(Music)
The future. >> It's 2018, but we can't help but
feeling nostalgic for
the pop culture of yesteryear. >> Boy,
what a great series this would make. >> And
you'd be hard pressed to find a better example of this than
Ernest Cline's 2011 novel, Ready Player One, which lathered us up in iconic and
obscure references of the 70s and 80s. >> I didn't live it, but I do miss it.
>> Of course you do,
it was freaking awesome.
So it's not surprise that Warner Bros.
picked up the movie rights, leaving card carrying geekster Zak Penn and
Ernest Cline himself to write the script that would eventually be directed by 80s
icon Steven Spielberg, thus creating an infinity mirror of post modernism that
folds in on itself and explodes. >> Whoa!
>> So without further ado and
no restraint on spoilers it's time to ask, what's the difference?
(Music)
>> Before any sci-fi can break into its plot, it must first set the stage.
>> The movie drops us in 2045 Columbus,
Ohio, and reveals how Earth has become a real bummer with all sorts of social,
economic, and environmental issues plaguing humanity.
Corporate fat cats like IOI wield unparalleled power while mankind stops
trying to solve its problems, and instead distracts itself hoping to outlive them.
This distraction comes in the form of the greatest video game ever made, the OASIS,
a virtual MMORPG where your reality is only limited by your imagination.
>> The book, however,
begins in Oklahoma City and paints an even bleaker picture of reality.
Think energy crisis, widespread famine, poverty, disease,
abandoned cities resulting from catastrophic war and neglect.
A real horror show.
So it's no surprise that so many people choose to live their waking life
inside the OASIS, which is much more than a video game.
It's a complete society where people have jobs,
go to school, vote in elections, do damn near everything but eat and sleep.
The movie breezes through the exposition, and
introduces the book's inciting incident, which is simplified for brevity's sake.
When the father of the OASIS, James Halliday, passes away in 2040,
he leaves behind a quest involving a series of clues leading to
three keys that, when collected, would lead to an Easter egg
which awards the player full control of the virtual world.
And a half a trillion dollars.
Holy Cyndi Lauper. >> Who?
>> But in the book Halliday's quest is
much more complicated.
Not only do players have to find keys but
they also have to find corresponding gates.
So by making the quest consist of just three challenges
the movie has already cut its plot down to a more manageable size.
In both mediums the quest sparks an entire community of egg hunters,
AKA gunters, and our protagonist, Wade Watts is one of the most dedicated.
A poor kid from the slums,
Wade has an infatuation with all the pop culture Halliday worshiped.
He wants nothing more than to find the egg and
escape poverty. >> There is really only one glaring
difference between movie Wade and book Wade.
Book Wade is a little on the chubbier side.
>> Yeah, but Tye Sheridan can't get
chubby, he's got Xmans to make. >> I know.
Hey, you remember the truffle shuffle?
(Sound) >> Wade enters the OASIS as his avatar,
Parzival, who in the movie looks more akin to James Cameron's Na'vi characters.
Book Parzival, however, retains a human aesthetic.
Not wasting time, the movie quickly introduces us to the rest of the key
players. >> Locate Aech.
>> First up, Wade's one and
only friend Aech, a kickass gamer described in the book as
a tall Caucasian male with brown hair. >> Art3mis,
a famous gunter who in the book is described as Rubenesque,
a unique body type in a world where most female avatars are unfathomably
thin and busty. >> The movie also gives us a quick shot of
Daito and Sho, the samurai brothers.
In the book, both are Japanese and go by the names Diato and Shoto.
But the movie makes Shoto Chinese, thus shortening his name to Sho,
which translates to the Chinese character meaning longevity.
>> Lastly we meet our villain,
Nolan Sorrento, who in both mediums runs the Halliday quest department for
the nefarious corporation IOI and
directs an army of identical avatars known as the Sixers.
Though in the book their avatars are all hulking males with
suits. >> Anywho,
once the movie blows through the characters we're immediately dropped into
the copper key challenge, an impossible race through Liberty Island and, boy,
is it exciting.
(Sound) Look out, it's T-rex, do you remember Jurassic Park?
I totally do.
(Laugh) One of my favorites.
The book, however, takes its time getting to the first challenge.
For one thing, Parzival doesn't have complete access to the OASIS, so
we spent the first few chapters on the school planet of Ludus with classes that
read like an episode of Magic School Bus. >> Come
on to the magic school bus. >> Both mediums show Wade's unfortunate
home life living with his aunt and her douche bag boyfriend in the stacks,
as well as his unwavering research in to all things Halliday.
In the book he references Halliday's journals,
a written log of Halliday's thoughts and rants about pop culture.
But the movie takes a more visual approach by having the journals represented as 3D
recreations of Halliday's memories, and puts more emphasis on Halliday's personal
life rather than the pop culture he was obsessed with.
It's here that movie Parzival picks up on an offhanded remark that gives him the key
of winning the race. >> Why can't we go backwards for once?
Backwards really fast, fast as we can.
(Laugh) >> Parzival just does that,
driving backwards until he reaches the finish line unscathed.
And with that, he's on the scoreboard.
