While I have a lot of criticism of this film, I did enjoy it
and didn’t have too many problems with it while watching it, though it did fall
short in several ways.
So the main concept of the film is a blend between TRON and
the Matrix, with a lot of pop culture references thrown in. While it is an appealing scenario, and an
enjoyable experience, it lacks creativity.
There is also an inconstancy with the way computers
work. The need to physically transport
items or move doesn’t actually exist in a video world, but this could be a
built in limitation of Oasis.
“A fanboy knows a hater”
This line was rather ironic, as it seems that a lot of the
pop culture references were thrown in there to appeal to the audience, making
me think the director was mere adding them for that purpose.
A number of the songs seemed like they wouldn’t be a fan boy’s
first choice, as well.
It’s very odd to have a Japanese kid who wants to be a
samurai, in full armor. While that feels
like an appealing stereotype in the west, its appeal in Japan is nearly
non-existent. It’s like thinking that
most American’s want to play as Minute Men or Cowboys. A similar thing could be
said about the Chinese boy wanting to be a ninja. While ninja’s have a wider appeal, it is
still a stereotype having that avatar belong to an Asian.
And thinking that Samantha’s birthmark would detract from
Wade’s interest in her is ridiculous.
There are people who do feel their own birthmarks are a detriment, so I
can see how the character might feel that way.
Still, it would more interesting to see if Wade could overcome any revulsion
he may feel if Samantha was hideously ugly, or deformed, morbidly obese or even
a man.
The quest themselves were too simple.
And anyone with even a little knowledge of Adventure knows
what that game is most famous for.
First, a Delorean is a poor choice of car, especially if you
have to drive it in reverse (as you cannot see out of the back, and looking out
the window has a very limited field of view.
And did it really need to be driven in reverse, or could have just
driven through the backwards course with his car facing forward? Driving in reverse at high speed is extremely
treacherous and difficult to control.
And the characters solution of shutting down the Oasis on
Tuesdays and Thursdays is a ridiculous over simplification of the problem. And what time zone would those shut downs be
based on? What about people in other
time zone, or other countries? What is someone’s
schedule only allows them time to access the oasis on those days? Or what if a person wants to log on for just
an hour? They are to be prevented from
doing that, because some people have a lack of self-control?
Steven Spielberg is largely a horror director. The majority of his films have the characters
being terrorized by some kind of creature: Jaws, Jurassic Park, Gremlins. In many of his films, the main characters end
up running away from some creature, not fighting it in a brave battle, but just
trying to survive, which is what happens in a horror film. Even E.T. and other of his films had horror
like situations. Many of his films I went into thinking it would be a fun
movie, only to find a horrific situation unfold in the middle of the film.
