Very disappointed, wasted 2 and a half hours of my life.

Rating: 2/10 (28 April 2018)

I had very high expectations for this movie. I really did. Titles like:"Spielberg is back", "A movie that was hard to make" etc. really set my bar high.
First of all, I gotta start with the characters. Characters are "unfinished". They lack personality. They are not memorable. Main character is a classic teenager boy who grew up without parents but was adopted by his aunt and abusive uncle. His only escape from this harsh and boring reality is a cliché virtual reality game that is actually a ripoff of Sword art online, a japanese light novel that was published in 2009 whereas a book, which this movie is based on, is published in 2011. That's something you would expect from a "pop-culture" loaded movie but guess what? You are wrong. All the "gaming-puns" are ridiculous and poor attempt at intertextuality that wanted to make the movie more engaging but it made it pretentious. I am aware that this movie is based on Easter eggs, but as a gamer myself I think it should've been made differently. Did I also mention the name of a main protagonist? Wade Watts? Sounds familiar?
Main villain is just plain awful. That's it. The only good in all of this is that they included all races. Now nobody can complain on that part.
I also gotta admit that I am sick and tired of hearing 70s, 80s or 90s bands in a movie that is based in 2045. If you want to make a futuristic movie you shoud be innovative yourself and not recycle ideas that are 1000 years old. Take notes from Blade Runner if you want to make something new in terms of music in a movie Spielberg. Atmosphere is a key.
When it comes to effects, they are pretty decent. There is nothing new nor I expected less. If it were to be disappointing on that part, it would simply be sad.
To put it short and simple, Steven sold out. If you want to go and waste two and a half hours of your life watching a movie about a guy full of various complexes that couldn't even kiss a girl in real life so he made a virtual reality game where he can finally have friends, go ahead. Who am I to say you shouldn't? Just don't say I didn't warn you.