‘Ready Player One’ Early Screening Reactions Have Arrived

Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One has been met with some skepticism, with people on Twitter getting catty and South Park co-creator Trey Parker calling it “the most Member Berry thing ever.” The movie was also projected to have an opening weekend gross of only $45 million, which may need to be revised based on the rave reviews coming out of the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, early Monday morning.

The movie held its “surprise” world premiere at SXSW on Sunday night, with Spielberg; cast members Tye Sheridan, Lena Waithe, Ben Mendelsohn, Win Morisaki, Philip Zhao, and Olivia Cooke; Ready Player One author Ernest Cline; and screenwriter Zak Penn in attendance.

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) March 12, 2018

Spielberg cracked some jokes before the two hour and twenty minute (!) movie started, saying, “This is not a film that we’ve made, it is, I promise you, a movie.”

— Emily Yoshida (@emilyyoshida) March 12, 2018

"This is not a film that we've made. It is, I promise you, a movie." Steven Spielberg introduces READY PLAYER ONE #sxsw

— Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) March 12, 2018

Spielberg just said he makes many films, like The Post, from behind the camera. He made Ready Player One from the audience. That’s the perfect summation of this experience.

— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) March 12, 2018

The screening was beset with technical difficulties. About 100 minutes in, an action scene overloaded the sound system. The sound cut out a second time when the projectionist restarted the scene, but the third try worked. Moviegoers reportedly made their own sound effects for the silent versions of the scene. (There better have been plenty of “pew pew pew“-ing, or we’ll be very disappointed.)

— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikWaPo) March 12, 2018

BREAKING: #ReadyPlayerOne is currently undergoing a disastrous premiere at #SXSW due to audio/technical issues.

A attendee claims that the audience started making their own sound effects when the audio would cut. Despite problems, a source claimed "nobody left"! pic.twitter.com/llECVFq0uY

— DR Movie News (@DRMovieNews) March 12, 2018

#ReadyPlayerOne is classic Spielberg fun! What a blast, can't wait to see it again. Rewards repeat viewings. Tons of great references, visuals and heart. So kick ass it blew the speakers!

— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) March 12, 2018

The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and Warner seems to be encouraging critics to speak up:

— Jeremy Conrad (@ManaByte) March 12, 2018

#ReadyPlayerOne is classic Steven Spielberg. It’s got the references, the ferocious effects and the great ‘80s soundtrack, sure, but also the charm, the heart, the humor and a fantastic Alan Silvestri score. I loved it & so did this #SXSW crowd. Be excited for it! pic.twitter.com/xwPOGwXDxd

— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) March 12, 2018

I don’t know if I have ever seen a #SXSW crowd cheer on a movie the way they just cheered on #ReadyPlayerOne. We haven’t seen this Spielberg in a long time – it’s just pure entertainment and it’s hard not to watch it without a dorky smile on your face the whole time

— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) March 12, 2018

Ready Player One is a whole lot of fun. Those who are stuck in pre-release hate mode better prepare to be disappointed. #sxsw

— Scott Weinberg (@scottEweinberg) March 12, 2018

I have sworn up and down for MONTHS #ReadyPlayerOne would suck.

It didn't. It was great, it really was.

— KM Parks (@InfernoLeo9) March 12, 2018

READY PLAYER ONE feels like Spielberg watched a ton of Luc Besson movies and decided to outdo them. In terms of pure spectacle, it’s the most astonishing thing he’s done. Never underestimate Steve. #SXSW

— erickohn (@erickohn) March 12, 2018

TOTALLY engrossed in every second of @readyplayerone. It is one of the most technically brilliant things I have EVER seen. Spielberg is one of the few directors who could orchestrate this kind of visual symphony that SO many people will enjoy. Pretty amazing.

