I Was Warned

Rating: 5/10 (2 April 2018)

Yes, I read the reviews saying, if you read the book don't go see the movie. But I've been waiting for this movie for 6 years--I had to go see it. And yes I found it disappointing. They changed the story a lot. They left out a lot of the actual challenges that it took to find and win a key. They eliminated a good bit of the clever maneuvering it took to outwit the evil corporate bullies. They ignored most of the nostalgia that made the book so charming. (Yes I owned an Atari 2600, a Commodore computer, and played the arcade games and pinball machines). The question that always bothers me is: if someone wrote a book that, out of thousands published, had just the right ingredients to be a best seller--why would you take the risk of changing it? What difference will it make to the people who haven't read it? None. what difference will it make to the millions of people who read and fell in love with the book, a lot. Where I would have probably gone back and seen the movie 2 or 3 times in the theater in both standard and 3D, I won't waste my time and money now. Where I would have bought the movie on DVD or Bluray to have and to keep, I won't do that either. (I may rent it eventually just to confirm it really was as disappointing as it felt in the theater). Where I would have given it a high rating and written a positive review and urged people to go see it--I won't. If millions of book fans feel the same way that's potentially a lot of lost revenue. Of course if the movie makes a decent amount of money, it will still be a win for the director and the studio regardless of what it could have been. The book fans are the people who promoted this story to level of being movie worthy. Too bad we got crapped on.