Ready Player One

Let's be clear about one thing first: yes, the challenges are different than in the novel (not better or worse, just different). Having experienced it in full, I understand why they changed them, they work so well on screen and I'm so glad they did it. I was in awe when the race we've seen in the trailers was happening. That sequence alone showcases the quality of the action and special effects, which by the way, when Spielberg said this movie has never-before-seen visual effects, he wasn't wrong. I can't imagine how long this movie took to render. I can't go into detail about my favorite sequence in the entire film, but I can say it was the search for the Jade Key. I would've never expected that scene to be as good as it was. Alan Silvestri's original score really improved an already fantastic film. You can hear he knows and loves his craft. This is one of his best works in years. As for the performances, I didn't see a single "weak" moment. Every cast member embodied their respective characters and brought the best of them to the screen. That being said, Philip Zhao's Sho got the best and funniest lines. The references were very prominent in the trailers, I won't lie saying I wasn't afraid they'd be too "in your face". It was not the case. There's a lot of "blink and you miss it" moments and cameos. The film focuses on Halliday's Quest, not on the references. It's going to be fun rewatching the movie trying to find as many as possible. (I don't think I found the unauthorized Gremlin, though). Perhaps my biggest issue with the movie is that it's not 6 hours long. There were a few moments in which I would've wished they'd go deeper instead of moving on to the next scene, but there's only so much you can fit in 140 minutes. You don't have to be a nerd or be very familiar with every 80's pop culture moment to enjoy the movie, but it sure helps a lot.