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Ready Player One: Character Analysis
32 Plays10 days ago
In this episode of Book Watch, we’re kicking off our two-part deep dive into Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and the 2018 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. Part One is all about the characters: How well did the movie capture the spirit of the High Five? Which casting choices soared, and where did the avatars differ most from their book counterparts? 💡
We’re unpacking:
- Character portrayals and major differences
- The chemistry of the High Five and the villains
- How identity, avatars, and real-world vulnerability shape the story
- What worked, what didn’t, and what we wish the movie kept
Whether you’re obsessed with OASIS lore or love a good book-to-movie debate, this character-focused breakdown sets the stage for next week’s plot discussion. Strap in — the first key is just the beginning.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Book Watch Podcast
00:00:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Hello listeners and welcome back to another episode of Book Watch. I am joined once again with Chris. Hi Chris, how you doing?
00:00:11
Chris
Hi, Sarah Dane. Good to be here.
00:00:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And Jordan.
00:00:15
Jordyn
Hello, hello.
Exploration of 'Ready Player One'
00:00:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And today um we are going to be talking about Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Ready Player One is a fast-paced science fiction adventure set in the year 2045, so not too far off from now, when much of humanity spends its time inside a vast virtual reality world called the Oasis.
00:00:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
The story follows Wade Watts, a teenager who dreams of escaping his bleak real-life circumstances by solving a series of puzzles hidden within the Oasis by its late creator, James Holliday.
00:00:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Whoever finds all the clues will inherit Halliday's fortune and control of the Oasis.
Themes and Comparisons
00:01:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Along the way, Wade it teams up with other players and faces powerful corporate enemies who want the prize for themselves, of course.
00:01:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Both the book and the film explore themes of friendships, identity, and the balance between virtual life and reality.
00:01:17
Chris
Wait, we have balance with that?
00:01:20
Jordyn
Since when?
00:01:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
The book came out in August of 2011 and, um and of course, was written by ert Ernest Cline. And the audio book is narrated by the wonderful Will Wheaton.
00:01:34
Chris
Yay.
00:01:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg. It was adapted by Zach Penn and Ernest Cline, and it came out in March of 2018. um So why don't you guys tell me a little bit about your introduction to the book, the film, which came first, and kind of what you remember about um this movie coming out?
Initial Experiences with Book and Film
00:01:58
Chris
For me, I watched the film, I think, first. It was ah ah something I didn't really know much about, but it was something that I came across and said, oh, that looks really cool. And so I jumped into it, and I loved the whole vibe of the movie, how much ah pop culture was in it, and how much I love all that already really compounded that.
00:02:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yes Yeah, it's definitely one of my annual we rereads.
00:02:18
Chris
So i was like, all right, I got to read the book for this. And I think at this point, I've read the book. four or five times now. So including the couple of the times I was doing it for this podcast to make sure I was fresh on it, but I love it new every time.
00:02:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I love this book.
00:02:34
Chris
Definitely.
00:02:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And Jordan?
00:02:36
Jordyn
Yeah, i forgot I forgot how good it was. Like, i had to read it and one of my, like, freshman introduction courses in college. um So it's been...
00:02:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Hmm.
00:02:45
Jordyn
It's been a hot second since I've read it. And i so they had us read the book and then watch the movie and do like discussion about it for that class.
00:02:53
Chris
and That's awesome.
00:02:53
Jordyn
And I don't think I had read it or watched it since then.
00:02:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wow.
00:02:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
here
00:02:57
Jordyn
But when I – and I actually – did – I went against my own like code of ethics. I watched the movie first before I finished reading the book. just to make sure I could get it done in time to record.
00:03:09
Jordyn
um But I watched it and i was like, this movie is rocks. Like, it's super fun. Like, it's well-paced. Like, it keeps you engaged.
00:03:14
Sarah-Daye McDougall
come
00:03:15
Jordyn
And then I read the book. I'm like, this is also awesome. this it's We'll talk about its differences and similarities.
00:03:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:03:22
Jordyn
But it was... i went I got through it a lot quicker than i thought I would get through it because my general um ah vibe is more fantasy, not so much sci-fi and like reality based.
00:03:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Thank you.
00:03:36
Jordyn
So for me, I was like, oh this is probably I'm going to have to just really work to get through this one. But it was it went quickly. So it was good.
Film Adaptation: Disappointment and Appreciation
00:03:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, I um had read the book first and i think it was in anticipation of the movie ah because I always have been a fan of if I know a movie coming out is based on a book, I like to go ahead and read the book. um And on first watch, I was pretty disappointed in the film because of all the changes.
00:04:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But after watching it a few more times, it grew on me as a film. um This is definitely one that I think would have done really well as a TV show to be more of of a faithful adaptation.
00:04:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But as a movie, it's a great, solid film. Of course, it's directed by Spielberg, so it's obviously going to be a really good film. um I just don't think it as an adaptation... It gets the main point across, but there's so much left on the page that I would have loved to see.
00:04:28
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:04:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I'm still pretty disappointed that the first challenge was changed and we can get to that in the next episode. um But again... For what it is as a film, it's a fantastic film. it again, says what it needs to say.
00:04:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But I just would have really loved for this to be a solid TV show, maybe even have two seasons um with like his infiltration of the IOI as be the beginning of season two and then the big battle at the end of season two. But again, for for what it is as a movie, it's such a good film.
00:05:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But the book is just so good.
00:05:11
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:05:12
Chris
Yeah, i've I've kind of started seeing them as two different things entirely.
00:05:12
Jordyn
Ever...
00:05:14
Chris
they one one
00:05:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
You have to.
00:05:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and
00:05:16
Chris
They're both great stories, but they're two different things. And yeah, I think like even a ah ah season of TV for each of the um of the keys or whatever and and gates would be perfect and then go into the other book as part of the next season or whatever.