(Sound) >> The book's first challenge is
completely different.
Parzival find its location hidden on the school planet that he was sequestered on.
But in order to get the key,
he must first win a game of Joust against the terrifying Lich King of DnD lore.
Yeah, it is really fun though decidedly less visual than an impossible race.
And unlike the movie he obtains the copper key on his first time out, running into
Art3mis on his way out of the cave. >> But
remember, obtaining the keys in the book is just half the battle.
So Parzival heads to a recreation of Halliday's childhood home and
enters the first gate, in which he must play out the entire film WarGames
as Matthew Broderick's character David Lightman until he prevents nuclear war and
is awarded a clue to the location of the jade key.
>> Now here's where the book and
the movie split pretty hard.
You see, after our heroes earn their places on the score board,
the movie's characters work together to solve the other challenges.
But in the book, everyone is a loner, rivals even.
Sure, Aech and Parzival are friends, but
there was always a competitiveness at the heart of their relationship.
Once Parzival and the others find the copper key in both mediums,
IOI kicks into full-on tracking mode. >> Gotta find them
kids! >> The movie changes perspective from Wade
to Sorrento in order to bring us inside the corporate boardroom,
where their evil plan of aggressively monetizing the OASIS is revealed.
We also get to see Sorrento obtain the Orb of Osuvox from his friend and
IOI mercenary, i-R0k. >> The book, however,
never changes perspective,
instead alluding to IOI's actions through speculation and word of mouth.
And rather than being a badass wizard mercenary, book i-R0k
is a fellow student who broadcasts enough detail about Parzival for
IOI to discover Wade's real name and address.
Realizing Wade could not be bought, IOI blows up
Wade's trailer thinking he's still inside. >> But
because movie IOI still doesn't have Parzival's real name the screenwriters
are forced to rearrange scenes from the book.
First, i-R0k follows Parzival and
Art3mis to their first date at The Distracted Globe.
It's on the dance floor that Zee blurts out his real name,
giving i-R0k exactly what he came for.
That's when the Sixers attacked the club and
our heroes narrowly escaped by rewinding time.
So now that IOI finally has Wade's name and
address they make their move on the trailer.
(Sound) >> But in the book, Parzival and
Art3mis visit the night club some couple weeks after the explosion.
And rather than a proper date,
their night at The Distracted Globe is due to a birthday party invitation from
Halliday's old friend and business partner Ogden Morrow.
The Sixers still crash the party, but it's the great and
powerful Og that stops the corporate army with a godlike vengeance.
>> You shall not pass.
>> Meanwhile in the movie,
IOI just blew up Wade's only family.
And the screenwriters start giving the movie brand new plot lines.
Before Wade can process what has just happened,
he's kidnapped by an unsavory looking character and
brought to what turns out to be the headquarters for an underground rebellion,
headed up by none other than Art3mis. >> Welcome to the rebellion,
Wade. >> This is a momentous meeting that won't
happen in the book until the last few pages, and
without any mention of a rebel faction. >> Instead,
book Wade changes his identity and moves to Columbus,
Ohio, where he continues to search for the jade key by himself.
This goes on for about a year, in which he never leaves his apartment.
With only Max Headroom and a sex doll for company.
It's embarrassing. >> The movie doesn't have this
big gap in time.
Instead, Parzival and Art3mis work together to solve the mystery of
the jade key, which turns out to be hidden in the memory of Halliday's one and
only date with Kira, Morrow's future wife. >> So
what happened? >> Nothing,
I invited her over. >> It was on that date that Halliday
failed to kiss her after watching The Shining.
So the High Five joined forces to find Kira in the Overlook Hotel.
>> Care to dance?
>> Do you know how long I've been waiting
for you to ask? >> With only one more key to go,
Sorrento's lackeys raid the rebellion's HQ, and Samantha heroically gives herself
up in order to save Wade. >> None of that happens in the book.
Instead, Parzival loses his place on the scoreboard after slacking on the quest but
is thrown a bone by Aech, and eventually obtains the jade key playing Zork.
He then heads to Blade Runner's Tyrell building where he plays an immersive
recreation of the classic video game Black Tiger.
And with that the second gate is cleared, followed closely by Parzival finding
the crystal key on the Planet of Syrinx. >> 2112.
>> Great album.
You remember that album? >> Meanwhile, in the movie Samantha toils
in one of IOI's infamous loyalty centers while her friends conveniently meet
in the real world and concoct an Inception-like plan to get her out.
By using Sorrento's password, left foolishly on a sticky note in
a previous scene, they hack his rig, tricking him into thinking he's being held
up in the real world when he's actually still inside the OASIS.
So, he gives up some pass codes and, voila,
Samantha is free from the bonds of indentured servitude.
Yeah. >> But I.O.I.
has already discovered the location of the final key on planet Doom.
And so in both mediums IOI uses the Orb of Osuvox to
create an impenetrable shield around the final challenge.
With no foreseeable way to get through the orb from the outside,
book Wade gets his fake identity arrested into IOI servitude,
where he uses black market passwords to infiltrate IOI's intranet.
