hello and welcome to my spoiler review for ready player one a film that is both
loving and insulting at the same time yeah I don't think gamers or non gamers
will be particularly happy with how they're depicted in this movie but
thankfully it has some really inventive sequences and great characters so it's
still a pretty good time at the movies as long as you can take the hits okay
so first I'm gonna break down my favorite sequences in the movie there's
so much to cover and then I will break down my favorite characters and as
always there are chapter x down below in the video description if there's a
particular element you just can't wait to talk about but I'm sure I'm like
pretty darn sure that you want to talk about what I want to talk about and
that's the shining sequence in the movie it was amazing oh lordy Lord what a
fantastic piece of filmmaking to be able to enter your favorite movies with a
group of friends is genius I see a real opportunity here for just an overall
game outside of this movie it was so good like when it started like first
they were like oh what movie did they go on for their date you know Halladay and
his one date that he ever went on and they're like oh it's the shining and
like the audience kind of like laughed a little Amer like oh I like the shining
too I love the shining so but then when they they actually went into the movie
and they walked down the stairs into that famous room where of course Jack is
working on his novel or is he there was like nervous laughter erupting from the
audience because everyone was like are we really gonna do this and we did we
ran through like we did a whole sequence running through the movie it was so
fantastic I mean it was shockingly authentic in many places but when it
deviated it did so in a really clever and heightened way like for instance
when they entered the movie theater that was playing The Shining I don't know if
you caught this but the doors had a perspiration on them from the
air-conditioning inside the theater and just that little touch I was like this
is great and then like the when the woman's in the bathtub and she comes out
and you know she's it's revealed that she's a decomposing body and then she
takes out a knife and that was a a knife attack like an actual knife
attack like in a video game and that was really cool and the way it like kept
leveling up like that you you know H found him herself in hedge maze and then
you could just see Jax likes like you kept wondering if they were gonna show
Jack Nicholson but I think they handled it very tastefully and then those Amba
lady comes back but she's huge and she's swinging an axe down you know over the
over the hedge maze I just thought it worked really well and speaking of H the
the I hate horror movies and have never seen this one interaction with the
shining was really really added to the to the sequence I thought it was the
best sequence in the entire film and probably one of the best film sequences
I've ever seen it was movie magic for sure Spielberg can be mighty proud of
that one this whole movie can exist just so that does as far as I'm concerned
right so next I kind of liked unlocking the keys next I was I'm surprised to put
this second but I thought that the sequences really worked they had a nice
magical quality to them from the way the setting would change I thought that was
really great you know it would kind of like morph into the stage for the
ceremony and also holidays a wizard avatar both how he came into into sight
and then also Mark Rylance a subtle unassuming performance as the wizard
which I thought contrasted nicely like he wasn't a Gandalf he was you know so
much timid but very you know deep down grounded guy I will talk about Halladay
oh but I thought it was a great touch you know the first time in the Central
Park finish line when the instruments showed up it was instruments only band -
you know congratulate Wade for winning I thought that was a really nice touch I
thought they liked the test of whether or not he'd signed the contract was
great I just I liked those sequence and also the hilariousness have been trying
to put the keys Wade trying to put the keys into the into the lock but you know
in real life that he was in that car chase so that was that was great and I
loved when Holliday said do you want this key or don't you because he
couldn't quite grab it I thought that was great so those were very nice
sequences then only take a slight detour just right here to talk about the ending
I really liked that in the end speaking of signing contracts that's why
I put this year when he was asked to sign one for reels for the company with
all those lawyers I like that way too that his whole group the high-five
although I thought they never did a good job of establishing that's they were
called in the movie I was like that's what you're calling yourselves I like it
why did you wait until now to tell me but but all five of them would run the
Oasis together I thought that was a nice touch because and highlighted how in a
lot in games in real life people play they go on raids and a group you know
online and you know they get the bounty together and they all share it so having
that reflected in the movie I thought was nice I liked that but what was not
nice about the end and was turning off the Oasis I think it was like Tuesdays
and Wednesdays right or Tuesdays and Thursdays or something but forcing
people that was their idea we're gonna force you to be in the real world and I
had a problem with that and I'm seeing that some of you do as well I thought it
just left a bad taste in my mouth and especially because they're like here's
an example what you can do on your days off enjoy your amazing romantic
relationship and it's like it's hard to meet somebody or else everyone would be
in a loving romantic relationship it's like when someone says oh you want to
meet someone go outside that's where you'll find them you're like no you know
I've been outside you know it's it's uh it's it's I think it's a very personal
touchy thing and I think that the movie I I don't think that they should have
you know waded into that pool you know what I would have done I would have
limited the hours of gameplay that's what I would have done I'd be like you