00:05:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:05:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:05:30
Jordyn
It reminded me of our conversation when I covered Percy Jackson with you, Sarah Day, especially that the movie compared to the book where it's like they took some like the names and like kind of the background, like some very basic structural bones of the story that they copied.
00:05:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:05:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:05:46
Jordyn
But so much was changed that it basically was its own property. And like, I think it will talk more about it, but I think it worked for the movie because like reading it, like there's a lot of just sitting around and thinking there's a lot of like the computer, like programming and coding.
00:06:00
Jordyn
It's like how to make that visually interesting.
00:06:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:06:03
Jordyn
I can see how that made the filmmakers might have thought that was a challenge.
00:06:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:06:07
Jordyn
And so let's lean more into the virtual action that we can have in this like fantasy slash sci-fi slash whatever you want it to be virtual world.
Relevance of Adaptation in VR Discussions
00:06:16
Jordyn
Like I get it.
00:06:17
Jordyn
It's not if you're if you're judging it based on how good it is at adapting. It's a little tough. It's a little bit of a lower score, but it works.
00:06:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
right yeah exactly um what about the key themes from the book and how they translated into the film what do you think
00:06:35
Chris
I think they're there. i think that they hit the um the kind of found family, but with never meeting someone in person, you know, how they kind of build on that. And, ah you know, nostalgia and pop culture was there in both versions, kind of just kind of giving people that feeling, even if it's done in slightly different ways. I think they still kept the integrity of the themes.
00:06:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:07:00
Jordyn
Yeah, I agree. I think like, especially these days, like with the world being what it is, like escapism is such a powerful thing. And it's something that like a lot of people are seeking. And so it's just in different ways. Like for us, it's reading our books and watching our movies and escaping to those other worlds that way. For some people, it's video games and going into virtual reality and like just not having to think about whatever's happening in real life.
00:07:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:07:28
Jordyn
And I think that's always kind of been something that humans have like thought about and wondered about. And we we've always had storytelling, like that's part of what makes us human is our ability to tell stories and use our imaginations.
00:07:43
Jordyn
But I think in this moment in time, we have so many different ways to escape and so many different avenues to go to different places and so many different places in the virtual world, the internet that we can go to.
00:07:58
Jordyn
that it really is like, it's a very, very timely. Like, I don't think you could redo this using, like, I don't think you could replace the virtual reality aspect of it with anything else and have it still have the same impact as it does.
00:08:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
right and virtual reality is still so not there in our in our own reality that it's still like the oasis is still like um so interesting to us like yes we we have some vr and um
00:08:18
Chris
That's true.
00:08:27
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:08:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
You know, we've got the big goggle things. um But to be so immersed is still such a foreign concept to us that this is still such, like you said, an escapism. And like this whole book is just so, it's just so good.
00:08:45
Jordyn
yeah We've got 20 years. We could still get there.
00:08:47
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, that's true.
00:08:48
Chris
Hopefully. I mean, i if you listen to the first few lines of the movie, they say that it was 20... I think I looked it up. It was like right now is basically when the first... I think December of this year is when the first Oasis version went online.
00:09:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wow.
00:09:03
Chris
So he's 2045, so this has been established in his world for a long time. So it's kind of crazy to think that 10, 15 years ago when he wrote this, or whatever it was, he was thinking that you know in this virtual world, this is when...
00:09:03
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:09:08
Jordyn
no
00:09:18
Chris
This would have happened. And where they we're like, no, we're not there.
00:09:21
Jordyn
ah
00:09:23
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um Why do you think this book was chosen as an ah adaptation for an adaptation?
Impact of COVID on Perception of 'Oasis'
00:09:33
Chris
Spielberg likes to play with all the toys. And this has all the toys in one thing.
00:09:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
There is a lot of references in this.
00:09:43
Jordyn
ah I think like I said earlier, like the timeliness of it, like I think I feel like in 2018, when the movie was coming out, and then a couple years before that, that's when like, meta, like the metaverse and like the goggles, like that's when they really started pushing that and like VR and AR like really started,
00:10:00
Jordyn
like um trying to make a name for itself. And like, you should spend your money on this. And they're like, hey, look at us over here. Look at all this cool technology. know And so it was like, oh, this is perfect because this can talk about the pros and the cons of that kind of technology in our daily lives because it's starting to become real.
00:10:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
okay
00:10:17
Jordyn
We're actually starting to to work towards Oasis-like technology. And so I think like it came out right when it was supposed to come out. like If it came out now, then people are like,
00:10:29
Jordyn
you know Yeah, we already kind of know about that. like With AI now becoming a bigger thing, like those conversations are already happening. And so this would feel like you're coming in late to the to the conversation.
00:10:41
Jordyn
so when it for it to come out in 2018, it's like right at the beginning of the big AI boom and the and the ar and VR boom, like I said, it was a good good time for it to come out.
00:10:52
Chris
Any later, and I think the COVID ah isolation would have changed the whole conversation we were having around it.
00:10:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
ah
00:10:58
Jordyn
Yeah. But they do address that in the book. Like he talks like Wade.
00:11:02
Chris
Pandemics, yeah.
00:11:03
Jordyn
Yeah. Wade talks about pandemics, but also talks about like, you know, ah there's a point where he's like, I literally have not left my apartment in six months. It like literally has been six months.
00:11:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:11:14
Jordyn
I have not stepped foot. I haven't seen sunlight. He has to take vitamin D pills just to keep himself like alive because that's a vital nutrient and he's not getting it because he's blacked out all of his windows and like he you know so that i think I think Klein like in the book and the movie might have focused more on that if this had been written and and created post-COVID but even pre-COVID it talks about like how dangerous it is for people to be by themselves and to not have community and to not have people around you
00:11:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:11:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I think that would have helped a lot if we had something like the Oasis during COVID. like theyre like
00:11:49
Chris
Oh, yeah.
