Having recently read the book in a couple of sittings, I thought I'd give the film a go.The film is a not entirely successful riot of blink and you'll miss 'em cameos from the last 30-40 years of pop culture. Key elements of the books have been changed and given the Hollywood gloss over. For example, the Stacks - a grimly dystopian Bladerunneresque community in the book feels too brightly lit and tidy in the translation to the screen and various characters are just a bit too good looking compared to their book counterparts.
The central game elements have been changed near completely as have most of the pop culture elements around them. War Games has been ditched for The Shining, for example. The actors do their best - but facial expressions and motivations are usually covered by VR headsets or in game avatars. A few things have been successfully tidied up and made more Spielberg. For example, the lone gamers of the book quickly become an informal clan without too much heart searching.
I don't know that I'd revisit this vision of the OASIS. The book would have certainly benefited from a tighter edit in places, but this version lost some of the magic for me.
Verdict: Not top tier Spielberg, but good enough.
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