History YMMV / ReadyPlayerOne2018

** I-R0k, a very minor character in the book turned AscendedExtra in the movie.

* PopularWithFurries: The female lynx avatar called "Queen of Cats" in the credits, seen in ''The Distracted Globe'', became rather popular with the furry fandom. It might have something to do with her ImpossibleHourglassFigure and [[GagBoobs considerable assets]].

** It is not hard to imagine this as a film version of ''VideoGame/GarrysMod''. The premise, of being able to play and mess around in player-constructed environments and use iconic fictional characters as well as real historical people, is very similar to the game, just without the mechanics.

** One might expect another epic Music/JohnWilliams score for a film of this nature, but he bowed out mid-production to do Spielberg's ''Film/ThePost'' instead. So Spielberg brought in the equally perfect Music/AlanSilvestri who even, at certain moments, actually uses pieces from the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' score.

** The villain of the book and movie is IOI Corp. Several years down the line, [[NamesTheSame a real life IOI Corp]] in Malaysia actually came under fire not only for [[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/27/greenpeace-blockades-ioi-palm-oil-refinery-rotterdam-port inhumane treatment of wild animals and destruction of forest areas in Borneo]] to establish new palm oil estates, but also for [[https://www.finnwatch.org/en/news/213-ioi-group-suspected-of-serious-labour-rights-violations violation of human rights]] when it comes to treatment of their employees. [[note]]And oh, the company was founded on money scammed from various people.[[/note]]

* UnfortunateImplications: ''Wikia Fandom'' blogger Ayo Norman [[http://fandom.wikia.com/articles/ready-player-one-glossing-gender-issues criticized the film]] for a ''virtual'' RaceLift of the protagonist's in-game best friend Aech. In the book, the avatar Aech is a white male, but the film makes him an orc-like creature. The book made a significant {{reveal}} out of the fact that the person behind the avatar Aech is a black woman, noting that she picked this to avoid sexual and racial harassment on the Internet; Norman also notes the fact that, in-universe, the virtual world of Oasis is an escape from a CrapsackWorld. This reveal loses quite a bit of power in the adaptation.

** Was Halliday a [[GentlemanAndAScholar noble scientist]] who created great things (such as the Oasis) for the benefit of everyone? Or was he more like TheSocialDarwinist, setting up all these tests to ensure only the smartest people could solve them (allowing them to control the Oasis and potentially rule the world.)
** For the short amount of time that Samantha and Wade have known each other for, her talks about how one shouldn't be attracted to people you just met online, her outwardly-stated reluctance in getting into a relationship with him while in the Oasis, ''then'' at the end of the film she allows Wade to kiss her and then get into a relationship with said person makes it look like she's a hypocrite who's [[GoldDigger only into him for the money]].
* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: Given the divisive reputation the original novel has, detractors of the original novel thought that the film will not meet expectations and that it will be a mess, even under the helm of Steven Spielberg. Then comes the release and it actually managed to gain a positive reception with a 73% "Certified Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an opening weekend of $53M that cleared its initial expectations of $35M, also obtaining the #1 spot for its opening weekend, heavily dethroning ''Film/PacificRimUprising'' and preventing juggernaut ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' from reclaiming it. Some believe the more positive reception of the adaptation could be the exclusion of the more contentious content from the novel.

* HollywoodHomely: Samantha/[=Art3mis=]. She's convinced she's repulsive. In actuality she's a very cute and attractive girl who at the worst barely looks like she spilled some rouge on her face. Wade [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this.

** The [[CatFolk anthropomorphic female lynx avatar]] called the "Queen of Cats" seen during the party sequence has gained a following among the furry fandom despite having only 16 seconds of screentime and a few lines.

** The [[CatFolk anthropomorphic female lynx avatar]] called the "Queen of Cats" seen during the party sequence has gained a following among the furry fandom despite having only 30 seconds of screentime and a few lines.

* WinTheCrowd: After a troubling pre-release cycle as far as social media went, a significant amount of praise to the film at South by Southwest did wonders for the film.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: As frightening as the real world can be and as easy and sometimes even necessary as it is to hide away from it by immersing yourself in escapism, real relationships and experiences are ultimately what gives life meaning and make the pain and difficulty worth it.

* BrokenBase: Many fans didn't take well to Mark Rylance's performance as Halliday, saying that he seems to be completely phoning it or that he just looks and sounds stoned. Others point out that his performance is appropriate for someone with severe anxiety and is in the last throes of cancer.

** BigBad Nolan Sorrento talks with a [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Sylvester the Cat]]-style lisp. Y'know, like no serious, credible villain is ''ever'' supposed to.

* OneSceneWonder: The [[CatFolk anthropomorphic female lynx avatar]] called the "Queen of Cats" seen during the party sequence has gained a following among the furry fandom despite having only 30 seconds of screentime and a few lines.

%%Please do not add BrokenBase or BaseBreakingCharacter until 6 months have passed for the continued debate to sink in.

** For the short amount of time that Samantha and Wade have known each other for, her talks about how one shouldn't be attracted to people you just met online, her outwardly-stated reluctance in getting into a relationship with him while in the Oasis, ''then'' at the end of the film she allows Wade to kiss her and then get into a relationship with said person makes it look like she's [[GoldDigger only into him for the money]].

** For the short amount of time that Samantha and Wade have known each other for, her talks about how one shouldn't be attracted to people you just met online, her outwardly-stated reluctance in getting into a relationship with him while in the Oasis, ''then'' at the end of the film she allows Wade to kiss her and then get into with said person makes it look like she's [[GoldDigger only into him for the money]].

** For the short amount of time that Samantha and Wade have known each other for, her talks about how one shouldn't be attracted to people you just met online ans her outwardly-stated reluctance into getting into a relationship with him while in the Oasis, ''then'' at the end of the film she allows Wade to kiss her and then get into with said person makes it look like she's [[GoldDigger only into him for the money]].

** For the short amount
of time that Samantha and Wade have known each other for, her talks about how one shouldn't be attracted to people you just met online ans her outwardly-stated reluctance into getting into a relationship with him while in the Oasis, ''then'' at the end of the film she allows Wade to kiss her and then get into with said person makes it look like she's [[GoldDigger only into him for the money]].

** Samantha's talks about how one shouldn't be attracted to people you just met online ans her outwardly-stated reluctance into getting into a relationship with him while in the Oasis, ''then'' at the end of the film she allows Wade to kiss her and then get into with said person makes it look like she's [[GoldDigger only into him for the money]].

** James Halliday, who, despite his success, is slowly revealed as having been an extremely lonely man crippled by his social anxiety and died with many regrets.