied by their grandchildren.

So it's not that the period is popular just because. There's a huge reason why everyone is obsessed with the 80s.

[Darth Ultron]

1) The creator of the system was a huge fan. Note that pretty much everything HE set up related to that period. While newer stuff has crept in, the basis is always going to be 80s.

2) The competition itself makes it a big deal.

Well, that does fit. I was thinking how the average ''under 30'' crowd would not get like 200 of the references.

Though it does make more sense if it was all programed by, well someone like me. I'd sure add obscure things like The Glave, Madballs and such if I made such a system. And then if the average 'clueless' under 30 something played the game, they would then get to know all the old stuff. Kind of maybe what did happen with the movie, as I'm sure at least a couple people were like ''ok, so that Holy Hand Grenade, is from what movie?" and then set out to watch it.

[Hunter Noventa]

I saw it and enjoyed it for what it was. Some of the references were pretty great to catch in the background (like the Swordfish from Cowboy Bebop).

It's a fun movie, just don't take the setting it posits TOO seriously.

[Darth Ultron]

I saw it and enjoyed it for what it was. Some of the references were pretty great to catch in the background (like the Swordfish from Cowboy Bebop).

There are so many in the background...

The A-Team Van in the race. A Firefly class ship. The Delorian had a Knight Rider light bar. And in the shop things like a Thunderbolt Starfighter from Buck Rogers(the 80's one), the Pod from 2001, and one of the Alien Cargo Loaders.

[Anonymouswizard]

I have to admit that I only really got the 'big' references. So I knew the Gundam when it showed up, and the things referencing some of the stuff that I see all the time on the internet, but a lot of it passed me by.

Without the references, it's pretty much just a popcorn cyberpunk action flick. I've seen better examples of almost everything it tries to do, but it does it all well enough to be enjoyable.


Also regarding birthmark girl, I actually completely get that. While it can sometimes be hard to notice, I get really insecure about my squint (my eyes do not line up) and always hate it when I see it in the mirror. Almost nobody notices it when they see me, partially because my glasses sort of hide it, but it's something I just can't get over. As far as I'm concerned my eyes just look wrong and people won't be able to get past it (despite the fact they do all the time).

[Darth Ultron]

I have to admit that I only really got the 'big' references. So I knew the Gundam when it showed up, and the things referencing some of the stuff that I see all the time on the internet, but a lot of it passed me by.

This was my point above: the average under 30 something won't really 'get' most of the things in the movie. And that goes double for the folks under 20.

So I lot of people just see 'a thing' and keep watching the movie.

Also regarding birthmark girl, I actually completely get that.

It is nice to see Hollywood acknowledge such things though, after like decades of ''everyone in the world looks perfect''.

[gooddragon1]

Just within the safe zone at 45 days.

Saw the movie:

It should have been liberty prime imo.

Also, I'm offended by the discrimination against camping :(

If I had my choice of stuff in Oasis...

Medium Fighter from Incoming Final Conflict

Spoiler: Graphical Approximation of the Medium Fighter

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The one below is a light fighter, but it gives something of an idea of what the approximation would somewhat look like

Ghost from Halo
Chainsword from Wh40k
Covenant Plasma Pistol from Halo
Mr Fantastic (suit, not appearance) as the Avatar (for stretching ability)

[Kyrell1978]

So I watched it this morning. It was OK. A clichéd, predictable story which was passably done, some credulity-stretching conveniences plot holes, and entirely uninteresting characters, all of which served as nothing more than to be a vehicle for as many references and cameos and Easter eggs as could possibly be stuffed in. It was competently made and mostly kept my attention throughout. It seemed like it was written by and for people my age who are way too fond of things in a 'remember X? wasn't that awesome?!' kind of way

This is pretty much what I thought of the book. I haven't seen the movie even though I own it (the wonders of parenthood and all).

[Brother Oni]

You just talked me out of it.
Seriously, remember when I grew up? I do consider the nineties to be the worst decade in superhero comics within my lifespan (1972 - ?). Deadpool but Serious is just Youngblood.

As GloatingSwine said, there's very little in common with the original comic and the Logan movie.

Even if you hate Wolverine, Logan is worth seeing solely for Sir Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman really getting their teeth into meaty characters and acting their socks off.

[Tyndmyr]

Dude, it's awesome. It may quite literally be the greatest superhero film of all time. Do yourself a favor and check it out. It's just like Deadpool, only everything is taken seriously.

Disagree. Logan is nothing like Deadpool. It's like a western in which some folks happen to have claws instead of guns. If you enjoy that sort of film and also enjoy Wolverine, you'll likely love this movie. If the aforementioned items are of no interest, there's no reason to bother.

Deadpool's quite amazing, but it's a wholly different sort of film than Logan is.

Anyways, on to Ready Player One. Yeah, it's definitely a popcorn flick. Not a deep film, and the plot is kinda thin if you think about it at all, but it's fun enough on it's own merits. A light romp, not a deep world. I enjoyed it, but feel no urge for, say, a sequel. That would probably be awful.

[The Glyphstone]

A sequel would be awful. Thankfully the author seems to have no intent to write one. Unfortunately, his second book, Armada, was essentially the same plot structure with a different paint scheme - kid who's really good at video games (in this case, Space Invaders) is secretly recruited by the military to help fight off an alien invasion and save the world.