Overall Analysis #2: Ready Player One as a Masterpiece

Welcome to the place where we look at elements of a Director or Film's entire meaning in a way more meaningful than the tradition reviews. I'm Logan Tyler Smith, and this is Overall Analysis.

 Now I know Ready Player One (both the movie and then book) are getting a lot of hate on the internet around this time. There’s the video on JustWrite, another video I didn’t really watch, and a lengthy series of endless movie reviews. To be clear, I’m not talking about the movie (which definitely has different merit) I’m talking about the movie because - spoiler alert, it’s actually kinda great.


Now I realize some of you don’t understand or appreciate this work, so I’ll make essay brief and to the point. Ready Player One is a love letter to the 1980s-and while that could definitely be a turn off to some people, to me and (hopefully) the general public, this content seems to have resonated. Not just in terms of the film’s box office returns (which were really profitable) but in terms of its sales. I know you think the New York Times bestseller list includes EVERY well-known book, but you try putting a novel out (see if that gets on the list-it’s a lot harder than it looks).


Obviously, it’s not just nostalgia the book offers. It also offers a clear point of view. Many books would struggle with keeping a coherent narrative for the sake of focusing on too many characters or plot (some books do this surprisingly well [A Song of Ice and Fire comes to mind] so don’t think that itself is a flaw). This focus on plot and character as UNISON makes this a really compelling story, something that functions beyond what one critic (or many!) could call “formulaic”.


It’s also worth noting that the book is still not without faults. Some of the character relationships seem a bit rushed (though there are definitely exceptions to this rule).


All these being said, I REALLY think you guys should reevaluate the Ready Player One book-nothing is for everyone, but I think you might really enjoy this nostalgic, visceral, and effective book on it’s next go-around. I really enjoyed the book from the beginning, and while I was sad about the movie changing some stuff, I did really love that too. It may not be a perfect adaptation-but for general audiences and lovers of the book, I can’t imagine a situation where they were horribly disappointed.


Anyway, I will probably reiterate this review when I look at it in the entirety of Steven Spielberg's filmography. I'm Logan Tyler Smith and this has been Overall Analysis.

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