can only play X numbers of hours a week it's up to you when to use them you
think of it as a challenge right I wouldn't close the Oasis as a way to
force people to do to make life choices that you think they should make I was
not keen on that and I'm curious to have some cuz I'm seeing some of you who
weren't happy with it either I'm curious what you thought of that development in
yourselves alright so then next back to sequences I liked I liked the dance
party I didn't think I would like the dance party but I did I thought it was
fun for instance who's into club tonight you know Harley Quinn we saw her there
for a minute sitting in the VIP room before she got kicked out that was my
favorite seeing someone else have an avatar that wasn't made up specifically
for the movie the other one though the close second was someone who was Hello
Kitty in the archives I thought that was hilarious that someone would choose to
leave their life as Hello Kitty I mean talk about the lack of articulation it
was hilarious but anyway I thought the dance part was fun and flirty they
actually had some literal heavy petting with Wayans
sensory suit I was like you should put that in the ad for the suit that will
sell a lot of suits although I'm sure it was in the end they just didn't I light
it in the movie and then I also when that when the fight broke out I love
this amicus cube I was like I didn't know what those amicus cube was and then
I wasn't supposed to obviously but when they revealed that it turned time back
for 60 seconds for everyone else but those who were like from where that was
thrown I thought that was a great idea I loved expanding the mythology of back to
the future I'm huge Back to the Future fan they had some goods like sound cues
with it it's just that's the moment for me where I was hooked emotionally from a
fan perspective into the film every every other time before that I was like
you're trying too hard ready player one but that one felt authentic to me and
earned I loved it now the other sequences I just want to
touch on them I couldn't get into the race the very first challenge maybe
because we had a 2d press screening but I felt I was not in the race it happened
too fast and there's too much going on I was like oh cool it she wrecks
oh cool King Kong but you know it was over almost immediately and again I
didn't feel like I was a part of that that interaction maybe for those of you
who seen it in 3d does it feel different there I mean I wasn't getting the
impression that I needed to see this in 3d like I just don't think it was filmed
in the way that it should have been and as for the very final challenge that was
multi-layered multiple locations and that really worked through the character
interactions and how the story progressed I thought that visually and
action wise though it left a lot to be desired
alright so let's talk about the characters now I'm doing the order of my
favorites and my favorite was I'm sure you can guess this Ben Mendelsohn as
Nolan Sorento so fabulous I liked seeing him when he was an intern
getting coffee for holiday I thought those were some really good interactions
than in the in and of himself and I love that he evolved to being the CEO of
competitor ioio I think that nothing that's what it was
called right kept throwing me off I was like I said 1 0 1 or ioio but I thought
he was a their branding their branding was good if sometimes a little
ridiculous I was like the shape the building is in the shape of I oh I oh I
that seems a bit much but I thought overall he was a very realistic villain
and I thought so his lines were just sensational my friends since he said
we've determined that we can take up a tee
and if someone's visual field before they before we induce a seizure I got
such a big laugh from the audience as it deserved to I thought that his avatar
was a great choice this muscle had like kind of like distorted leading man from
like the 50's or 60's right with these piercing glowing blue eyes I thought it
was great really showing what he was truly how he saw how he hoped to see
himself I thought that was great and then the fact that he wrote his password
down and taped it to his console you know who's you know his chair that he
how he experienced the Oasis I thought that was creative so it was not only a
great story story element you know they used that in the story but it was just
such a great way to see who he was as a person and then when he had to negotiate
with Wade and someone from his team of pop culture nerds was cyrano de bergerac
agam I went to say to Wade that was great the way it was revealed and the
way it was done and the way Ben Mendelsohn played it he was just a
really fabulous character that the only false moment was that he didn't shoot
weight at the end of the movie he was like oh he's crying it's so beautiful
did I make a life mistake I was like no way this character it's gonna do a 180
now he's too far he's already gonna get arrested I mean I just
that felt false to me and rushed and it was I think the one actually the one
false moment the movie and I'm curious how you felt about that then second what
can I say I love villains TJ Miller as mercenary I rock you know TJ Miller
who's doing his usual stick but he's so good at it and he was perfectly cast
here I loved him like alternating between talking about his real-world
neck problems and how he might have to see physical therapists from being in
the game so much to him being like oh this is a level 9 artifact for use in
the game you can't just like to open it you have to cast an actual magic spell
his interactions with Ben Mendelsohn were quite good I really like them a lot
then next Lina wait as H R wait I thought she was great now this was
supposed to be a surprise that H this male character was actually you know
well I don't really think he had an ethnicity in the game but was this you
know I believe she was supposed to be as Leena waithe's in real life an
african-american lesbian lesbian woman but that was supposed to be like this
big reveal like you don't know who you're actually interacting with
etc etc but the thing is is that not only I know she was in this movie but I
recognized her speech pattern her and her comedic delivery from seeing her on