00:11:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So many people became depressed. There was lots of divorces. There was lots of negativity around being isolated for so long um that if we had, I mean, yeah, we had the internet, but the Oasis is so immersive. You can feel, you can touch, you can walk, be so immersed in this other world so that you can still be in your little bubble physically,
00:12:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um but you know, virtually be with all of your friends and family.
00:12:16
Chris
a little more of that actual presence versus just chatting with people online or whatever else.
00:12:16
Jordyn
yeah
00:12:19
Chris
And not everybody has that.
00:12:20
Jordyn
so
00:12:21
Chris
And if you had all this activity to do in a virtual space, it really would have changed things a bit.
00:12:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:12:27
Jordyn
I think it's interesting too, though, because like, even just how things actually happened with COVID. We're still talking about like people are more depressed than they've ever been there, feel more isolated than they've ever felt even without the Oasis. So i wonder if that would have like, it could have had a positive impact with letting us connect more and be more immersed in that connection.
00:12:48
Jordyn
But how many people would have gone into the Oasis and never come back out even when we could, even when like we could come back.
00:12:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I was just about to say, right. When the world started to open back up, we'd be so used to it.
00:12:56
Jordyn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And especially if we're like Wade, where he, like, you know, we would prefer um
00:13:02
Jordyn
Mm-hmm.
00:13:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
you know
00:13:03
Chris
And that is somewhat a thing still where, you know, DoorDash is busier than ever, but restaurants, lobbies are still empty, it feels like.
00:13:05
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:13:09
Chris
I mean, and things like that where people aren't actually going out into the world nearly as much.
00:13:10
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:13:13
Chris
And some of that's current political, financial issues that people are having. But some of that is that habit they built of, oh, we'll have this at home where we can watch our TV while we eat it. Or we'll ah do this where we're around the people we already want to be around.
00:13:23
Jordyn
Mm-hmm.
00:13:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:13:26
Jordyn
Yeah. And I think Klein does such a great job throughout the book of pointing out the pros and the cons of it. And like I can have my best friend be H and
Character Portrayals in Film vs. Book
00:13:37
Jordyn
Artemis and we I can meet these people, Shoto and Daido that live in Japan. I never would have met them if it weren't for the Oasis. And how wonderful is that, that we can build this connection and have these friendships.
00:13:47
Chris
The universal translator, all that, yeah.
00:13:47
Jordyn
But also... Yeah, like a lot of the stuff is like really cool and it really is like, yeah, wouldn't it be great if we had something like that? And then it's like, yeah but the corporate greed and the, you know, the isolation that you have and the, you know, he talked, Wade talks about like his lack of physical exercise and mobility, like, you know, that kind of a thing.
00:14:08
Jordyn
it there's always pros and cons to stuff. And so what type of person are you or is it going to be more of a benefit or more of a detriment to your everyday life to have access to something like that?
00:14:19
Chris
Oh, yeah.
00:14:19
Jordyn
It's a really interesting question.
00:14:19
Chris
Yeah, let's it.
00:14:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, are we ready to dive into the cast?
00:14:25
Chris
yeah do it
00:14:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, so of course, let's start with Wade Watts, also known as Parzival. And he was played by Ty Sheridan. How do you think Ty did as Wade?
00:14:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And also, what did you think of their like CGI, like their virtual avatars also?
00:14:47
Chris
I think that ah he did a good job as the character. he definitely, I mean, I would have loved to see some of the um changes in his appearance that we see in the book and the timeframe is stretched out a lot more in the book. And so like when he, you know starts using the machine to, or the, what the,
00:14:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:15:02
Chris
shower thing that removes all his body hair and stuff like that, as well as washing him but with like a car wash. it would have been nice to see that version of him that doesn't have any eyebrows and is bald, especially in the book, how they, there was a comment ah from, uh,
00:15:17
Chris
ah What's her name? but that She likes that sort of thing. ah Samantha, where she likes people that are bald. And ah so where he said, I'll go shave my head right now and something like that. And then we find out later he is bald by the time she meets him. would have been nice to see some of that change.
00:15:33
Chris
But I understood based on the time frame that they used, it made sense. And I thought he did a good job of playing that geeky character.
00:15:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:15:42
Jordyn
Yeah, he was cute. It was like, yeah, he was geeky. He was funny. um i believe that he could like do all of the like coding and like ah action that he needed to do um to further the story. i was I was bought in on him for sure.
00:15:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah. And I thought that his, um, Avatar looked really good. I think all the CGI was really solid in the film.
00:16:05
Chris
It really is, yeah.
00:16:06
Jordyn
Yeah, it did a good job of like actually looking like video game CGI and not like Uncanny Valley, like trying to look too human.
00:16:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:16:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:16:13
Chris
right
00:16:15
Jordyn
Like it was like, no, this is a video game. We're going to make it look like a video game. And so that was really good, too, because.
00:16:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
That's a really great point.
00:16:21
Chris
ah really is yeah
00:16:21
Jordyn
Yeah, because even like the humanoid like avatars, like it's like, OK, that's definitely still a video game character, like an avatar where you can like change like.
00:16:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:16:31
Jordyn
adding a scar or coloring or types of hair, like you can tell like that it's a video game piece. So that was really cool.
00:16:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
All right, moving on to Samantha Cook, who played Artemis, um who's played, I mean, so yeah, Samantha Cook, also known as Artemis, played by Olivia Cook.
