Am I Excited for Ready Player One?

Ready Player One is a film that I have continuously flipflopped on since the first trailer was shown at San Diego Comic Con last year. On one hand, it's an incredibly interesting premise directed by probably the only person who could pull it off. On the other hand, I fear that, much like the book, it may squander it's premise in favor of going for more skin-deep "Hey, I remember that piece of pop culture." moments. So, in other words, it's hard to tell if I'm excited for the film or not, but that may be because of how inconsistent I find the film's marketing. 

For starters, what in the actual fuck are those posters about? Don't get me wrong, I like some of them, particularly the Blade Runner and Bullit ones, but others? Well...

OOF. This legit looks like someone's early 2000s message board chat signature. It also points me towards the fear that the film is just going to be a "Hey, I remember that thing I liked." slideshow that fails to capture why those things are so beloved in the first place. 

For instance, take the film's insistence on parading around the Iron Giant through it's promotion as a massive mecha used for combat. I love the Iron Giant, to the point that it may be my favorite animated film of all time, to the point that I vividly remember the film's message. 

Much like the bullets in the Matrix, I suspect the point may have gone over the filmmakers's head. 

By using the Iron Giant as a weapon throughout the film, I can't help but feel that you're not only misunderstanding why people love the source material, but somewhat tarnishing it as well. To a generation of people who watch the film, the giant hulking mecha that almost certainly uses it's laser cannon to wreak havoc will be their perception of a largely benevolent being who ultimately choose sacrifice over allowing other beings to die. For all the book's flaws, it recognized that the Giant wasn't meant for that and has the main character choose a different giant robot for combat, and the film choosing to ignore that reminds somewhat of Zack Snyder's "Have Batman murder people because it looks cool" way of thinking.

And while the book's more childish flaws are certainly an issue, part of my excitement comes from the hope that maybe, just maybe, Spielberg's better than that. After all, the primary criticism is that the book relies entirely on too much "tell, don't show", which will probably translate better to a visual medium than most expect. Ultimately, this film is the definition of a mixed bag for me, which is a shame because it really shouldn't be. But hey, being angry at things I should love is pretty much nerd culture for you.