Terrible adaptation, poor to average film.

Rating: 2/10 (18 March 2018)

My girlfriend and I went to a preview screening with moderate expectations. Having both read and enjoyed the book although neither of us being what you might call stereotypical geeks/nerds. When reading the books there were many references which we didn't understand, but that didn't diminish from the enjoyment we got from the book.
The film on the other hand is a disgrace to its source material. I am amazed that as a co-writer Cline was happy with it. For a start there is such little exposition in the story. We both spent the first half hour gawping at how bad it is. Completely changing the storyline, changing the methods of gaining keys, changing how IOI find out identities, putting all the main cast to just happen to be in the same place, putting other characters in because they just happen to be in the book but giving them meaningless roles with no development.
There is very little other socio-political context about the current world as there is in the book. It is glimpsed about people investing real word currency to the point of deprivation into the game (aunt's boyfriend paying the house money) and the centres for indebted people, but there is little guiding to this, these seem as isolated events.
The change from Wade going into the centre to 'saving the girl' and the whole of the half baked terrible 'love story arc' was terrible. Made all the worse from her being a major character from the start.
Also for a 12a to feature crotch stoking and reenactments of Chucky stabbing people and the shining is awful.
I would equate this with the similar adaptation of the Da Vinci Code. There was so little story line, no chance for anyone in the audience to even ponder what the clues could mean just racing about doing stuff which unless the audience had an idea of the story would have no meaning I expect.
I know it is a film and everything in the book can't be translated to screen but it seemed like the essence of what the book was was ripped out, stomped on, put through a grinder and then just discarded completely.
I do not blame the multiple groups of people who walked out of the screening within the first hour. We were tempted ourselves but hoped it would get better.
TL;DR if you liked the book, get ready to hate the film. If you haven't read the book, it is a very average sci-fi CGI flick with predictable tropes and themes with a bit of added nostalgia.