Ready Player One
Spouse and son and I celebrated son's birthday early, because of scheduling things. He wanted lunch at his favorite Thai place, and to see Ready Player One.
I had private misgivings as I had bounced off the novel very hard in the first chapters. But that smug male-gaze narrative voice was subdued in the film.
I'm am going to put a cut here because SPOILERS
Really, SPOILERS
Though I think it's pretty predictable, but OTOH Spielberg knows his audience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The virtual stuff is breathtaking, the actors did a terrific job, and the story is fun. Even for me, who loathed the eighties while in them, loathes eighties nostalgia almost as much as I loathe fifties nostalgia, and I'm not a gamer.
There were two points that kept me from thinking it anything better than entertaining. I would have been impressed if Wade had matched up with H, as they were tight buddies, and finished each other's sentences, but instead she's left totally hanging while he hooks up with the skinnier, whiter Artemis. Male gaze indeed.
At the end, the villain doesn't shoot Wade . . . he just stands there. I don't necessarily want the protags shot, but he had his back to the watchers who were called out, and they could have dog piled him from behind. Or he could have tossed his gun and said, what's the point? Or thrown a tantrum, or the police could have done a standoff. Instead he just stands there staring at the glowing egg, and I thought, is this for the really young audience? (Which by the way I'm fine with, except what about the bad guys blowing up what's left of his family? He doesn't seem to have much reaction to that . . .)
Well, anyway, a pleasant afternoon, and I enjoyed it, and also enjoyed watching spouse and son to either side of me enjoying it.
This entry was originally posted at https://sartorias.dreamwidth.org/978343.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I had private misgivings as I had bounced off the novel very hard in the first chapters. But that smug male-gaze narrative voice was subdued in the film.
I'm am going to put a cut here because SPOILERS
Really, SPOILERS
Though I think it's pretty predictable, but OTOH Spielberg knows his audience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The virtual stuff is breathtaking, the actors did a terrific job, and the story is fun. Even for me, who loathed the eighties while in them, loathes eighties nostalgia almost as much as I loathe fifties nostalgia, and I'm not a gamer.
There were two points that kept me from thinking it anything better than entertaining. I would have been impressed if Wade had matched up with H, as they were tight buddies, and finished each other's sentences, but instead she's left totally hanging while he hooks up with the skinnier, whiter Artemis. Male gaze indeed.
At the end, the villain doesn't shoot Wade . . . he just stands there. I don't necessarily want the protags shot, but he had his back to the watchers who were called out, and they could have dog piled him from behind. Or he could have tossed his gun and said, what's the point? Or thrown a tantrum, or the police could have done a standoff. Instead he just stands there staring at the glowing egg, and I thought, is this for the really young audience? (Which by the way I'm fine with, except what about the bad guys blowing up what's left of his family? He doesn't seem to have much reaction to that . . .)
Well, anyway, a pleasant afternoon, and I enjoyed it, and also enjoyed watching spouse and son to either side of me enjoying it.
This entry was originally posted at https://sartorias.dreamwidth.org/978343.html. Please comment there using OpenID.