Film Preview: Ready Player One (2018)

Page Revisions:

(July 30, 2017) Original
(December 17, 2017) New Trailer (#2)
(March 18, 2018) Added Image Gallery
(March 25, 2018) New Posters (#2-#30)

Release Date:

March 30, 2018

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “When the creator of an MMO called the Oasis dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all Oasis users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.”

Poster Rating: D / B+ / B- (7) / C+ / C+ / B- / B+ / A- (12) / C+ / B / B / B- / C+ / C

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) For a production this high in pedigree, this is a patently weak design.

(#2) While there aren’t sufficient numbers of Easter eggs in this design, there’s just enough detail to make it interesting, though the color scheme is a bit too flat. (#3-#9) These posters user a similar visual aesthetic blended with unique color schemes to create a most visually diverse set even if it hits home that most of the avatars are perhaps a little racist. (#10) We get creating a setting, but is it necessary to use only that with a giant Easter egg in the sky to sell your design and only that?

(#11) There are a lot of technical details here, but they are superficially drawn and not that impressive. (#12) What better way to hearken back to the olden days of video games than with a console design for the poster. It almost looks like something that might have been seen in Tron. (#13-#24) This terrific series of posters put the characters of the film into various pop culturally significant posters, though the one based on Bullitt is a bit beyond the timeframe of the film’s 80s-heavy nostalgia, though it isn’t a bad choice.

(#25) Two pop culture references in one design, only one of which has a marginal chance of being familiar to the younger audiences the film is hoping to attract. (#26) The color scheme isn’t great, but the richness of detail almost makes up for that, creating a design that could be put up on any fan’s walls with ease. (#27) Maybe if the design is bigger you can see more details in the hordes, but that’s not giving it much credit, nor should it have it. (#28) An interesting design, though one that will have limited appeal. (#29) Into the internet, this design isn’t nearly as interesting as it should be. (#30) Avatars brought together with their real life counterparts. Then there’s the ova motif at the top. It’s not great and it’s not well structured, but it works.

Trailer Rating: B- / B+

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Review: (#1) There are enough tantalizing bits in the trailer to suggest the film could be a big hit. However, the narrative isn’t particularly clear, nor is the necessity of the film’s existence, which could depress early interest.

(#2) Ramping up the pop culture references, including a few modern ones (go Tracer!), the film seems all the more exciting from a nostalgia-fueled perspective. Further, we get more information about the plot, which makes the film feel more urgent and surprisingly political.