master of none where by the way she doesn't get a lot of screen time or a
chance to shine well that's not the case here this is another perfect casting and
she really runs with this opportunity I mean this is a role that we usually go
to like Eddie Murphy or Kevin Hart and she did it perfectly and on par with
them it wasn't like the female version of what they would do she did what they
would do and just as well I'm so impressed I hope she gets another
opportunity to play this sort of role but where she delivers all of her jokes
in person on screen I couldn't be happier for her she really was fantastic
here then next time share Dan is wade AKA pars of all a little bland but his
voice work was very rich I thought he thought he did a nice job and he had an
earnestness to him as a hero that made him very likable but you know sometimes
he tried too hard for I understand was part of his character and again he was a
bit bland and he didn't seem very much like a leader to me I mean the rest of
the high five easily pulled focus from him everyone could pull focus from him
throughout the movie it's just the reason you kept going back to him is
because the story did he's no Michael J Fox let's put it that way
now next mark Rylance is James Halliday I have very mixed feelings about this
character in performance I felt that overall this was a very dated portrayal
of who a gamer is and the strokes were just too broad I mean you took they took
what was a very complex life including emotionally and just broke it down to be
way too simplified and I thought they stripped it of all of its nuance I had a
problem with that it was just it was a very negative again a very negative
depiction of a gamer and one that I think is based on assumptions that are I
think unfairly applied by non gamer so I didn't like that at all
but Rylance adds as much nuance as he can to the role which I appreciated and
I think he made the character very compelling nevertheless however just
like ty Sheridan was no Michael J Fox Mark Rylance was no Gene Wilder all
right so other cast members let's touch on them quickly
Olivia Cooke is Samantha aka Artemis literally the female version of Wade
terms of both positive and that positives and negatives and in terms of
the performance and the characterization they were just really were you know the
pink literally the pink and blue versions of the exact same character
then simon pegg such a tiny role not sure why he bothered or why they you
know I guess cuz they're like hey look at Simon Pegg I mean he both he and Nick
Frost always plus the material just like Nick Frost had a very small role in Tomb
Raider but I still it was happy he was there here though Pegg and I think the
real path obviously was realized realizing he was the robot in charge of
the archives that was nice and I didn't see it coming but by the way I loved
with the one speaking of the robot in the archives we'll take another little
sign detour here I love the extra life save I knew that that bet was important
when it happened but I thought he was gonna get like a ton of credits or
something I never saw that that would be the twist and it was I think really
worked well and it was definitely earned I loved it but I didn't like the
archives I'm curious to how you guys felt about this it just didn't work for
me I mean to search an entire person's life for clues every single conversation
and every single interaction it would take decades to sift through all that
not just a few years like with Wade I mean how he could find the exact
conversation that would give him a clue it was truly a needle in the biggest
haystack conceivable and it was inconceivable to me in terms of how it
could work all right not a fan I'm curious now that I think
about it there are a lot of Warner Brothers references in this movie just
as you're there gonna be a lot of Disney references and Rec and Ralph breaks the
internet which is cut is the same thing - and I didn't it didn't distract me
here like it's so overtly Disney and wreck-it Ralph but we'll see how it
works out but it's weird to see this story you know told us it twice in the
same year in such a different way no that's and I said as I said in my
non-spoiler review I thought the first record Ralph's captured gaming a little
bit better than this movie did so we'll see who does a better job with the
Internet alright so then I'm speaking of Tomb Raider Hannah John came and had a
blink and you'll miss it roll there and hear her role was slightly bigger as Ben
Mendelsohn's henchwoman she had a great look I mean I loved her bangs I thought
she did a nice job at the role but again she wasn't given much to do I'm just
excited about seeing her get more and more screen time as we ramped up to her
playing ghost the main or one of the main bags and ant-man and the wasp I
hope I hope she gets some more screen time there then when morisaki and Philip
Dow as brothers show and die toe this is from the book so you know they didn't do
this just for the Chinese aunt and they you know the Asian audience and I did
think that the big save with the Gundam at the end was nice although of course
the Iron Giant was the one who had to go in for the final kill and also I didn't
appreciate the the Terminator 2 reference when the Iron Giant went out
in the lava but you know I have to say it really just seems such an obvious
overture to the Asian audience to Asian audiences but I felt it was a little
hollow you know and I don't know how much longer Hollywood can get away with
just giving Asian audiences a nod rather than genuine roles that are thought out
and are a part of the storyline but they were both very likeable for the very
small amount of screen time that they had but really it was just almost they
should just turn to the audience and wink and be like I know Asian you're in
part of this too that's how I think obvious it was so ready player one is a
very interesting film indeed and since I'm sure it touches a nerve both good
and bad for a lot of you you know as gamers and his fans of pop culture or
you know either/or I'm very curious to hear your own thoughts your spoiler
thoughts about this movie down below where we will now continue the
conversation and of course as always you can check out some more videos right now