Ready Player One

In 2045 AD, the Oasis is the place to be: the ultimate gaming paradise where you can be whoever you want to be and play however you want to play.  Wade Watts aka Parzival is one of the many players on a quest for the ultimate prize of the Oasis: an Easter Egg left behind by the games creator, James Halliday.  Whichever player finds the Egg first will inherit Halliday’s massive fortune and control of the Oasis itself.  Wade knows the history of Halliday inside and out and teams up with the beautiful Samantha aka Atremis, to win the prize.  But others want the Egg for their own nefarious ends and will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means literally killing the competition.  Wade came to the Oasis to escape the crummy reality of life.  But now he’s found a reason to stay: save the Oasis and keep the dream of its creator alive.

You know its funny.  After almost a decade of making mostly historical dramas, I was wondering if Steven Spielberg had lost the ability to make an epic scifi or adventure genre flick like the ones that made him famous (Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. The Extraterrestrial).  Low and behold, not only is Ready Player One a return to form for the game changing director, it’s also one of his most special films to date: A film directed by a nerd, written by a nerd, made with nerds in mind.  As im sitting here staring at the screen, im wondering where the heck to even start approaching this one.  I guess we can start with the Oasis, the main setting of the film, which could lead into everything else I suppose. 

The Oasis has a lot in common with the world of OZ from Summer Wars (my favorite Anime film).  It is one of the more likely possibilities of social media merging into one entity likely in the future.  Granted OZ handled a wide variety of daily routines.  The Oasis is more focused on gaming and as such, avatars are based on original designs (like Artemis’ punk gamer whose weapon of choice is a Pulse Rifle from Aliens-complete with proper sound effects mind you) or various characters from across all pop culture.  And man are there a lot.  I swear this movie was tailor made for Blu Ray Players to freeze frame everything and play “Where’s Waldo” with how many characters this movie managed to fit in.  Naturally, Tracer from Overwatch is there (she’s been seen a lot during the promos) but there’s also Master Chief and his fellow Spartans from Halo; Batman, Supergirl and Harley Quinn from DC Comics; even an appearance from Speilbergs own Jurassic Park T-Rex.  And that’s just scratching the surface, nevermind my favorite appearance that officially makes me say, despite its flaws, I freaking love this movie (those who know me will know of what im talking about and YES I did flip right the frak out when it went toe to toe with MechaGodzilla…AHHHHHHH!!!!)  And on a visual level, Ready Player One rocks.  Sure its obviously all CGI but that never bothered me at all.  Every time we set foot in one of the Oasis’ many locations, I was just ensnared by it all.  The movie had my attention from the moment Wade boots up the game for the first time.

The stunning visuals and all the kick ass moments that come with them can only get you so far.  Thankfully, for the most part, the characters playing these Avatars are pretty likeable.  Wade and Samantha play off each other really well, even if there might be signs they might be playing each other to get to the grand prize of the Oasis.  Even so, there’s a genuine connection made between them that is the driving force of the film.  And really, there is an equal connection to be felt between Wade and his fellow gamers: H, Daito and Sho.  However, while everyone gets their moment to shine, there isn’t as much time dedicated to getting to know the latter three compared to Wade and Samantha.  There are even a couple of characters introduced in the last act, interns at IOI, who I feel would have made more of an impact were they introduced earlier on in the film…and given names.  However, for all their lack of character development, the bond between Wade, Samantha and their friends is great and a true example of how meeting friends online and subsequently in real life can have surprising results (both good and bad but im not here to preach on that subject.  Special shoutout to Ben Mendelsohn, who plays yet another higher up d-bag (last time I saw him was as Director Crenic in Rogue One).  He’s having a great time playing a guy seemingly in charge of an evil corporation who, in reality, doesn’t really know everything he should know about the Oasis or Pop Culture in general.  Same cant be said for his right hand Mercy Graves inspired Lieutenant who just looks like shes trying to hard to impress in the film.

The story of Ready Player One has a lot of heart but does hit a roadblock or two during its run.  There could have a been a bit more of an exploration into how the Oasis does affect its player base (even if it is more instances like a hilarious Japanese worker almost jumping out of a window because he got owned in a gaming tournament…they say it’s a regular thing which is both funny and terrifying at the same time).  The Sixers Program (one of the more darker elements of the film) could have been explored a bit more besides how it connects to Samantha’s personal story line.  Likewise, the mini rebellion against IOI probably needed more time to be fleshed out a bit as it is an interesting concept.  After all, if most people are living it up in the Oasis, what about the others who don’t have such a great real life and need to fight back against the oppressors inside the game world?   There are a couple of sequences that, while entertaining, do tend to go one a bit longer than they should.  I will say that Ready Player One doesn’t feel like an almost 2.5 hour flick (the pacing isn’t bad) there’s just a thing or two I would have cut.  Though, if im honest, either id need to see the movie again to try and add more to this list, or im for once not really up to talking bad about this movie.  It’s not perfect but at the end of the day…I don’t care.

By the time the film began to hit the end credits, I think I was crying and I had the biggest, goofiest smile on my face the entire last act too.  As a guy who grew up in video game and nerd culture, Ready Player One feels like FLCL, a movie made for longtime fans of a genre.  If you’re quick, you can catch a lot of the references.  You can thrill at the sight of Doc Brown’s DeLorean from Back to the Future racing side by side with Kaneda’s Bike from Akira.  You can hum every single track that is straight out of the 80’s, cudos to any production looking to go the distance and include more 80’s in their soundtracks.  You can dance alongside Wade and Samantha in their little dance sequence.  Or you can just let your jaw drop when the last thing you ever expected to see on the big screen, nevermind a Steven Spielberg film, actually happens and you cant help but go nuts.  I really don’t know if the general moviegoing public will enjoy Ready Player One compared to geek culture and gaming enthusiasts.  Which is a shame because for all of its flaws, this is a special movie that I think deserves to be seen.  And I’m greatful the man who gave us such legends as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was able to bring some of my childhood back to life for a good couple of hours.

Again, it aint perfect but this Oasis is one worth checking out.

8/10