00:16:55
Chris
She was great. I liked the character a lot. I liked the way they um had her portrayed. They did change a lot of her story, um but you still had the confidence, the bravado when she was in the ah Oasis and even outside of it, she still had, you could feel that, so that bravery and the, you know, the way she is willing to face up to anything and, and stand up to everyone.
00:17:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:17:17
Chris
um But still has that reserved kind of, um issues with her self-esteem, but has her barriers up and that she uses for herself to protect herself.
00:17:29
Jordyn
What a path for Olivia Cooke going from this to of Thrones.
00:17:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:17:33
Jordyn
Like I was like, I was watching House of the Dragon.
00:17:33
Chris
Right.
00:17:36
Jordyn
i'm like, I know I know her from something. I can't remember what it was. And then I watched this. i was like, there she is. I i get it now. But no, she she was great. She was, yeah, being able to play like the cocky, like I know what I'm doing. Like i can keep up with with everybody like that. And then that bravado, like you said, like hiding the shyness and the the self-esteem issues and the insecurity, like she really nailed that part of it.
00:18:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um I agree. I liked her as Samantha. um I did not like her avatar as much. It was pretty shocking to see because in the book, um she's supposed to look pretty much like herself just without the birthmark.
00:18:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And in the movie, um you know, she has a completely different hairstyle, much more like rocker, much more
00:18:21
Chris
Right.
00:18:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
like
00:18:32
Jordyn
Like alien.
00:18:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
virtual yes alien is a great word for it um not um not realistic really um so that was jarring and still even on this last rewatch it was still kind of hard to watch that because she's not supposed to be um that different but it was fine it worked for the film um i did really appreciate at the end um
00:18:33
Jordyn
Mm
00:18:40
Jordyn
hmm.
00:18:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
that she had changed her avatar to have the birthmark on air. So um I like that a little detail.
00:19:06
Chris
In the second book, they reference back to that about how she turned that into almost a trademark and not just, you know, it was something she just claimed, but then it became almost her trademark as one of the owners.
00:19:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
o
00:19:17
Chris
That was cool.
00:19:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
Analysis of Supporting Characters
00:19:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Moving on to Helen Harris, better known as H, played by Lena Waithe.
00:19:30
Chris
I like the way that they did it in the film. It was pretty good. It felt very similar to the book and um the the gender swapped our avatar in order to you know protect themselves from the racism and the sexism in the real in the real world and in the game.
00:19:45
Chris
um I think that the actress played it well and i think that I really enjoyed that character too.
00:19:53
Jordyn
Yeah, I remember being super shocked the first time I read it. i was like, what do you mean he's just a girl? Like, what are you talking about? Because they even the way that the characters written, like they do a really good job of like making the dialogue sound like very teenage boy.
00:20:08
Jordyn
And so, like, i I truly was shocked.
00:20:08
Chris
Some the things, yeah.
00:20:10
Jordyn
Like, they he really got me, especially the first time.
00:20:13
Chris
um the
00:20:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Same.
00:20:14
Jordyn
And then, like, kind of forgetting about it and, like, watching movies, like, oh, my God, yeah, like, I i remember that. And um ah like how they talk about, like, the voice modulator and, like, you know, and Wade being so shocked.
00:20:27
Jordyn
Like, you've been a girl this whole time? Like, what do you mean? So I thought that they – I wish they had kind of played that up a little bit more in the movie, like, the shock and being, like – What? Like, you know, because he doesn't he doesn't feel that betrayed in the book, but like a little something would have been nice.
00:20:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:20:44
Chris
And the the physical descriptions weren't perfect in the end because, you know, they describe her as you know overweight and, ah you know, large breasts and all that. But I think the actress pulled it off just fine with you know the bravado and all the stuff that would be accurate to someone in the real world trying to survive like that.
00:20:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:21:00
Chris
Yeah.
00:21:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I liked her, the actress, um again, though, with the avatar. It was jarring. um I really liked what they did with the avatar. um But in the book, and correct me if I'm wrong, but he's just like a normal guy, like jockey, tall, handsome guy.
00:21:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um Whereas in the movie, again, more alien-like with the whole, and they did this with IROC too, with the um like cyborg-y alterations.
00:21:32
Chris
Yeah. Now, in the book, they're all still in school when they start this and when they're required to have an avatar that is humanoid and is their same gender and all that stuff, which hers was all changed in the past by your mom and whatnot.
00:21:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
That's right.
00:21:45
Chris
So that was fine. But that's why we didn't get that humanoid system because they didn't have to once they moved it out of the school time frame.
00:21:53
Jordyn
Mm-hmm.
00:21:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Good point. um Again, I like what they did. Like, it's fun. It makes it more interesting and more they really played into the virtual reality of it. um But again, just shocking the first time I saw that.
00:22:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um So let's move on. Let's do tho and Shoto together. um Daito is the older brother and is played by Murasaki.
00:22:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And then Shoto is the younger brother played by Philip Zhao. um Now in the movie, maybe I just don't pay attention, but he's the actual Shoto is much younger in the movie than he is in the book or was.
00:22:35
Jordyn
yeah yeah
00:22:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay.
00:22:36
Chris
That part was a little jarring for me, and I didn't really care for it as much because it took away a little bit of the um agency of what happens to that character.
00:22:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:44
Chris
But i I think it was a good story, just little different.
00:22:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
who
00:22:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
well they definitely made um even with the you mentioned earlier jordan with h and wade's reaction to it everything was just a little bit more comedic in the film um and i think shoto's character was definitely coming comedic relief um a lot a lot of his lines were meant to be make a laugh
00:23:00
Chris
Right.
00:23:08
Jordyn
Yeah. Which is fine. i prefer the book storyline that happens for Shoto and Daito. I think it's a lot more powerful.
