Review: Ready Player One

Posted on 12 April, 2018

When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. IMDb

I am cautious about recommending this film, not because it is (in my opinion) amazing, but because film watching is such a personal experience.

I was so involved in the story and the dystopian world created on screen that I left the cinema with that rare sensation – a momentary frisson of disbelief that the world still existed, unchanged. A tiny disconnect, a thought that I was driving a De Lorean and not my usual car.

Which illustrated how involved I had become in this adventure. A colleague, who saw it the very next day, on my recommendation, enjoyed it but was left wanting more. He was also disappointed in what had been changed or omitted from the much-loved book.

Haven’t read the book. Am not a gamer. However, I am from the 80s and I loved, no, I was thrilled by the plethora of 80s pop culture references. There are so, so many I had to consciously ignore them to focus on the story. I will have to see it again to capture these (the nerd is strong in this one).

Pop culture and love of sci-fi/fantasy aside, what thrilled me most was that this film is classic Spielberg – an angst-free adventure yarn that had me glued to my seat. It is the storytelling style that gave us Indiana Jones and E.T. It has the whimsy of B.F.G. and the all-out adventure of The Goonies. It is just so satisfying.

The movement between the VR world and the real one is effortless and believable. However, that was not the case in the creation of what we see – the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic took so long to create the 1,500 digital effect shots … that the director went away and made another movie (The Post) while he was waiting!

The real world actors and their avatars work well as storytelling tools but they are also captivating as characters with story arcs. I can’t say too much without ruining some sweet little surprises so I’ll just say well done to both the actors and the writers. Zak Penn (The Avengers) worked with Ernest Cline to turn the latter’s seminal book into an enjoyable script.

So, finally, you may or may not enjoy it but I really did!

Roslyn saw this film as a guest of Limelight Tuggeranong.

Feature image: via Facebook