Not for non-gamers

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2018)

I've not read the book and most negative reviews appear to come from those who have read the book. I would've thought by now, that people would know that it is very rare film can live up to or better a book. So never go to the cinema, switch on the TV etc. expecting a dramatisation of a book to be as good... a book as time to slowly build something, it is time to develop characters, it can be as quick or as slow as it wants. A film has to pack everything into a short space of time and hold the audience's attention while doing so.
However, this is really a film for serious gamers. If you've never wasted 5 whole years, literally 24/7 in a game, building up online friendships and virtual relationships with people you've never met or unlikely to ever meet and been part of a gaming community... then you will not fully appreciate some of the nuances in the characters of this film and will be unable to bypass the pop culture references.
I was tempted to give this 10/10 just for their reactions of meeting their rl selves. I will never forget the moment when my guild revealed their true voices in Teamspeak for the very first time. The first moment when you find out who is a block called Chuck living in their mother's basement, who is genuinely female, who is an adult, and who is a child. It was the funniest thing that I've ever experienced in online gaming... especially as nearly all the female characters were played by men, and all the male characters were played by women. And then when you actually meet fellow gamers for meets ups etc. It is a mindblowing experience... perhaps not as much these days as it was in the early days before the likes of Teamspeak, Ventrillo etc.
So if you don't have that gaming experience, you will probably not enjoy this film so much. Similarly, I think if the book is one of your all time classic reads, then you might be a bit disappointed too. But if you've got the xp and willing to suspend the book... then this film is a blast... the pop culture stuff just adds or takes away depending on your perspective from the gaming experience.
Give it a go... seems like it is going to be a love or hate film. For me, I enjoyed the ride, and made me log back in for the first time in a couple of years... to a fanfare of 'hey wb... long time... where have you been?' etc. But I've got rl to live now... so it was nice to catch up with ppl again, but unlikely to drag me back 24/7.