Steven Spielberg has earned his place as one of history's greatest directors. E.T., Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, and I could go on and on. He now is tasked with developing the popular Ernest Cline Novel, Ready Player One. Video games are a tough sell for the adult audience, but this time around could be different. Ready Player One is pure nostalgic yet futuristic fun! I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.
2045 and the world is a different place. Especially in an over crowded trailer park in Columbus,OH. The world's population spends the majority of its time in virtual reality. Everyone has an avatar. A video game version of themselves that usually looks vastly different. They all occupy a world called The Oasis. Wade Watts ( Tye Sheridan) discovers clues to a hidden game within the program that promises the winner full ownership of the OASIS. He joins several allies to try to complete the game before indentured players working for a large company, run by Nolan Sorrento ( Ben Mendelsohn), can do so.
It has been awhile since I have had this much fun in a movie. Yes it is a lot of CGI. It has very cheesy moments and conveys a message. It was just fun. The video game world is filled with pop culture characters and references. The sound track is amazing. The best since the first Guardians of the Galaxy.
I was on sensory overload trying to see all the characters and references packed into this thing! Street Fighter, Ninja Turtles, Thundercats, and the list goes on and on. The plot is fairly simple and easy to follow. It is a throwback to a time when the story was simple.
Ben Mendelsohn does it again. He was great in Rogue One as the bad guy and is perfectly cast here. I love villains that have the right blend of likeability and sinister. You never root for him, but you want him to get what he deserves.
Overall, the cast is solid. I am not a fan of Tye Sheridan, but he is surrounded by the right people. There is a twist to one of the characters that I won't spoil, but it was fun. It plays well with the tone of the story and isn't forced at all. T.J. Miller is great as the henchman. We never see the reveal of his human character and I wonder if that was intentional given the bad accusations that surround him.
Ready Player One does what it is supposed to do. It makes you forget about life for a couple of hours. It doesn't try to hard. It is beautiful to look at and most of all, it is fun! You might not catch all of the references on the first watch, but it is fun trying. Suspend belief, enjoy the nostalgia, and play this game. Well, watch this movie.
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