Ready Player One (2018)

There are films where the time flies by on the fun of recognizing the countless characters that fill the screen. Ready Player One pours the icons of games, movies, and comics carried down from the 1980s onto one screen, turning that itself into an enormous game. Set against the virtual reality OASIS that people use as an escape in a devastated future, an adventure to find a hidden treasure unfolds. To this work, in which Steven Spielberg looks back with a nostalgic gaze on the pop-culture legacy he has built, I gave ★4.0.

What it’s about — Finding the three keys hidden in OASIS

In 2045, reality is a bleak world full of slums and piles of garbage. To forget that reality, people log in to OASIS, the virtual reality where one can become anything. Before dying, OASIS’s creator leaves a riddle promising that whoever finds the three keys he hid across the world will inherit his enormous fortune and control of the platform. An ordinary boy, Wade, throws himself into this treasure hunt, and as a giant corporation tries to monopolize the same treasure, a contest crossing virtual and real begins. The construction of layering countless pop-culture codes onto the simple skeleton of a treasure hunt is intriguing.

Direction — The skill of shaping a flood of codes so you never lose your way

Spielberg’s direction holds the audience so they never lose their way amid the dizzying flood of information. Alternating between the dazzling CG world inside OASIS and the desolate reality, he clearly etches the contrast between the two spaces. The countless characters and game elements could have stopped at mere cameo appearances, but Spielberg naturally folds them into the flow of the story and the action. In particular, the mid-film sequence that recreates an entire horror film goes beyond a simple homage to become a tense adventure in its own right. The seasoned hand that leans on nostalgia yet never loses the propulsion that drives the screen stands out.

The car race scene at the opening compresses this film’s directorial sense. Even as a giant dinosaur and a giant gorilla churn up the track and cars from film history weave and sprint, the screen is never chaotic. Thanks to Spielberg’s spatial sense, which clearly points out where to look, the audience feels pure pleasure instead of confusion. His affection for the pop culture he has loved, and the veteran’s skill at shaping it into a controllable spectacle, come through at once.

Performance — Rylance planting the sentiment of a lonely genius

Tye Sheridan smoothly handles Wade, an ordinary boy who is, in the game world at least, more earnest than anyone. Samantha, played by Olivia Cooke, doesn’t stay a mere helper but is drawn as a proactive figure who leads change in reality. Most impressive of all is Mark Rylance, who plays Halliday, OASIS’s creator. He delicately expresses the interior of an awkward, lonely genius, planting a quiet sentiment in the heart of a flashy adventure. Ben Mendelsohn slyly plays a stock corporate villain, adding suitable tension to the story.

What the film says — In the end, real life is in reality

Ready Player One flashily depicts the allure of the virtual world, yet by the end it speaks of the preciousness of reality. The final lesson left by OASIS’s creator is, after all, about real life where person meets person directly. The countless codes that stir nostalgia are not mere memory-peddling but also a mirror reflecting what we are enthusiastic about and where we flee to. It was nice that a flashy entertainment film closes, unexpectedly, with a warm message.

Ratings and reception

By OMDb, the IMDb rating is 7.4. The Rotten Tomatoes freshness is 71 percent and the Metacritic is 64, receiving a solid favorable response. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the visual effects category, and upon release the fun of hunting down pop-culture references and Spielberg’s signature directing skill were both well received. That said, there were also criticisms that the story’s depth is shallow compared to the original novel.

Verdict

Ready Player One is, above all, a film like a well-made game. The fun of finding codes hidden throughout the screen, satisfying action, and an unexpectedly tender message strike a balance. If you expect a deep drama it may feel somewhat light, but for audiences who want pure entertainment and nostalgia, few works match it. It’s a film whose charm doubles when watched on a big screen.

Recommended for

• Those who like the fun of hunting down pop-culture codes from games, films, and comics
• Those who enjoy dazzling CG and satisfying adventure action
• Those who feel nostalgia for 1980s pop culture