Ready Player One is a book that received mixed reviews. The verdict is different depending on who I ask. I personally enjoyed the book for what it was, but I do agree with the criticisms. Despite its pretentiousness, its unliklable characters and its slightly rushed ending, I was still able to enjoy the concepts of the story because my expectations weren’t high to begin with. I found many of the references to be nice flashbacks; even if they were slightly forced.
Now we have a Ready Player One movie on the horizon, and we’ve received the first trailer for it. Steven Spielberg is directing the film and because of his involvement he’s chosen not to include many of the references featured in the book itself (because most of them are from his own works). Instead, it seems he’s chosen to include more contemporary references, such as Overwatch.
The trailer itself has received mixed reviews. But this raises a big question for me; could the Ready Player One film be better than the book itself? I’m someone who is of the firm belief that the movie never compares to the book. In this case however, I found the concepts and ideas of the book to be what stood out the most. It wasn’t the writing, it wasn’t the depth, and it certainly wasn’t the characters. Those are all things that tend to get lost in book to movie adaptations. But if a concept is the main selling point here, then I definitely think its possible that we could see the movie outshine the book.
With all the talk surrounding the movie, author Ernest Cline has even decided to pen a sequel. Evidently, if the movie is a success, they’ll need more source material to pull from. I just hope Ernest Cline has developed as a writer so that the next book will be something more profound.
Share your thoughts on the Ready Player One book and movie trailer below!