00:23:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Off our
00:23:19
Jordyn
um It's definitely a lot darker. So like... As with any adaptation that we've covered, like, who is the target audience? Like, is if you're going to market this to kids and your main goal is to get kids to put their butts in seats, you can't really talk about the corporation going in and throwing somebody off their balcony.
00:23:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
roof.
00:23:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:23:37
Jordyn
that's not That's not going to go over well for children and their parents are going to be upset. So I, again, i totally understand why they made that change. I just think it's unfortunate.
00:23:48
Jordyn
Like you said, like it takes away the agency of Shoto and him like being willing to sacrifice his avatar to avenge his brother and like talking about, you know, how, especially them, like they aren't in the book, they aren't actually brothers in real life.
00:23:58
Chris
Mm-hmm.
00:24:06
Jordyn
And so for him to like feel that bond so deeply for this friend that he's made online to call him brother and to you know, so make the sacrifice play to avenge him.
00:24:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
here
00:24:18
Jordyn
Like that could have been a really powerful moment to really hit that like found family note really hard at the end. And they just kind of like took it away, which it worked out so fine still, but it was a little sad to to miss out on that.
00:24:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:24:28
Chris
Right.
00:24:33
Chris
You would have added a lot more emotion, a lot more feeling to the story if you'd had that in there. And they do have the like almost suicide at the beginning where we're kind of walking through like this becomes everyone someone's life.
00:24:38
Jordyn
Absolutely.
00:24:43
Chris
So if they die in this, it it's a big deal.
00:24:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, yes.
00:24:46
Chris
And the guy almost jumps out the window and people jump on him and stop him. So I think they were kind of trying to give us that feel that this could happen here, but they don't show it to us because of that kid's audience.
00:24:50
Jordyn
who
00:24:55
Chris
I think, yeah. Trying to get kids to watch 80s movies.
00:24:57
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:24:58
Chris
I mean, uh,
00:24:58
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:24:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I i just think that there's not enough time in a movie to dive into that relationship. Like they weren't, their characters in general were pretty watered down in the film until um until they were all in person with each other.
00:25:03
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:25:09
Chris
They were. Right.
00:25:09
Jordyn
Totally.
00:25:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And they kind of just appeared um in the film. Like, whereas in the book,
00:25:15
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:25:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
They were, they made it on their own to the first gate. And then that's when they started kind of interacting with each other. um But in in the movie, it made it feel like they were friends beforehand, um which again,
00:25:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
You don't have the time to dive into all of these nuances that the book can get into.
00:25:32
Chris
right
00:25:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I do think that even if it was geared towards the same age range as a TV show, we might have gotten that normal or that um ah original storyline with Daito and Shoto with Daito being uh killed in the real world um you know maybe we wouldn't have seen it it would have been maybe implied um but i do think we would have had more time to flesh that out if it was a tv show and i think maybe one day i would love to see a show i mean we're redoing all kinds of things as shows right now um you know harry potter percy jackson yeah i think apple could really do well um
00:26:09
Chris
Fingers crossed for an Apple TV show.
00:26:15
Chris
They have the money to get all the IP they need to get to release licensing.
00:26:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yes
00:26:19
Chris
Licensing stuff with their Apple Music and their movie stuff all gives them a lot of access to things that could definitely make it more possible to have a lot of these things they would need.
00:26:26
Jordyn
The
00:26:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and that was a thing with the movie is like some a lot of the references and we might get into that in the next episode but a lot of the references were changed but that is because of licensing issues like they they were allowed to use what they could get the license for so um and that's fine i'm fine with all of that okay um
00:26:36
Chris
sure, yeah.
00:26:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and Anything else to talk about the the main, the the top five? What are they called in the book? The high five before we move on to our other characters.
00:26:50
Chris
the high five.
00:26:50
Jordyn
high five.
00:26:51
Chris
Mm-hmm.
00:26:57
Jordyn
I don't think so. I think all the actors played off of each other really well when we did finally get them all in person. um So they had good chemistry.
00:27:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:27:03
Jordyn
They felt like a team by that point. So that was good. So that's all I have to say.
00:27:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. All right, so let's move on then to James Halliday, also known as Anorak, played by Mark Rylance.
00:27:20
Jordyn
I was really happy when I got to the part in the book where they talked about Halliday and his like behavior and how they they think he was autistic and had Asperger's because I watched the movie and I was like that gentleman is on the spectrum like that gentleman is autistic and so for them to like I'm like well maybe maybe not maybe he's just eccentric because you you know sometimes it is hard to tell but for them to like give that representation of somebody who is autistic and neurodivergent
00:27:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Yes.
00:27:47
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Thank you.
00:27:51
Jordyn
and can create something incredible and like kind of take away that stigma of it being like a bad thing or meaning that, you know, because a lot of people today still think that like, oh, if you're autistic, you're not as smart or, you know, any number of terrible things that are not true.
00:28:06
Jordyn
um So for them to give that representation and put it out there, like you can be autistic and a genius and a gazillionaire and like do all of these cool things I thought was really cool um for both the book.
00:28:16
Chris
They call them specifically high-functioning autistic, most likely, and all that, which yeah most a lot of them are in a certain way.
00:28:20
Jordyn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:23
Chris
I mean, not everybody pinpoints into what ah what your hyperfixation is. Maybe it's not something that makes you billions of dollars, but there are people that definitely, of all levels, that do really well with ah autism and things like that.
00:28:36
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:28:36
Chris
so And I think that was great representation for sure.
00:28:38
Jordyn
yeah
00:28:40
Jordyn
yeah
00:28:42
Chris
um Yeah, and I thought he was a good, I thought he was a did well with the role.
00:28:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
What did you...
00:28:46
Chris
I think he played it well. um And, I mean, he definitely had, ah the character had a lot of issues that he was working through in the book that you you get hints at and with the love story that never went anywhere for him and him his inability to understand some of that.