— Grae Drake (@graedrake) March 12, 2018

Ready Player One: Legit great. This is why we love movies…why we need pop culture. Major Spielberg

— Sean Cordy (@sean_cordy) March 12, 2018

I’m so happy to be right about READY PLAYER ONE. That movie is everything that a great blockbuster needs to be. All the cynicism and negativity everyone’s been spouting is nothing compared to this film’s massive heart. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg, for make me a kid again for a night

— James Preston Poole (@JamesPPoole) March 12, 2018

READY PLAYER ONE is full of giant, dorky heart. I both want to hug it and give it a noogie #sxsw

— Meredith Borders (@xymarla) March 12, 2018

#ReadyPlayerOne is nerdy as all hell but it’s hard to not leave the theater with a huge smile on your face. Pure Spielbergian joy. pic.twitter.com/7ToMQ7uIdL

— Frank Pallotta (@frankpallotta) March 12, 2018

‘Ready Player One’ is really fun. () I think it’s fun. Is it OK to say it’s fun It’s fun.

— Sean Fennessey (@SeanFennessey) March 12, 2018

READY PLAYER ONE: Spielberg’s second Peter Pan picture. Practically an animated movie, replacing Cline’s clunky prose with a free-flowing amalgamation of decades of pop iconography. Dorky as hell and one of the ultimate “Big Kid” Beard movies. #SXSW2018

— Jacob Knight (@JacobQKnight) March 12, 2018

READY PLAYER ONE: Good lord I was wrong about this one. It’s oodles of fun and kind of the antithesis of Cline’s novel in terms of its quality. References weren’t too cloying for me, but I was so close I couldn’t pick out too much. #sxsw

— Nick Johnston (@onlysaysficus) March 12, 2018

READY PLAYER ONE is a big Trapper-Keeper stuffed full of smiles, Adventure, and heart.

I adore it.#sxsw

— Aaron Morgan (@Aaron_Morgan) March 12, 2018

READY PLAYER ONE: So so so much movie. Sometimes too much but what I kept thinking over and over again was “my kids are gonna LOVE THIS.” It is joyous and thrilling for the people who it’s designed to joy and thrill.

— Brian Tallerico (@Brian_Tallerico) March 12, 2018

Some people pointed out the obvious:

– Close Encounters

– ET

– Jurassic Park

– AI

– Minority Report

– War of the Worlds

… and you expected Ready Player One to suck

— Danny Baram (@DannyBaram) March 12, 2018

All these surprised "wow Ready Player One is actually good!" reactions from film Twitter who have just been introduced to relative newcomer and unproven filmmaker Steven Spielberg

— Jim Halpert (@wyattyhalpert) March 12, 2018

And at least one viewer isn’t looking forward to a particular type of complainer:

— Jon Risinger (@JonRisinger) March 12, 2018

Speaking of complaints, not everyone was thrilled:

— Britt Hayes (@MissBrittHayes) March 12, 2018

The biggest suspension of disbelief in Ready Player One comes at the presumption that anyone in humanity would ever colloquially shorten "egg hunters" to "gunters" and it would catch on

— Jenny Nicholson (@JennyENicholson) March 12, 2018

#ReadyPlayerOne hot take review: a fun, enjoyable film with some amazing set pieces and references (THAT scene). However, the film suffers from a script that has a LOT of convenient plot devices and never really manages to make you care about the characters… 7/10 #sxsw

— love, maurizio (@marrythedarkk) March 12, 2018

#ReadyPlayerOne posits a corporate big wig who exploits fan culture for profit as its villain. The irony of that is giving me a headache. This is no love letter to pop culture. It’s a crass play to nostalgia; it offers nothing new or exciting.

— Kristy Puchko ➡️ SXSW (@KristyPuchko) March 12, 2018

#ReadyPlayerOne was…meh. Some great moments but nothing special.

— (((JonathanBarkan))) @ SXSW (@JonathanBarkan) March 12, 2018

I'm seeing positive reviews of Ready Player One & I'm getting really scared. Not that I'm too cynical to enjoy a movie, but you know how when a movie does really well, other studios try to copy it I'm not prepared for Ready Player One knockoffs

— MEGATRON (@SJWMEGATRON) March 12, 2018

Ready Player One opens March 29th.