'Ready Player One': What The Critics Are Saying

Paul Bellow · Mar 12, 2018

Despite a wave of cynicism on social media ahead of its release, the SXSW premiere of Ready Player One has unleashed a wave of surprisingly positive reviews for Steven Spielberg’s virtual reality celebration of the pop culture of the 1980s. Not everyone was bowled over by the movie, which certainly seems to have its faults, but haters who were convinced that not even Spielberg could bring Ernest Cline’s novel about future gamers with a retro fetish to the big screen might have to eat their words, it seems.

“Gamers are far from the only ones who will respond to this virtual-world-set picture, which strikes an ideal balance between live action and CGI,” writes The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore, adding, “The movie's biggest attractions can't be described here without ruining the fun of mystery-solving and spoiling surprise appearances of characters we treasure from our own childhoods. The trailers reveal the very welcome presence of the Iron Giant, whose role in the climax is sweetly true to the character's nature. But other guest stars play significant roles in the action as well, and they're not necessarily the ones fans of the novel will expect.”

Others agreed that the movie was an unexpected success. As IndieWire’s Eric Kohn puts it, “It runs too long and drags a bunch in its final third, but make no mistake: This is Spielberg’s biggest crowdpleaser in years, a CGI ride that wields the technology with an eye for payoff. It’s also his most stylized movie since A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, though a lot more fun, with a cavalcade of visuals leaving the impression that he watched a bunch of Luc Besson movies and decided he could outdo them all. The result is an astonishing sci-fi spectacle and a relentless nostalgia trip at once.”
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'Ready Player One': What The Critics Are Saying

Paul Bellow · Mar 12, 2018

Inside Steven Spielberg's 'Ready Player One' Premiere at SXSW

Paul Bellow · Mar 12, 2018

I think the book fans will hate/love it while non-book readers will love/hate it?

Gryphon · Mar 12, 2018

I hope its my favorite movie on any list this year. So much potential to be good... so much potential for disappointment.

Kidlike101 · Mar 12, 2018

I really liked the book. The audiobook for it is amazing and I highly recommend it.

Apparently they changed a few things for the movie (to avoid copyright infringement probably) so not sure how that will go over.

The love story took a back seat too. In the book he started in love with the girl so came on too strong and she rejected him, it took them the length of the entire book just to met in the end... It was beautiful and this is from someone that hates YA romance plots.

In the movie it's super rushed and the whole thing comes down to

they meet.
They meet again and say I love you... and it's over.

I'm going in with lowered expectations. I just hope it's good. video game movies have the worst reputation and add 80's vomit to it... yeah fingers crossed.

Viergacht · Mar 12, 2018

I started it and couldn't finish it. Just so poorly written. No interest in the movie.

Prax Venter · Mar 12, 2018

Remember my peeve with pop-culture references?
But seriously, if the whole story as specifically about them, it isn't as bad.
I thought the book was fair to middling.

Viergacht · Mar 13, 2018

Paul Bellow · Mar 24, 2018

Felicity Weiss · Mar 25, 2018

I will be seeing it when I finally go home to Oregon, so, the weekend of April 6th

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'Ready Player One': What The Critics Are Saying

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