Ready Player One is set in a near-future where people escape from their daily lives in ‘The OASIS’, a virtual game where you can be everything you’ve ever dreamed of. It’s an impressive piece of technology but everything changes when the creator of the game dies, setting the world into a constant race to find a hidden Easter Egg and gain power over the vast virtual world. A movie with a plot like this, directed by Steven Spielberg, is something that grabbed my attention straight away; but is it any good?
Go forth young Wade
The story focusses on Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a young man growing up with his aunt in The Stacks of Columbus, Ohio in the year 2044. The Stacks form the opening shot of the movie and immediately set the tone for the visual extravaganza you’ll face the coming hours. It’s clear from the start that people living in The Stacks are escaping their realities since their home is nothing more than campers, stacked on top of another one. It’s amazing how the creators of the movie managed to create such an original dystopian slum on the big screen.
Wade is hooked to the virtual world where he takes the form of his avatar Parzival. In The OASIS, you can go where you want and be who you want to be. At first, people all over the world enjoyed spending time in this virtual paradise. Straight from the start, you’re introduced to amazing virtuals worlds like ‘Planet Doom’ where everybody kills for a mysterious relic. The more you play, the better your gear becomes and the more loot you’ll collect to buy in-game objects or even objects that can be delivered to you in the real world. The way this OASIS came to life in the movie is incredible, CGI flawlessly transforming into real images. The plot doesn’t solely revolve around the OASIS as a virtual world, it’s about the creator’s Easter Egg. Halliday (Mark Rylance) created this world and after his death, hid an Easter Egg consisting of three keys in his enormous world. The player who finds those first, will gain full control over the virtual world; let the race begin!
A personal quest
As this story forms the foundation of the movie, you know you’re watching a movie that focusses more on the action and visual effects than offering you a deep story filled with lore. Sure, Wade will meet interesting characters during his adventure but the only one who’s really important is Samantha or Art3mis in the game (Olivia Cooke). She sees the bigger picture and is afraid the world will fall into chaos if the OASIS falls into the wrong hands. Her dialogues offer a different take on the story and will allow for some interesting character developments. Besides her, Wade’s other friends are mainly there for some humoristic moments that break the tension from time to time. Fun to have those guys around but not necessary for the plot.
Of course, taking over a world so powerful as the OASIS demands a nemesis, enter Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), CEO of IOI, the second biggest virtual reality dealer on the planet. Together with his staff of ‘Sixers’ he tries to win the competition to get his hands on the OASIS. Of course, he only wants to use it to make more money and let people suffer even more to pay their debts in the virtual world. All in all, the backstory of the characters is interesting enough and they all offer a different look at the situation. It’s clear that the movie is inspired by a book since the characters really are interesting enough considering the light plot. The only character that felt out of place was F’Nale Zandor (Hannah John-Kamen), Sorrento’s personal bodyguard with some cringe-worthy dialogues. Later, I learned this character didn’t appear in the book so that explains why her appearance felt a little out of place during the entire movie.
A world filled with references
Although the story might not be the best you’ll see this year, the visual effects and tons of references are truly out of this world. The virtual world really comes to life thanks to the amazing amount of details put into every world. The way people control it looks very realistic and even possible in the near future. Once inside the OASIS, you’re in for the ride of your life. The movie constantly throws tons of references to the audience, ranging from a retro Atari console to the Iron Giant. As a gamer, I noticed a lot of Xbox-related references like Lancers from Gears of War, a pack of Master Chiefs, and even some Battle Toads. It’s amazing to see all these characters coming together in one place, offering a constant throwback to your childhood. Looking at the references, I’m guessing people who grew up in the nineties will get most of them but there literally are tons of older and newer references I might have missed. Even when you rewatch this movie a couple of times, I’m sure you’ll discover more references everytime you watch it. This is by far the main selling point of the movie and it simply works.
Conclusion:
Ready Player One is a fun movie to watch if you’re into pop-culture of the last years, if not, you might miss out on those great references. The plot isn’t the best out there but the visual spectacle, attention to details, and humor all really make up for that. It’s the most action-packed movie I watched this year and from start to finish, I enjoyed every minute of it. Sure, some dialogues are rather questionable but when you see that gorgeous OASIS, you’ll forget all about those in mere seconds.
