Ready Player One Movie Review

Soundtrack

A

Not too shabby. For the most part the score is orchestral but the movie does include a couple of classics, such as Jump, You Make My Dreams, Everybody Wants To Rule the World, I Hate Myself For Loving You, We’re Not Gonna Take It, You Should Be Dancing, etc. There was only one scene where the music felt a little Too Dramatic ©, but it didn’t ruin the scene completely.

Fantasy/Adaption

A+

Okay, so there were a couple changes made in the film in translation from the 2011 book, but I wouldn’t say they were bad. Wade, the protagonist, was definitely a bit more well off in the film, regarding the Oasis. In the book Wade starts from nothing. But hey, there’s a time constraint, and honestly they stuffed it together well. The final team was a lot less… open to each other in the book. I think in film form it might not have worked as well, so I appreciate the platonic changes they made. There are a couple changes as in character roles and settings, but nothing to be upset about. This adaption worked really well.

Plot

A+

The plot should be good if it’s already all written out for you, and it is. I didn’t notice any crazy plot holes but then again I wasn’t actively  looking for them, I was just genuinely enjoying the film. The story was really fleshed out and it hit all of the typical act points, which is a good thing.

Characters

A+

Holy crap. I mean, this cast was great. I liked the background characters just as much as the main cast, which sounds like it could be a bad thing but really it’s great. This movie is all about easter eggs, and the amount of them through the avatars is uncountable. It sends a little jolt of excitement through you every time you see a character you recognize and that keeps the audience constantly visually engaged. These characters are three-dimensional, they’re funny, inspiring- they’re everything I’d want in a cast.

Overall

A+

The first word that popped into my head after the credits rolled was: phenomenal. That’s what this film was for me. Considering that most of this picture is CGI and animation, you realize how beautiful it really was. This was an amazing adaption considering the amount of imagination that was within it. (side eyeing a certain Disney film that just came out) I honestly couldn’t be happier with this film. I almost cried. Twice. And one the moments wasn’t even sad, I was just thinking: “Dang. This was really well made.” That being said, if you get migraines easily or motion sickness, maybe this isn’t for you. But if you do watch it, keep your eyes open. You’ll never know what you can catch.