00:28:56
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:29:02
Chris
and um But I think that the actor in the movie portrayed a ah good enough version of it for the watered-down story they told us and that with his part of it.
00:29:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And his avatar, I think, is probably my favorite of all of them. um i think his they really nailed that.
00:29:21
Chris
The wizard and a wreck.
00:29:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:29:23
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:29:23
Chris
He was really cool, yeah.
00:29:25
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:29:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I also really like the way he created the keys and you know gave the next hint. i I just really like how they um made all of that come to life.
00:29:34
Chris
His presence gave it all a lot of gravitas.
00:29:35
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:29:36
Chris
Yeah, it was fun.
00:29:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
Role of Ogden Morrow and Portrayal by Simon Pegg
00:29:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. um Next up, let's do Ogden Morrow, his best friend, played by Simon Pegg.
00:29:49
Chris
I thought he was great. I wish he was in the story more. He was in the, in the book.
00:29:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:29:53
Chris
He has that part of the story where he gets to go um bring them all to Oregon and be a part of that ah final saving them from the corporation.
00:30:03
Chris
And I mean, his house in Oregon being a recreation of Rivendell from Lord of the Rings in the book is amazing. And I would have loved to see more of him. And I think Simon Pegg played him great.
00:30:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, and I think seeing more of Simon Pegg as Ogden would have been great. And again, next episode, when we get into the details of the plot, I think we'll talk a lot more about that. But um I think it was a shame how they changed his character so much um or just didn't give him as big of a role as they did in the book.
00:30:34
Chris
Right. He was kind of just a suit at the end that came in.
00:30:34
Jordyn
Yeah, I mean, if youve yeah if you've got Simon Pegg, use him.
00:30:36
Chris
Yeah.
00:30:39
Jordyn
you know like don't Don't just relegate him to like basically an end credit scene, like the epilogue scene.
00:30:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right, exactly.
00:30:44
Jordyn
like let him let them Let him work. Let him cook.
00:30:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I mean, it was, the I guess we should have mentioned also with Ogden Morrow, he was the the guy in the library.
00:30:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And I'm sure he has the curator, thank you, um which was changed from the book.
00:31:00
Jordyn
The curator.
00:31:01
Chris
That's true.
00:31:01
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:31:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um
00:31:06
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:31:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And so he did still sort of help the high five in that way. um but yeah, that was... like Again, it just it's a shame that they kind of cut his character so much.
00:31:19
Chris
Right.
00:31:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So that brings us to, I want to save IROC for last because there's a lot to talk about.
Character Study: Nolan Sorrento
00:31:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But let's go to Nolan Sorrento, played by Ben Meddelson.
00:31:32
Chris
you know, I was never, I never watched a whole lot of stuff. Other stuff he was in, I don't think, or that I knew of it. He kind of blends into the roles that I've seen him in. And I think he did the well job well. He was a good corporate overlord that you can kind of feel a little bit of the menace from him and things like that. That, you know, we wanted to hear, in there, but he felt a little more um goofy at times too. Like, you know, it had both sides of it. And I thought, I thought it was a good, good casting.
00:31:59
Jordyn
I can't think of his character's name in Star Wars because he plays it in Rogue One and in Andor, but this felt like a nice little warm up for that role of like the you evil empire, like evil bureaucrat, like overlord.
00:32:11
Chris
Someone trying to get that power, yeah, and all that.
00:32:14
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:32:14
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um
00:32:14
Jordyn
Like
00:32:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Orson Krenn something Krennic And then he's also Talos in the MCU Yeah
00:32:18
Jordyn
Krennic.
00:32:19
Chris
Krennic, yes.
00:32:19
Jordyn
Krennic. Yes.
00:32:20
Chris
Yeah,
00:32:21
Jordyn
Thank you. Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:25
Jordyn
Yeah, yeah.
00:32:25
Chris
yeah that's right.
00:32:26
Jordyn
But Talos, thought of the Star Wars character more because he's also like the villain character and like the cog in the evil corporate machine character.
00:32:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:32:36
Jordyn
So i was I drew that connection a lot more in my head.
00:32:39
Chris
Yeah.
00:32:39
Jordyn
But yeah, he um I think he really nailed this one. He's ah he's great. I've never seen him. I haven't seen him in a lot of things, but everything I have seen him in has been fabulous.
00:32:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:32:51
Jordyn
So good for him.
00:32:53
Sarah-Daye McDougall
i After watching him in the MCU and then in here, i would like to – I have seen Rogue One. I have not seen Andor, but I would like to see some more stuff that he's been in or keep an eye on him because I really do like him as an actor.
00:33:08
Jordyn
Yeah, he really is great in Andor.
00:33:08
Chris
I always hear good things. Anytime he pops up, I hear he's the best part of some certain shows.
00:33:10
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:33:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Exactly.
00:33:13
Chris
So I'd definitely give a chance.
00:33:14
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:33:15
Jordyn
Yeah. yeah
00:33:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, let's talk about IROC,
Changes in IROC's Character
00:33:21
Chris
Do we have to? Oh.
00:33:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
played in the fair in the film, ah played by T.J.
00:33:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Miller. um Now, I would say there's lots of changes to everybody's arcs, but this is the most egregious change. Yeah.
00:33:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I don't even know why. okay So listeners, if you haven't read or seen the film, first of all, in the book, I rock is kind of just like an annoying um colleague.
00:33:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I mean, there's, they're all students. um He, there's this place called the hangout um that H created.