Wade steals all sorts of damning evidence about their nefarious activities and
gathers intel on the order.
After a couple weeks of sabotage, he slips out using a disguise.
>> But in the movie,
it's Art3mis who goes all covert behind enemy lines,
breaking into Sorrento's rig and obtaining the phrase needed to shut down the orb
while the other High Five members log in from Aech's truck and call for
all the avatars of the OASIS to attack. >> Are you
willing to fight? >> In the book our heroes
are helped out by Ogden Morrow,
who flies them from their respective countries to his home in Oregon.
And as the designated time of attack approaches, so
do our heroes, each sporting their very own giant robot,
as opposed to the movie which only gives Aech a robot in the form of an iron giant.
Remember Vin Diesel? >> Meanwhile in the movie,
the Sixers are hard at work on the final challenge, playing Adventure.
The assault is already raging outside the shield when Art3mis takes down the orb by
uttering the magic phrase.
(Sound) >> In the book,
Wade is the one who takes down the the orb.
During his time as an indentured servant, he had programmed a Sixer supply droid to
take an antimatter friction induction bomb out of storage and
carry it over to the orb's location and detonate it, killing the high-level
wizard maintaining the orb. >> It's pure pandemonium in both mediums,
prompting Sorrento to pull out his mecha Godzilla.
(Sound) But have no fear,
because movie Daito's got a secret weapon,
temporarily transforming into a Gundam robot from Mobile Suit Gundam.
Tussle, tussle, tussle, Daito's transformation runs out and
he gets barbecued. >> But
in the book Daito isn't even around for the final battle.
During the search for
the jade key IOI tracks him down in real life and throws him off a building.
And because Shoto's best friend was killed by these corporate assholes,
he goes nuts on Sorrento, an epic fight worthy of a Kaiju film.
(Music)
Shoto does his best but is ultimately killed.
Then it's up to Wade to use a powerful item to turn himself into Ultraman and
he tears through Sorrento like tinfoil. >> Ultraman!
>> In the movie,
it's ultimately Art3mis who takes Sorrento down.
And now that he knows she's in the Sixer war room,
Parzival takes her avatar out, forcing Samantha to get out of Dodge.
And when the final challenge is in sight,
Sorrento and i-R0k show up for one last bribery attempt.
And after Parzival politely declines, Sorrento uses the Cataclyst to destroy
every avatar on the planet. >> The book, however,
has Parzival, Aech, and Art3mis open the final gate together.
But before they can step inside, the Cataclyst goes off.
Damn.
But lo and behold, Parzival remains alive due to a magical quarter he obtained by
playing a perfect game of Pac-Man.
Extra life. >> In the movie, Parzival's extra life
comes from a quarter given to him by the curator after winning a bet.
(Sound) >> Wow.
A quarter. >> So with his second chance,
Parzival searches for the adventure Easter egg while IOI's lackeys give our heroes
the car chase of their life. >> But
in the book, Parzival has a few more hoops to jump through with IOI on his tail,
as Sorrento and the Sixers enter the final gate right behind him,
giving us a final race to see who beats the challenge first.
We get a bout with the classic arcade game Tempest,
a movie sync with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and finally, Adventure.
Once he finds the egg,
it's game over and Parzival wins it all. >> However,
the movie give Parzival one final test wherein he must refuse to sign a legal
document reminiscent of Halliday making Morrow sign over his shares
in the company, an action he had always considered his greatest regret.
So after refusing to make the same mistake, Wade passes the final test and
is rewarded. >> In both mediums,
Halliday explains how to shut down the OASIS for good and
admits that reality, although painful, will always be better than a fantasy.
But unique to the movie is this last ditch effort of Sorrento
pulling a gun on Wade in the real world.
But this cold hearted monster melts once he sees Wade shed a tear over his win.
Aw, it's sweet because he grew a heart. >> In the last scene,
the movie finally brings the cast together with Ogden Morrow, and Wade realizes that
he was the curator all along. >> In the book it's Wade and Art3mis who
finally meet face to face, and after they share a kiss he realizes that for
the first time he wasn't in a hurry to log back into the OASIS.
While movie Wade has a similar arc, he also uses his new control of the OASIS to
set login restrictions on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that
humanity can spend more time in reality. >> Aah!
>> Where the book shows
a single character finding happiness in the real world, but
the movie uses that lesson to implement change on a global level.
So as you can see, Penn and Cline took great pains to streamline the plot,
shortening the timeline and simplifying the quest.
And with the minefield that is copyright law, some references were changed.
Other references were simply updated to appeal to a broader audience or
altered to be more visual.
Finally, with Spielberg attached, the group of kids worked together throughout,
ending the movie with a heartfelt message of optimism that realty is worth living
and we should all get to it. >> Hey you kids,
stop worshiping my old movies and get outside for a change.
I can't do a Spielberg impression, I'm sorry.
>> That's it for Ready Player One.
Don't forget to subscribe to CineFix for more What's the Difference?
And leave a comment below.
What references did you miss most?
Who's your favorite robot?
What's a Zork?
When's the last time you bathed? >> All right,
we're done. >> Are we?
Are we ever done, Casey?
(Music)