Review: Ready Player One

Tye Sheridan and Lena Waite

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriters: Zak Penn, Ernest Cline (author as well)
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, Mark Rylance
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action violence, bloody images, some suggestive material, partial nudity, and language
Genres: Action, Adventure, Science-Fiction, Fantasy
Theatrical Release Date: March 31, 2018
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

 Clip: "The Prize Awaits"

Ready Player One is, to sum up in two words, a "geek's dream."  And that is, honestly, a compliment, as I consider myself at least somewhat of a geek and adore pop culture and pop culture references.  (Why else would I have a blog?)  And Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg -- with whom you may be familiar -- has surely created an adaptation of Ernest Cline's best-selling science-fiction that is rampant with pop culture references.  I will admit that I have not read the book, so I cannot say whether or not the film is an accurate adaptation of the novel; though, from what I have heard, some key elements have been changed.  Nevertheless, I am critiquing the movie, not the book, and viewing Spielberg's Ready Player One as its own entity.  

Ready Player One can be considered to be both science-fiction and fantasy, though I am tempted to lean more towards the science end.  Some 30 years in the future, we meet our 17-year-old protagonist, Wade, who lives with his aunt and her annoying boyfriend in Ohio in what is known as "The Stacks" -- which is essentially what it sounds like: living spaces for poor inhabitants that are stacked on top of each other.  We don't know much else about this seemingly apocalyptic landscape, which is a far fry from the savage, barren wasteland of post-apocalyptic Australia in Max Max: Fury Road.  The real world of Ready Player One is, at times, so boring that the scenes spent in the Oasis -- a virtual reality world that encompasses the majority of Wade's existence -- pop even more.  Once Wade enters the Oasis, as Parzival, everything comes alive.  It's not just a geek's dream; it's anyone's dream -- that is, anyone who wants to escape reality for even a little while.  In Oasis, you can become anyone or anything you want.  You can change your hair whenever you get sick of it.  You can make a DeLorean appear with the toss of your hand (by far, my favorite 80's reference).  

Wade is one of the top players in the Oasis, one of many who has been attempting to solve a series of clues to give the player three keys; the winner receives Oasis creator Halliday's (Oscar winner Mark Rylance) fortune -- the eccentric, awkward [see more below] Halliday passed away several years prior.  Wade teams up with Olivia Cooke's Sam (known in the Oasis as Art3mis), Lena Waithe's Helen (Aech), and a couple of other players as they get closer and closer to winning.  

When the main characters meet in real life, i.e. outside of the game, it's not nearly as exciting as one would hope; with the exception, of course, of Waithe's Helen.  Waite, who has been breaking big lately, isn't given nearly enough screen time.  Sheridan (Mud) is a solid lead, thoroughly capable of carrying this movie.  However, his voice-overs seems unnecessary.  Is there a way in which Cline and co-screenwriter Zak Penn could have given Wade's backstory without a voice-over?  Perhaps I'm in the minority of those who were bothered by this, but because the majority of the movie is so enjoyable, I let this slide.  Ben Mendsolhn is almost too perfect of a villain, but for this genre, it's not a bad thing.  Rylance, who made such an impression in Bridge of Spies, is used to similarly great effect here.  

There are so many pop culture references to 80's-90's movies, music, and more that it is nearly impossible to keep up.  And that's okay, because Spielberg probably doesn't want viewers to get caught up in that; I certainly didn't.  As previously mentioned, apparently some aspects of the book were changed, mostly where Spielberg and his cannon were mentioned.  I can see why Spielberg would not want to directly or indirectly reference his past films, as he might not want to appear narcissistic (which he's not).  Thankfully, there are nearly an infinite number of references to please geeks and non-geeks alike.       

Ready Player One certainly isn't perfect, but if you aren't laughing and smiling at the numerous references to movies like The Iron Giant and Lord of the Rings, then this movie isn't for you.  


Spot the Aspie!: 
In this new section of my movie reviews, I will spotlight one or more aspies -- i.e. characters on the autism spectrum, ranging from high-functioning Asperger's (like myself) to autistic individuals like Temple Grandin.  
The aspie is pretty easy to spot in Ready Player One.  The genius Halliday, who created the Oasis, is shown in flashbacks to be noticeably socially awkward.  At one point, he mentions to Oasis co-founder Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg with an impressive American accent) how he went on a date with the woman who would end up marrying Morrow.  Nothing happened, even though, as we later find out, he was in love with her.  He didn't take the leap and kiss her.  The movie doesn't dig too deep into Halliday's awkardness, but it was already so jam-packed that there was probably no room to discuss his autism.  That said, I was pleased to see Rylance's Halliday represent the autism community in this movie.  Rylance portrays him as a sort of unstable genius (a play on Trump's ridiculous statement) whose mind creates this brilliant virtual reality universe but he just can't get up the courage to kiss a girl.  




Grade: B+