Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Book vs. Movie: Ready Player One


Ready Player One is one of those books I found out about after I started blogging and saw a lot of other people raving about.  For some reason, I kept putting off reading it, and then I saw that the movie was coming out.  My husband was excited for it, because of the pop culture references and video game culture, and so the book went higher up my TBR, with the intention of reading it before the movie was released.  I guess a lot of people had the same idea I did, because when I went to get the book from my library, there was a HUGE wait list - so long I didn't get a chance to read the book before the movie.  Minor spoilers below!

Ready Player One takes place in the not-too-distant future, a bleak place where people turn to the OASIS, a virtual reality game, to fulfill themselves.  The game's creator, James Halliday, announces in his will that he left an Easter egg inside the game, and the first person to find it will gain control of the OASIS and his vast fortune.  Wade Watts is a teenager who is on his way to winning it all after he finds the first key to the Easter egg, but a large corporation, Innovative Online Industries, is using all of its resources in order to get there first.

We saw the movie the first weekend it came out, and it was definitely a fun experience!  The music was awesome, all those '80s hits!  Who doesn't love '80s music?  Visually, the movie was gorgeous - the OASIS seemed like such a lush place where practically anything could happen.  I see why people spent so much time in there. And of course, all the pop culture references were very cool.  Whether they were front and center, like the Iron Giant, or hiding in the background, it was fun trying to spot them all.

As much as I enjoyed the OASIS, the scenes that took place in real life were just as important.  I did have a little bit of an issue with some of the secondary characters on Wade's team - I feel like we didn't get to know them as much, and since they were such fun characters in the movie, I wanted more of them.  But overall, I really enjoyed the movie - it was a good mix of action and heartfelt scenes.


When I finally got a copy of the book, I dove right in.  The first thing I noticed was the incredible amount of detail.  Cline's world-building was amazing.  I almost felt like James Halliday was a real person, I got to know him so well through Wade.  At times, that amount of information felt overwhelming, especially the sections that got overly technical on computer or gaming things, but it made the book feel so authentic.

I generally thought the pacing was good, but there were times it felt off.  Sometimes it took awhile for Wade to figure out each challenge, and then within a few paragraphs, other players would catch up or even surpass him, with little warning or description.  While I liked Wade and thought he was resourceful and smart, even cunning at times, it was a bit hard to believe how much knowledge he actually had.  I mean, I guess he literally spent years watching and playing basically every tv show, movie, and game from the 1980s, but the fact that he had pretty much everything memorized was crazy.  I did appreciate, though, that the secondary characters were fleshed out, and Ogden was a pretty cool character, as well.

It's hard not to notice the big differences between the book and the movie.  Obviously, the general premise is the same, but the challenges were very different (although it makes sense that the filmmakers would have to scale them down for the movie).  The secondary characters also played slightly different roles.  I thought the book did a great job in creating the OASIS and helping me visualize it, but actually seeing the world on the big screen really brought it to life.  I would recommend both!

Have you seen the movie and/or read the book?  What did you think of the differences between them?


24 comments:

  1. I was really surprised at how different they were. However, I did enjoy both the book and movie. At times the book got into way too much detail about the computer stuff Wade was doing, but it was interesting to get to know more of the characters and how they ultimately had to work as a team. The movie visually was great - sometimes when I read books I have a hard time picturing what the author envisions. This was great to see it right in front of me.

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    1. Exactly, even though there were changes, I think the book really benefitted from the movie version. The whole point of the OASIS is that it's this wild, crazy place where anything goes, and I feel like actually seeing it on the screen was great.

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  2. I've heard the audio version of this book is really good. However, I've not read it or seen the movie as yet. I imagine we'll watch the movie at some point. Like the idea of the '80's music. And thanks for giving us your take on both!

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    1. Wil Wheaton narrates the audio version, so at some point I may listen to it just for that!

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  3. I read this book way back when all the hype was happening. I liked it a lot, but I haven’t seen the movie yet. I’m glad you liked both of them.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Yeah, I missed a bit of the hype for this one, but with the movie coming out, thought it was a great time to catch up!

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  4. I really disliked the book when I read it, but I've been wondering if the movie would be better. Maybe I'll have to check it out!

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    1. They are pretty different, I would recommend it!

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  5. I keep seeing this movie around, and I think I'll probably watch it at some stage. Might not read the book, though.

    Cool post!

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    1. Thanks, Amy! The movie was very fun, even if the book is not quite your thing.

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  6. Glad to hear you weren’t disappointed in either. I loved the book when I finally read it this winter. I can’t wait to see the movie!

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    1. Awesome, hope you love it as much as the book!

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  7. I also wanted to read the book before the movie, and in the meantime I still haven't read the book nor watched the movie, haha. But I'm still intrigued by both, especially if there are differences and you still liked both. Great review!

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    1. Thanks, Lindsey! Hope you enjoy them if you get a chance!

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  8. I haven't read the book so I'm not really that interested in seeing the movie.

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  9. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie! I've heard a few mixed things so I wasn't sure if I should go see it or not, so when I saw this post I was like ooh. :) I would probably love the 80's music! And glad the book was good for you too.

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    1. It would be a good Netflix or Redbox movie, I think. I really enjoyed it and think you would as well, but even if you don't, it's only a movie!

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  10. I really liked the book when I read it but haven't made it to see the film yet. My son went with some friends and he came home saying it was the best movie ever, lol. I'm waiting for it to come out on DVD now but definitely plan to watch it.

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    1. Yeah, I think this movie would appeal to most men, of all ages! My husband loved it. Hope you enjoy it, too!

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  11. Neat that you found strong points for both and found them both worth it. Another one/pair I need to catch up on. :)

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    1. Yes, even with the differences, I still enjoyed both. I wasn't upset by the changes they made, I thought they worked well!

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  12. Awesome reviews!! I really enjoyed both! I read the book first and then saw the movie. I'm hoping to re-read and re-watch soon :)

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    1. Thanks, Erica! Yeah, I would probably watch the movie again, too!

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!