The Review: Ready Player One

Ready Player One is a film full of action and pop culture references. In a world where life is so bleak people turn to a virtual reality world called the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation), a place where you can do anything you want, be whatever you want to be.

When Halliday, the creator of the OASIS dies he releases a video in which he challenges all those who use the OASIS to find his Easter Egg. The winner who finds the Easter Egg would get ownership of the OASIS and subsequently his entire fortune.

We follow main character Wade (Tye Sheridan) who is a avid player and lives with his aunt Alice (Susan Lynch) after the death of his parents. In the Oasis we were introduced to Aech (Lena Waithe), Wades best friend who supports him on analysing the clues to win the Easter Egg.

As well as plucky individuals trying to unlock the clues in order to win, Game company IOI also work around the clock to crack the clues. Owner of IOI, Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) is acknowledged as this movies villain.

Once Wade cracks the first clue, friends Aech, Daito (Win Morisaki), Sho (Philip Zhao) and new friend Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) follow Wade to finish the quest. Topping the leader board they become known as the ‘High Five’. IOI take an interest in this development and seek out their real life identities, putting them in serious danger.

Before I saw Ready Player One, I had heard it got mixed reviews from critics saying it was just a pop-culture mash with action and so my expectations weren’t very high. Luckily, I was proven wrong.

A great mix of action and fantasy with the pop culture references hidden in everywhere in the OASIS. My favourite pop culture reference was when they entered the Shining. The editing and CGI was fantastic and looked really believable. The little things like that made the movie extra special and unique.

The concept of the OASIS gives the film so much potential to make it successful with the target audience. The audience can enjoy the escapism of virtual reality induced action and nostalgia.

For the plot itself, it doesn’t really take many twists and turns as the plot line is basic and straightforward. It could have maybe been executed better, but I get the feeling Spielberg wanted to focus on the world in which Ready Player One is set.

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Overall, it is an enjoyable film and is somewhat interactive with the audience as they can actively look out for the pop culture references within the movie. However, it is not one that will stay with you once you leave the cinema.