‘Ready Player One’ a Fun Ride Through Nostalgia and Hope

By, Heather Maloney

(Spoiler Free)

The day is indeed here. The fan favorite novel “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline has been made into a motion picture with Steven Spielberg at the helm. The greatest part? It is in theaters now and the wait is finally over! However, did it live up to the hype? Will it meet the expectations of all of the eager fans counting down the days in their grail diaries? Have no fear Gunters, while the film version is vastly different from the novel, the heart and the magic are still every bit as evident.

Wade Watts is a guy living in the not so distant future where humanity lives in a place called The Oasis. An online virtual world, The Oasis is where you can be whoever you want to be and do whatever you dream that you can do, When the creator, James Halliday, passes away, a contest is announced to find an Easter Egg he has hidden within The Oasis. The first person to solve Halliday’s elaborate series of challenges will gain complete control of The Oasis.

With the announcement of this once in a lifetime contest, the world begins searching for the solutions to find the hidden egg including Watts. In The Oasis he is known as Parzival, and he becomes an expert on everything Halliday including all pop culture knowledge from the 1980’s. Will Watts find the egg before the evil corporation IOI finds it, ruins The Oasis and life as it is known?

Much of the story’s plot veers completely from the book and while this is normally frustrating, some of the new elements in the film are amazing changes (take the jade key for example). While there were pieces missing that were heartbreaking to see omitted, the film never loses the heart or the story. Much like the many different formats of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” have variations that enhance each different version, the film’s changes are fun and bring a fresh perspective to the story.

The nostalgic references and packed into every crevice of this film. Many from the book were omitted, however many more were added. You could watch this movie a hundred times a find something new. The trailers showed an insane amount of references alone, but you will find yourself giggling throughout the film as you catch small references even when they are not expected. Discussions with friends after the first viewing are a blast as each person will catch different references and comparing notes will make you want to run back in and buy another ticket.

As a fan of the novel, the film was a fun ride of nostalgia and hope. While there are a great deal of changes, the heart of the story remains and the ride is just as exciting. Not as dark as the book, with a few swear words, this film is a fun movie for everyone and brings many back to a time when the adventure film was an experience to go to the theatre for. If you are a fan of this film, please do yourself a favor and read the novel as it is a different and amazing ride as well.