Ready Player One

photo courtesy of readyplayeronemovie.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name, is Steven Spielberg’s first proper adventure film in at least seven years (maybe more, depending on who you ask). Like its source material, it’s a movie replete with pop culture references and infused with a genuine love for geek culture; it is, in some ways, a culmination of the wave of nostalgia sweeping through Hollywood. And, most importantly, it’s also an absolute blast, letting Spielberg’s innate talent for blockbuster escapism loose on a landscape of titanic cultural icons.

     The movie follows Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) in a dystopian future where rising real-world challenges cause people to seek a better life within the OASIS—a virtual reality world where anyone can be anything. As his avatar “Parzival,” Wade seeks the OASIS’s ultimate prize: an easter egg, hidden by the OASIS’s late creator James Halliday (Mark Rylance), which gives the finder enormous riches and control of the OASIS. Unfortunately for Wade, there’s another interested party: shady corporate entity IOI, led by Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn). Together with his friends Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) and Aech (Lena Waithe), Wade will have to dodge IOI’s attacks both within and without the OASIS if he wants to be first to find the egg.

photo courtesy of gamespot.com

     Ready Player One is a classic Spielberg film in a way that we haven’t seen since he was at the top of the cultural zeitgeist. It checks a lot of Spielberg boxes: absent father, everyman protagonist, shady government (in this case corporate) forces, wish fulfillment, critique of technology, etc. And like the best of Spielberg’s action-adventure offerings, it’s an immersive experience; Ready Player One sweeps the audience up and delivers them to a richly imagined and visually dazzling new (read: virtual) world.

     There are plenty of CGI-heavy, spectacle-driven movies on the market right now—and plenty that lay into 80’s nostalgia, too—but Ready Player One distinguishes itself by sheer scope. Visually, this is perhaps Spielberg’s busiest movie. In between its side-quests and the obligatory romance, it features several spectacle-heavy sequences that overwhelm the camera with action in every corner of the screen. As for nostalgia, Ready Player One packs about as many references into its runtime as can be imagined. Most of its callbacks are blink-and-you-miss-it (characters from obscure video games who pop up in the background of a battle scene), but some get the movie’s sustained attention for as much as 10 minutes of screen time. As with any pop culture reference, the effectiveness of those moments is largely a case by case basis; fans who are “in the know” will get a kick out of them, but others might feel a little left out.

photo courtesy of bbc.com

     Ready Player One hits some roadblocks when it comes to character. Aech, along with gamer friends Daito and Sho, are mostly there for comedic relief and the occasional plot necessity, and they fulfill that role admirably. Tye Sheridan’s Wade Watts, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. Wade has enough charm to carry the action, but he doesn’t receive the character development necessary to make him truly memorable. He’s only a few steps away from being a blank canvas—something easy you can drape an adventure story on.

photo courtesy of variety.com

     Art3mis, played by Olivia Cooke, comes across as a missed opportunity. She’s allowed several badass moments, but she ultimately takes a back seat to Wade. The third act (which, coincidentally, features the film’s only major lag in pacing) doesn’t seem to know what to do with her, so it just lumps her together with the other supporting characters. This might not have been such an egregious sin—Wade is the main character, after all—except that she’s the far more dynamic and motivated character of the two. She also bears the weight of Ready Player One’s romance, which ranges in quality from a sort of self-aware cheesiness to downright cringy-ness at times. In any case, it would have been nice to see her character get a bit more attention.

     FINAL VERDICT: Some parts of Ready Player One’s classic formula might be a little rusty, but it has all the essential ingredients for a fun, wonderous, and unashamedly nerdy moviegoing experience.

Watch the trailer here.

photo courtesy of polygon.com