Ready Player One

[Reigns]

Well, it's finally here.  I've been looking forward to Spielberg's adaptation since I heard about it, as I read and liked the book. 
But APPARENTLY there's a 'backlash' about the movie - as there APPARENTLY was about the book itself.
See relevant broohaha > https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/26/17148350/ready-player-one-book-backlash-controversy-gamergate-explained
I found the book to be fun.  That's all.  No social commentary intended or needed.  That's what I expected from the book.  As a fairly socially liberal guy who believes that society's issues are real and really do need to be addressed - I still stick to that appraisal. 
Thoughts? 

[Timinator]

Some valid points in there, it misses one horrible thing about rp1, that rush was any good, let alone worthy or a major part of it

[Darkness]

, that rush was any good, let alone worthy or a major part of it

Rush?

[syn]

Rush?

[Sssith]

He can't be referring to that...can he?  That song is sublime.

[syn]

i assumed that was what he meant. seems like Rush usually provokes a strong opinion either way...

[Timinator]

It seems they mostly have fans in North America and generally are an acquired taste.  I understand musically they have some talent,   I just haven't heard a single one of their songs I've enjoyed so far, and not in a hurry to listen to more. 

I read a thing about Ready Player One (the book) complaining he isn't that good with his writing and mainly lists things he enjoys and things he doesn't.  And for the characters in the book, if you don't have uber knowledge, then you are weak.   

I'm going to try to see the movie sometime, I also want to read the book one more time, there are bits i'll pay lots of attention to, others I'm skim past the crap bits

[Darkness]

Ah Rush, the band.
One of the greatest bands of all time.
Fronted by a bona-fide musical genius.

[Pixie]

Ah Rush, the band.
One of the greatest bands of all time.
Fronted by a bona-fide musical genius.

^ This

[Timinator]

Anyone actually seen the movie?

[Godji]

Still on the fence about seeing it. I actually didn't like the book much : the article Reigns linked about the controversy starts with a critic which sums up my opinion perefectly

“Many people find its take on games and so-called genre art to be a dull, pandering tableau of reference points as an end unto themselves,” the A.V. Club informed.

The book was all about fitting as many pop-culture references as it could but lacked coherence and meaningfulness to the point I was getting a bit bored with it by the end, there is only so much "squeeeeee" you can get out of me with cameos. I was intrigued by what Spielberg would make of such a material, but it sounds like it suffers from the same flaws, so I'll probably just be happy with waiting for it to be available on a streaming platform or another.

[Timinator]

The working out the puzzle stuff was the most fun  bits for me

[Kasferatu]

I have to agree with some of the above.  I really liked the concept of the book, but I thought the writing was pretty terrible and the plot extremely convoluted. The puzzles would have been interesting, if the reader had some way to engage with them - but for the most part they were "Here is the problem, and here is a solution that you'd never have been able to work out".

I'd hoped the film would be much better, as it could have a tighter storyline and wouldn't suffer from shoddy prose.

[Reigns]

So I've read the book twice and seen the movie.
I loved both
I don't mind convoluted puzzles in books because my ass doesn't have to solve them.  I also don't care that it's a celebration of geekdom.  Hello?  If you don't like that, don't buy the fucking book.  It's pretty obvious what it's about.
For the movie, that's also true - but they made a ton of changes to make it more relatable to the audience and have a better flow.  Frankly the book as it was would have been nearly impossible to be made into a movie.  But I was good with the changes.  Story was changed but the spirit stayed true.  There were one or two annoyances, but not enough to ruin it.  I'll buy the movie when it comes out as well.

[Godji]

I don't mind the book being a celebration of geekdom, that was even its main selling point to me. I do mind it being this and ONLY this, and not even in the best thought way, often bordering on being a mere catalogue. Most other aspects were paper-thin, and some of the plot developments literally made me cringe.

In the end, I didn't go see the movie in a threater, but I'll probably still give the movie a try when it's available in video.