It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these. There are a few reasons, one is I’m back in school and work has been busy. But since Spielberg’s newest film, Ready Player One, is a homage to all things geek culture, I figure I better do a proper review. Based on the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, this is an adventure set in the future where everyone goes to a VR world to meet, interact, shop and yes even play games. I was particularly interested in this movie since I made a movie in school based on a similar premise. Virtual worlds are an interesting subject for me, so does this hold up to my expectations? Game Start!
Likes:
- The most important thing that this movie needed to do was to do proper world building. This takes place in a somewhat dystopian future where the protagonist lives in the “stacks” a huge trailer park with several trailers stacked on top of each other. I must say that the world outside the oasis and inside the oasis was both very cool and fascinating.
- I think the fact that half of the movie contains CGI might be a turn off for people really sick of its overuse. But it works in this most since half the movie takes place in a virtual world. Besides that, the CGI is actually really well done and makes for a visual treat.
- There are tons of pop-culture references in this movie, and for those of us who follow pop culture closely will have a ton a fun spotting them and also makes for some really fun moments in the movie. I’ll just say that fans of The Shining and Gundam are in for a treat.
- The story isn’t anything too deep but it is very satisfying. It isn’t a movie that dives deep into the philosophical implications that a virtual world entails but the characters are likable, the villains are fun to hate and an ending that has an important message for our time.
Dislikes:
- There are some plot details that aren’t fully explained during the first viewing. This may be fixed upon further viewings but there were definitely moments of plot convenience. I won’t go into the details for spoiler’s sake but for as big and worldwide as the oasis is, everyone important just happens to live close together.
- If you aren’t up to date on pop culture, then you’re going to miss a lot of the inside jokes and references that give the film much of its charm.
Awkward Walk-In Meter: 3/5
It is a PG-13 movie that has above-average language (including one F-bomb) and a few scenes that are suggestive (including a homage to a scene from another movie that is R rated). The violence oddly enough is the most withheld. There is no gore and only a little blood drawn in the real world. But bodies burst into gold coins in a unique substitute for blood and gore.
Overall:
Ready Player One was a fun and enjoyable movie to watch. It’s a love letter to all things geek-culture, especially video games and movies. As a major geek myself, I was able to follow the homages and references that made the experience that much more fun. However, I’m unsure how older or audiences that aren’t into geek-culture would react to the film. It does have enough action to get most people excited but it’s like having pizza without any toppings. Your going to miss out on some of the best the film has to offer if you aren’t in the know. But if you follow us at all, I’m confident that you’ll have a blast at this movie. Just know that your non-geek SO will more than likely have a lot of questions.