00:33:55
Chris
The basement. Kind a
00:33:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
The basement sorry Thank you um that H Created um and it is Like a hangout and so he invites certain People and they keep inviting Irock Wade hates him um And he pretends to be Like this excellent Gunther but he's really Just an idiot um
00:34:15
Chris
kind of up ozer
00:34:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, exactly. a poser. So, and that's really all he does in the book. And he he he pops up from time to time. um i think he gives interviews or they he lets out that it's on the school because he knows them from school. Yeah.
00:34:35
Chris
He posts online in the message boards that ah that he they both go to the school there, which gives away that first part of the story there, yeah.
00:34:42
Jordyn
Yeah, he's just a ah crap stirrer.
00:34:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:34:45
Jordyn
He's just over there in the pot, just stirring it up.
00:34:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
right now in the movie it's a much bigger role a completely different character um he's like mercy like not a mercenary but um like a hired yeah um that works for sorrento the avatar is completely ah wild i mean
00:35:02
Chris
almost an arms dealer, kind of a hunter, yeah, hired hand.
00:35:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I think it would have been better if they just could created a different character for him. Like if this character that they created had a different name, ah because it's just, why is the biggest question?
00:35:16
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:35:23
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Like, this is the biggest question I have about this film is why would you even, i mean, did Ernest really like this character and want him to be this way? Did Spielberg want this character? and it's just like, I just wish they had given him a different name.
00:35:36
Chris
That would have helped, I think, in a lot of ways, yeah. Do you think TJ Miller was a good choice for the role? I mean, do you think he played it well?
00:35:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I like the character as like, again, comedic relief. ah He's supposed to be very menacing, but he's also the comedic relief.
00:35:47
Chris
Mm-hmm. Very much so.
00:35:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And I like that. It's fun. but I can't let go of the fact that that's supposed to be Iroch. um And it's just so jarring when you first say hear his name in the film. You're just like, wait, what? like I wish they would have just completely cut Iroch And created a new name for this person.
00:36:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But yes, I think TJ Miller was a great choice for this character. um i mean, you never even see TJ's real face. He's a CGI character the whole time.
00:36:20
Chris
That's true.
00:36:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But yeah, I mean, for what the film was trying to convey, it's fine. i just can't get over that. That's supposed to be IROC.
00:36:31
Chris
I kind of wish we'd gotten a cut scene to the real world when he loses all his stuff and dies. Just him sitting there like, you know, in his basement, his mom's basement, just, you know, like, ah you know, cursing or something at the end, just, you know, before they step back to Wade.
00:36:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, that would have been great. Mm-hmm.
00:36:45
Chris
all that stuff he loses. ah I mean, his, his whole, the way he, he dies in that moment of trying to keep all of his stuff as they aren't, know, it's, it's, it's funny.
00:36:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
He's, yeah, he's trying to get the coins back in the arm.
00:36:53
Chris
So, yeah.
00:36:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:36:54
Chris
I
00:36:55
Sarah-Daye McDougall
He's a great comedic relief character, but I just, I like, i it's just, it's just the craziest thing. The craziest decision they made. Yeah.
00:37:05
Chris
i agree.
00:37:06
Jordyn
Yeah, I was kind of like whiplash, like seeing this guy who's like, oh, yeah, like I have this high end like weapon artifact. Like, you know, yeah, I'll go and hunt down these avatars and kill them and stuff. But he sounds like a 16 year old kid like that.
00:37:20
Jordyn
Like, well, yeah, but like, don't I agree.
00:37:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
You could be, yeah.
00:37:22
Chris
Named Chuck. named
00:37:24
Jordyn
Like, don't comine don't combine them
00:37:27
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:37:27
Jordyn
like those are two different characters. Like this stupid teenager who is like, oh yeah, we're all students. We go to school together. Like doing all that and stirring the pot over here I feel like is a very different character from somebody who's like, yeah, I'll be your little assassin, your little mercenary, and I'll go and hunt you spy and like do all this stuff.
00:37:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Spy.
00:37:45
Jordyn
Like that, it didn't mesh well to me. It felt like too much of a difference in personas to be played by one person and one character.
00:37:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:37:55
Jordyn
So I agree. I wish they would have either like, make it not IROC or like b split them up and have IROC be over here. And then this new person over here.
00:38:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Even if Irock was just a little Easter egg in the film, um like in the message boards or something, like if we just saw his name, you know, um and then had, again, this character be something else.
00:38:12
Chris
Seize it pop up, yeah. That would make more.
00:38:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Like, I don't mind the addition of this storyline. um I think he and Sorrento really play off each other. Oh, and I don't even think we mentioned. Let me see if i can find her real quick. Another added character was Finale Xandor, played by...
00:38:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
hannah john came in um a completely ah added character to this film so even if they like she could have been the real life person and then i rock like character film character could have been the her avatar you know something like that creating that character um so that's really two new characters we have in the film um that just feel really out of place and i don't think I like her as an actress, um but I don't think her chemistry with Sorrento or like that whole storyline really fit.
00:39:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um If they had just created this IROC character and had him be, you know, the right hand man, I think that would have been better or had her. i don't know, just had just had one new character and not have it been IROC.
00:39:20
Chris
I was just thinking that it almost would have been nice to have a little more ah population of, you know, the Gunthers that we don't, we don't see any more of these people in either the book or the film very much. You don't ever see them interacting with any other ones, which you don't have to in this virtual world, but I almost wish there was a little more um grounding to the story.
00:39:37
Chris
And like, this is a populated world ah with these Gunthers everywhere that we're running into, but you don't see that.
00:39:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I mean, we do, we witness that in the final battle with how many Gunthers come.
00:39:47
Chris
That's true. The final battle has them. Yeah.
00:39:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Um, we wouldn't have that.
00:39:51
Chris
But interacting all through, we don't see that.
00:39:53
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Well, I mean, he makes a point in the book, at least about how he and H have made it a point to not join a clan because they, you know, they don't, they're, they respect the game and, and, um,
00:39:54
Chris
They're talked about, but that's it.
