Just watched Ready Player One...

[GreenDragonKnight]

And I gotta say, absolutely, no question, it is the most 80s movie ever made. This movie more 80s than a lot of movies made in the 80s. And, while I kinda hate to show my age, I remember it all: Atari, parachute pants, Izods, Members Only, Swatch, break-dancing, now-and-laters… yes, I remember when Michael Jackson was black, yes, I remember when MTV actually played music videos, yes, I remember when partying like it's 1999 seemed so far away...
But would somebody please explain to me the ending... you know the part where (yeah yeah yeah, spoiler...)







Wade asked Halladay (or whoever or whatever he really is) "Just what are you?" And why in the holy hell they would ask a question like that and then just leave it dangling...?

 

[thribs]

You should read the book. Even more 80 references, plus some additional Star Trek ones.
I think they were implying that the Halladay avatar had taken a life on its own. That it was sentient. That or that Halladay was still alive somewhere and controlling it.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I would say the movie was too 80s for its own good. The references and all worked beautifully, but when they started shoving F'Nale and Evil Superboss What'shisname down the path of generic slapstick 80s villains (right down to them being jokingly carted away by the cops at the end) they undermined a lot of the tone of the film.

In regards to Halladay, I think it's pretty clear he's not secretly alive somewhere pulling strings. The implication is that the avatar he left behind is more than just a standard program, ie, he is essentially living on in electronic form in the Oasis. But whether that's something that grew over time or that Halladay deliberately programmed/intended is undetermined. Take it sci-fi enough and one could postulate that the Avatar isn't a program at all, but that Halladay found a way to literally transfer his mind into the servers and decided he was done living in the real world because he'd pushed everyone away already anyway. That would also line up with the symbolism of the ending: Halladay hands over the keys to Wade assured that he won't make the same mistakes of valuing the Oasis over real life and Halladay, who already made his mistakes and can't take them back, disappears into the Oasis, the world he's chosen, forever.

 

[CommanderTrip]

I feel like the moment dedicated to the ambiguous nature of the Halliday program was essentially "The Measure of a Man" condensed into a 5 second scene. Is Halliday alive? No, of course not, he died. But is the Halliday program ALIVE? If you have seen Westworld, you might get what I am referring to (without spoiling anything too obvious from Season 1/2)

Nothing was really meant by it, but more of a wink to the audience.

 

[GreenDragonKnight]

Take it sci-fi enough and one could postulate that the Avatar isn't a program at all, but that Halladay found a way to literally transfer his mind into the servers and decided he was done living in the real world because he'd pushed everyone away already anyway. That would also line up with the symbolism of the ending: Halladay hands over the keys to Wade assured that he won't make the same mistakes of valuing the Oasis over real life and Halladay, who already made his mistakes and can't take them back, disappears into the Oasis, the world he's chosen, forever.

Yeah, that seems most likely. Consciousness transfer, and thus living on in an artificial body (a machine or whatever) has long been a staple of sci-fi. Kind of like what happened in that TNG episode that I can't remember the name of offhand when Data's creator's mentor was dying and transferred his mind to the computer...

 

[GreenDragonKnight]

On another note, I won't say I got all the references, but just about. I understand that Shining stuff wasn't in the book?

 

[thribs]

On another note, I won't say I got all the references, but just about. I understand that Shining stuff wasn't in the book?

Yeah. It was War Games, Blade Runner and Monty Python and the Holy Grail were the movies there.

 

[GreenDragonKnight]

Yeah. It was War Games, Blade Runner and Monty Python and the Holy Grail were the movies there.

I thought they talked about another Kubrick movie, but it wasn't the Shining. I'm just curious as to which one. (And please, I do not care about spoilers!!!!)

And BTW I know I should just probably read the book but, honestly, right now I've got a whole stack of books already lined up so it will probably be a while before I get around to that.

 

[thribs]

I just looked at the Kubrick movies and none of them come to mind being in the book.

 

[Awesome Possum]

This perfectly captures my feelings.

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It's a collection of endless references, shallow characters and a generic plot. It is a major improvement on the book which features one of the most reprehensible protagonists in fiction. Dropping the masturbation screed was a good choice.

 

[thribs]

Reprehensible? What was wrong with him.

 

[crookeddy]

Reprehensible? What was wrong with him.

Apparently he masturbates.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Yeah, that seems most likely. Consciousness transfer, and thus living on in an artificial body (a machine or whatever) has long been a staple of sci-fi. Kind of like what happened in that TNG episode that I can't remember the name of offhand when Data's creator's mentor was dying and transferred his mind to the computer...

There was the Schizoid Man, where a dying scientist transfers his mind into Data. Doesn't seem like what you're talking about here, though.

This perfectly captures my feelings.

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It's a collection of endless references, shallow characters and a generic plot. It is a major improvement on the book which features one of the most reprehensible protagonists in fiction. Dropping the masturbation screed was a good choice.

Nah, the book is better in almost every way. The movie does a much better job with Artemis as a character and the infiltration plot at the end is somewhat more plausible in the film (and yes, the masturbation scene didn't really need to be there) but everything else in the film is lackluster in comparison. Ultimately, the movie barely even touches on the things that are the actual point of the story (like 'friends' in the oasis vs real life relationships), or the way the High Five come together as a group despite not being associated with each other outside of the hunt (something the movie literally just skips over completely), or even just the act of imagining what a vast simulation like the Oasis might be like (which the movie again couldn't be bothered to do - too busy imagining hundreds of background avatars to show more than a handful of locations). And all that with no sense of time or difficulty in the hunt, which just makes me think how did IOI not win this whole thing years ago?

But that is a funny video, and the novelty of the references being part of the appeal is a fair cop.