Ready Player One - movie review
Plot: When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune.
Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn
Director: Steven Spielberg
Certificate: 12A (moderate violence, horror, infrequent strong language)
Runtime: 2hrs 20 mins
Release Date: Thursday 29th March 2018
When a cinematic adaptation of Ernest Cline's Holy Grail of pop culture was announced, and that the greatest living director of all time, Steven Spielberg, was revealed to helm the production, it was as if the stars aligned and a miracle had been gift wrapped to nerds everywhere. Having read the book, I was of the belief that Cline's book was unfilmable. Not only did it feature sequences that wouldn't lend itself to film (reciting the entirety of 1983's War Games) but there's the factor that made the novel so iconic; the goldmine of references. After seeing it now translated to screen, I've realised that I should never doubt Spielberg again.
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| The ultimate squad rolling out. |
Set in the year of 2045, the world as we know it is in a state of disrepair. Residents of Columbus, Ohio are subjected to living in the stacks - miniscule mobile homes piled atop of one another in the most elaborate game of Jenga. Whilst the real world may be a depressing actuality, escape can be found in the form of the OASIS. What is the OASIS? As Wade Watts (Sheridan) so eloquently describes, it's a virtual reality world where you can be whoever you want to be and do whatever you want. If you fancy creating your own Minecraft kingdom, the OASIS will give you the tools, literally. If you want to climb a mountain with Batman in tow, it's at your fingertips thanks to the OASIS. The possibilities are limitless and thanks to Spielberg wielding his trademark magic wand with every frame, you believe that your imagination can come to life in this world. In the book, the OASIS is given a lot more explanation and serves a far greater purpose to society providing education for the young. The film completely negates that aspect and its sole focus is on the ability to create your own adventures. We meet aspiring dreamer and retro fanatic, Wade Watts, who has become obsessed with the recently deceased creator of the OASIS, James Halliday (Mark Rylance). Following his death, Halliday installed three challenges to discover his final Easter Egg allowing the victor to become his successor and subsequently own the OASIS. We follow Wade on his quest to fulfil Halliday's tasks and stop the sinister IOI (Innovative Online Industries) from taking over. Cline's story was a fantastical blend of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and The Matrix and Spielberg manages to capture that essence from the book. It's a glossy, explosive, adrenaline filled roller coaster that takes you on a journey across nerd culture far and wide. At the time of writing, I have seen thirty-six films this year and Ready Player One is by far the most fun I've had in the cinema in 2018.
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| If there was one thing I'd want as my backup, you can bet your sweet ass it would be The Iron Giant. |
I was a fan of the book and seeing the pages come to life was unadulterated bliss. From the get-go, Spielberg and co. slapped a smile on my face that didn't fade until long after I left the cinema. Part of that joy was also due to the biggest selling point of Ready Player One; the references. Without exaggerating, Cline's novel has a wild and unexpected pop culture reference on near enough every single page. It was a tad excessive in some cases, especially when it would detract from the plot to explain the reference but luckily, the film learns from the mistakes of its source material and only explains the references that directly affect the plot. I had to see the film twice. Once, in order to fully immerse myself in the film and twice to notice as many Easter Eggs as I can. I'll be buying this on Blu-Ray as soon as I can to pause it frame by frame to analyse every bit of it. The references will also apply to a wide variety of ages. With nods and winks to Overwatch, to an elongated sequence paying homage to a horror classic, this will appeal to as many generations as possible. If you've ever had a childhood, then you'll find at least one thing to enjoy in Ready Player One. For me, it was seeing The Iron Giant dominate the screen once more. The sense of excitement made me feel like a giddy twelve year old. Another concern of mine was that the references would drown the movie in a game of Who's Who? Thankfully, most of the references are cheeky nods and winks and aren't dwelled upon too heavily whereas those that are have a prominent feature in the story. 100 Nerd Points to those that find a Mayor Goldie Wilson poster.
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| Just Dance 2045. |
FACT: In an interview, Steven Spielberg said this was the third most difficult movie he has made in his career, behind Jaws and Saving Private Ryan.
Ready Player One is a return to the blockbuster filmmaking Spielberg is so well known for. His last great blockbuster film was thirteen years ago in the highly underrated War Of The Worlds. Ever since then, Spielberg has taken a calmer approach with films such as War Horse, Lincoln and also this year's The Post. He moves the film along at an exhilarating pace resulting in the 140 minute runtime flying by in Spielberg's typical vibrant and uplifting style. In one of the early scenes, we see Wade compete in one of Halliday's challenges; a car race with more obstacles that you could ever imagine. Wade drives the DeLorean from Back To The Future and does his best to avoid a T-Rex, King Kong and the bane of every driver's existence...traffic. From that moment onwards, Spielberg slams his foot on the gas and doesn't even consider touching the brakes. The visual flair he's so well known for his on show for all to see and Spielberg, with the help of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) create some of the most breathtaking visual effects I've seen on the big screen. Abandoning the notion of making the world of the OASIS as photo-realistic as possible, they choose to opt for effects that seem as if they'd belong in a state of the art video game. Wade and his friends do not look human in this virtual world but it never stands out as poor effects.
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| Isn't using a time machine in a race considered cheating? |
Ready Player One would be all style and no substance if the characters were impossible to attach to. Whilst reading the book, I instantly made a personal connection to Wade Watts thanks to the many similarities that we share, primarily his love for the 80s and 90s. In the film, whilst there is some reference to this adoration, it's far less prominent than it was in the book and it made Wade harder to sympathise with. Tye Sheridan does a good job in the role, although I don't think he's quite got the charm to be a leading man just yet, but Wade could have been given more development rather than the generic dysfunctional family trope. Luckily, redemption can be found in Olivia Cooke who steals the show as Art3mis, a fellow user of the OASIS who catches the attention of Wade as they compete for Halliday's prize. I found Cooke to be the heart and soul of the film as she adds a lot of authenticity and naturalism to a predominantly artificially created character. Her relationship with Wade is significantly more integral in the film than it is in the book and Cooke is now a talent to watch for her future endeavours. Ben Mendelsohn is up to his usual villainous tricks as Nolan Sorrento, the head of IOI. Mendelsohn is great as always but, like the book, I still wasn't won over by the threat of IOI. Their plan is to own the OASIS and fill it with ads and payments to restrict those that can use it. The parallels between actual video game companies adding monetization and in-game purchases to get the full experience is incredibly on the nose but apart from the odd heinous act, IOI never appeared to be the sinister threat they were billed as. Continuing his budding partnership with Spielberg, Mark Rylance puts in another tremendous performance that isn't the typical crazy, kooky inventor. Rylance, as he does with all of his characters, delves into Halliday so he can draw upon the history and past experiences he might have had.
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| Still better than London at rush hour. |
Ready Player One is pure Spielberg magic and potentially the nerdiest film ever made and for that, I love almost every second of it. The visuals on display are unlike anything we've seen before and the story is a whimsical tale with a proud sense of unity behind it. Alan Silvestri scores the film and adds in the odd Back To The Future orchestral flurry from time to time and as the final act dawns, it's a battle for the ages. I always head into a cinema looking for fun and I can't think of a better time spent than this.
My Verdict: 9.5/10
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