I was planning on reading Ready Player One before I saw the movie, but my friends wanted to watch it, so that plan backfired. However, I'm actually glad I did that because the movie made me want to read the book way more than the synopsis on the back. I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to start it, were it not for the movie.

Honestly, for this particular book-to-movie adaptation, it's better to watch the movie before reading the book. They have the same main characters, general concept, and overall storyline, but that's where the similarities end. (The bold bit below this is a full-on rant filled to the brim with spoilers. See this for specifics.) I don't think I would have enjoyed the movie as much if I had read the book first and kept pointing out the differences. I'm sure my friends are overjoyed by that fact, as well.

It's not quite as bad as the Scorch Trials in terms of keeping with the storyline, it's just the parts that made me want to cry. Also, the romantic subplot felt a lot more unnecessary in the movie than it did in the book. 

I don't really put this out there, but I'm not a fan of romantic subplots in dystopian/adventure stories. Especially if they don't add any plot progression. (Again, more on this for Ready Player One specifically in the spoiler section.) 

Okay, that's all that comes to mind that doesn't spoil anything, let's get onto the good stuff. 

The entire contest is completely different. I get that a high-speed race is a lot more exciting to watch than a game of Joust, but come on. All they have to do is find the keys. There is literally nothing about the gates. 

Wade doesn't like his aunt and they live with at least two other families. In the movie, they show him at least caring about her enough to try and get her to dump her boyfriend and warn her about the bomb.

They leave out the part where Wade is stuck on Ludus because of the transportation fees. And Aech's Basement. 

I. WAS. NOT. PREPARED. FOR. DAITO. TO. ACTUALLY. DIE. I legitimately wanted to cry. The whole story about Daito and Shoto was so cute and fluffy, I can't understand why they left it out and AHHHHHHHHH.

On a related note, they didn't even use Shoto's real name.

They also completely changed Ogden Morrow's role in the story. 

The romance between Wade and Samantha felt completely unnecessary in the movie. They could have done just fine as good friends. However, their romantic attraction in the book actually progresses the plot, so I got it then. 

There's a lot more, these are just the ones that irked me the most.

But seriously, Daito's death is tearing me apart from the inside out.

Edit: I'm a little upset that we never find out what Shoto actually looks like. (apart from that old school picture) We never even get told how old he is.