Ready Player One is the newest film from acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, based on the novel penned by author Ernest Cline. The story takes place in the near future, where the real world has become impoverished and is slowly deteriorating. However, a humongous virtual world called the Oasis exists and using VR headsets, the population uses it for work, play, and everything in between. The Oasis contains virtual representations of every book, movie, film, and pop culture media known to mankind, combined with its own original content. When the creator of the Oasis, James Halliday (Mark Rylance) passes away, his entire fortune and livelihood (including the entire virtual world of Oasis) will be passed down to one lucky Oasis user. Hidden deep in the vast virtual world is an easter egg; a hidden egg that can only be found by the most dedicated hunters. The giant implications of owning the world’s largest form of media attract both good and bad people, and the ensuing race to unlocking the secret of the egg is full of surprises and fun.
The story follows Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a young man living in a community of stacked trailer homes in Columbus, Ohio. Wade takes solace in the Oasis, emotionally affected by the death of his parents, and ensuing abusive home life. Living with his aunt and her verbally and physically abusive boyfriend in the stacks, Wade dreams of being the first person to find the egg. He spends his days being a “gunter”; dedicated players of the Oasis who endlessly search for the egg, and the three keys required to access it. The massive fortune has also attracted the attention of the giant company IOI. Imagine a more insidious Google, and you have a decent idea of IOI’s influence on the real world. Leading them is corporate villain Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), a man who intends to use the Oasis as a money-printing machine.
When Wade hops into the Oasis, he assumes the avatar of Parzival, a silver-haired and sleek young man. Along with his good friend Aech, whose avatar is a hulking cybernetic ogre, they attempt the first challenge for the first of three keys. During the race, they run into Art3mis, a high-profile gunter who is as skillful as she is popular. Along with the ninja duo Daito and Sho, the five form a loose alliance, fighting to find the egg before IOI. IOI uses their endless resources to their benefit, employing hundreds of people to comb the world in search of the keys and egg. It’s a standard good versus evil story with a thematic taste of David and Goliath. The story flips back and forth from the real world to the game world in a seamless way, and although the scenes in the real world weren’t nearly as interesting as the game world stuff, both stories are serviceable and effective.
The really crazy part about Ready Player One is the effects and the insane amount of pop culture references in the film. When the book first released, many thought a film adaptation would be impossible; no, there are far too many licenses that play integral roles in the film. Many feared that fundamental changes to the story would have to be made in order to keep things copyright friendly, and while that might be true to some extent, I was blown away at just how many characters and references they were able to fit in. If you’re a fan of video games, whether the arcade era or modern console, there will be an uncountable amount of callbacks and nods for you. This stays true for fans of 80’s and 90’s cinema, with a plethora of references to classic films across all genres. There’s definitely more gaming references than film references, but Ready Player One balances all aspects in a meaningful way. You’ll get a ton of nostalgia from this movie, but it manages to not feel cheap or pandering. I refuse to spoil any of the aforementioned references, as these were my favorite parts of the film. In fact, one scene in specific stands out to me as one of the most creative and unique plays on cinema I’ve ever seen.
For those who have read the book, you might be disappointed by how much the story has been changed. Parts from the book are out of order, characters meet at different times, and entire character arcs have been changed. This seemed slightly necessary though, as many of the coolest scenes in the book might not have worked on screen. Ready Player One at least attempts to recreate the tone of certain scenes, just shifting around the references to fit with what they have. For example, while you might not see the Power Rangers run into battle (actually, they might be in this movie, there’s so much it’s kind of hard to keep track), you will definitely see numerous Steven Spielberg properties. It’s unfortunate that some of the charm and character building in the book gets lost in translation to the screen, but even the most die-hard fans of the book will be able to appreciate the adaptation for what it is.
While most of the entertainment value comes from the in-game world references and action scenes, the real world stuff stands strong as well. Tye Sheridan does a good job as Wade/Parzival, and Ben Mendelsohn delivers us a great performance as the scummy and shady Sorrento. I was most impressed with Olivia Cooke, who plays the real-world version of Art3mis. I’ve been following her career for a while and became a fan of hers after seeing her performance in Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl. Cooke gives us a heartfelt and personable performance, and she embodies her character incredibly well. In fact, I felt that Art3mis was a much stronger character than Parzival, despite the solid performance by Tye Sheridan. Other standouts include a great voice-over by T.J. Miller as “I-Rock”, a mercenary employed by IOI. Mark Rylance does an amazing job portraying the socially-stunted and introspective Oasis creator, James Halliday. The way he portrays Halliday is effective and endearing, even causing me to tear up when things got more emotional. Simon Pegg gets less screen time than Mark Rylance but does an equally good job as Oasis co-creator Ogden Morrow.
A good portion of the mystery in Ready Player One stems from identity or lack thereof. The Oasis is like the internet. You can hide behind anonymity, pretending to be someone of the opposite sex, race, age, or gender than your own. As such, I will leave out some names as to not spoil the surprise. That being said, I enjoyed how they handled the real world equivalents of Diato and Sho, along with Aech. These three characters are all personable and memorable, especially Sho, who might just be my favorite of the bunch.
Ready Player One is a fantastic adventure, and another movie that cements Steven Spielberg as one of Hollywood’s best directors. Whether you love the book or have never heard of it, the story here is engaging and interesting, despite some complaints book fans may have about changes. The same goes for fans of video games and movies. You don’t have to be a gamer to appreciate the action scenes or references; the special effects are incredibly cool regardless of your previous knowledge. I was thoroughly impressed by Ready Player One across the board, and although I have some small gripes with it, the positives absolutely demolish any negatives I have. It’s my favorite movie of the year so far, and it’s a fantastic thrill ride for viewers of all ages. It’s full of nostalgia, packed with charm and heart, and tells an uplifting message about friendship, loyalty, and staying true to yourself. Do yourself a favor and go check out Ready Player One. You might not be as impressed as I am, but you will definitely have a good time.
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Movie Rating: 5 stars.
Movie Rating Guide
1 Star = Unwatchable
2 Stars = Cannot Recommend
3 Stars = Great for the Fans
4 Stars = A Solid Movie
5 Stars = Must Own (DVD/Stream Download)
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