00:40:03
Chris
Right.
00:40:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, Holiday um and what Holiday created. um And they just don't want to, you know, sell out.
00:40:17
Chris
But maybe some population in the basement would have helped us see there's other people that are in in this.
00:40:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, I would have loved to see a scene in the basement.
00:40:26
Chris
um There was a surprise cameo towards the beginning with ah McKenna Grace is in the classroom ah where, as they're showing it, if you as you watch the ah film Pam Byes, she's right there sitting at a desk learning about the contest.
00:40:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I actually think...
00:40:39
Chris
That was fun.
00:40:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um i I can't remember if I noticed that or not, but it I don't know if it was this movie or something else. I was just filling my husband in on McKenna Grace and how um she was like a young person in all of these films.
00:40:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And now shes she was just in a rom-com with the How to Train Dragon guy.
00:40:54
Chris
Yeah, she's everybody's younger.
00:41:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And she's also going to be in Sunrise on the Reef.
00:41:04
Jordyn
Sunrise on the Reaping.
00:41:05
Chris
Mm-hmm.
00:41:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, so um really excited to for that one. Cannot wait. um But back to Ready Player One. Okay, so any other um things to discuss about these characters and their cast?
Final Cast Assessment
00:41:21
Chris
I think the cast is that that's I mean, that's about all the people that really matter there, I think. and um And think that they did a good job casting. But, you know, yeah, there would be some there's some other things that would have been made it more of a full world. But I think we're good.
00:41:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Who was Rick? Was that the uncle? Because Ralph Anason.
00:41:40
Jordyn
No, it's the ah aunt's boyfriend.
00:41:41
Chris
ah The aunt's boyfriend.
00:41:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:41:44
Jordyn
One of the aunt's boyfriends.
00:41:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Yeah. um
00:41:46
Chris
That threatens him.
00:41:47
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and He was just Galactus. So that was a ah fun little role for him.
00:41:50
Chris
Oh.
00:41:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
trying to I'm just looking through the cast real quick seeing if there's anybody else to mention. but Oh, Kit Conner. Was Reb a kid.
00:42:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um Kit Conner is in Heartstopper.
00:42:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um with um hold on what's his name ah Joe Locke who is our Wiccan yes yes yes yes
00:42:19
Chris
Oh, nice. I think a lot of the, ah i mean, a lot of the even the pop culture references are almost characters in the film, too. I mean, you see so much stuff that ah comes in.
00:42:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
oh yeah the Iron Giant the DeLorean yeah
00:42:29
Chris
um yeah the giant, the the car being ah his custom DeLorean and all that.
00:42:36
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:42:36
Chris
The
00:42:37
Jordyn
I think I saw like three Batmans and a Joker in the final battle. Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:41
Chris
T-Rex at the beginning and King Kong.
00:42:43
Jordyn
yeah
00:42:43
Chris
I mean, there's there's so much references that are almost characters themselves, but...
00:42:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
King Kong.
00:42:49
Chris
I'll just, I don't mind just.
00:42:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Especially like ah a Spielberg movie um referencing all of his past movies.
00:42:54
Chris
That's true. Yeah.
00:42:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I know that we'll get into all of these, I'm sure, um next episode.
00:43:00
Chris
Oh yeah. We'll go through it more. I'm sure.
00:43:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But okay, so...
Adaptation: Faithful or Reimagined?
00:43:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Let's wrap up quickly with your initial impressions of this adaptation. Do you think it was faithful adaptation?
00:43:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I think I know the answer. Or a bold reimagining?
00:43:22
Jordyn
It's super bold reimagining. Like I said, it it takes those like bones of the structure of the book and turns it into a movie, but they definitely lean more into like action and like high intensity, like pacing and stuff.
00:43:38
Jordyn
Um, like some of the like especially the scenes with the keys and the gates like they're just completely made up brand new from like not related to the book at all um but i think they work because again like ah in the book a lot of it is like sitting and playing one player like arcade games and it's like that's gonna get boring after a little bit so so it makes sense
00:43:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:43:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:43:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
It's gonna get boring.
00:44:01
Chris
But in a TV show, I'd sit there and watch it the whole time.
00:44:04
Jordyn
Right.
00:44:05
Chris
Give me all of the gameplay.
00:44:05
Jordyn
You can have the six hours.
00:44:06
Chris
Hours and hours of it.
00:44:09
Jordyn
Yeah. So definitely a bold reimagining. But I think it's still like the core themes and the core messaging that Klein is trying to get through in the book definitely come through in the movie.
00:44:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:44:20
Jordyn
So I think from that aspect, like the mission was accomplished. It just went a way different route to get there.
00:44:27
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, agreed.
00:44:28
Chris
And I'd consider that to be somewhat of a faithful adaptation. You still hit the bones, and so, I mean, it's all there. You get to the final point, it just and you have your three different eggs, your levels, and all that. So in some ways, I feel like it was a successful adaptation. But yes, they reimagined how to get there a little bit, and in the way that you have to with the film.
00:44:48
Chris
Yeah.
00:44:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And they definitely reimagined IROC.
00:44:52
Chris
and Maybe maybe maybe one one bold reimagining and everything else is fairly fairly fairly faithful in that way, if you take my interpretation.
00:44:56
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:44:57
Jordyn
There you go.
00:44:59
Chris
But yes, I thought it was a well done, bold reimagining.
00:45:04
Jordyn
Yeah.
00:45:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
All right. Well, listeners, thank you for joining us for another episode Book Watch. I almost said Ready Player One. um Next week, we will be diving into the key plot points, and I know there will be lots to discuss.
00:45:13
Chris
Close enough.
00:45:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So we will see you next week.